My wife and I are in Italy beginning of July. In reading the posts in other forums, perhaps we should have selected our stops a little differently. That said, we are flying into Milan, arriving in the late afternoon/early evening. We have already booked 2 nights in Milan (we will spend the day in between seeing the major sites and then some). We then have a full day to travel to Cinque Terre where we will stay two nights. From there, we are off to Florence and Rome for 7 more days/nights.
Here are my questions - Please Help! -
Best way from Milan to Cinque Terre and what to do along the way? I know we can go by train but, given we have the entire day to travel the distance, would a car make more sense so we can make stops along the way?
From Cinque Terre to Florence, we want to stop in Pisa for a few hours. What would be the easiest way to do that by train?
Any help would be appreciated.
Posted by
Seattle, Wa, USA
663 posts
Cars are basically an expensive and mostly useless thing to have in the areas you plan to visit. You cannot drive into the historical centers of most cities, including Cinque Terre. Parking is expensive. Gas is expensive. Roads have tolls. Plus each driver must have an international drivers permit, and you must buy expensive insurance for the rental car.
Trains are fast and cheap in Italy. If you know of any particular place you'd like to visit en route to CT, buy the train tickets accordingly and stop for a couple hours. Many train stations have baggage check for your luggage, but better to inquire about that in advance. Places you might decide to stop at along the way include Genoa and Portofino.
You can easily get to Pisa from CT by train. Check your bags at the station, then take a bus to the Field of Miracles. Plan to spend about 1-4 hours depending upon what you want to see there... less if all you want is a photo op of you and the leaning tower or more if you spend time in the Duomo, the Baptistry (definitely worth a visit), the museum (so so), and the cloisters. Then its less than an hour by train to Florence. Easy peasy.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16257 posts
In Milan, you will have an opportunity to attend Expo 2015.
http://www.expo2015.org/en/learn-more
I would not go through the hassle of renting a car for the trip to Cinque Terre just to make stops along the way. You may have trouble finding a place nearby to return it---Probably La Spezia is closest and then you would have to get to the train station and take the train to your village. Or you could keep the car and drive to your village, but for any but Monterosso you would have to park outside of town (above, in the hills) and walk in. The parking lots are costly and they can fill up. And navigating those roads in the hills is not easy. While walking the trails above Manarola! we crossed a road and found a car with four people who were trying to get to Vernazza. Their GPS had gotten them lost and while they had a map, neither we nor they could figure out which of the several roads branching out from that spot was the right one.
We drove along the coast to Portofino years ago and the road was mostly in tunnels, not scenic and somewhat scary. It looks like there are newer roads further inland but they may not offer access to the villages.
Better use of your time is to get to Cinque Terre and enjoy the place.
There are direct trains ( no changes) from Milano Centrale to Monterosso, gateway to the Cinque Terre, taking 3 hours. The 8:10 would be too early for us, but the 12:10 is perfect---time for a leisurely morning in Milan, then check out and go to the station. You will arrive in Monterosso at 15:03, where you change to the local train to your village. You will arrive at a good time to check in to your lodging ( if you arrive much earlier your room may not be ready and you would have to store luggage and come back). Then go out and explore and enjoy the views until it's time for dinner.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Your itinerary makes perfect sense by train and I see no reason to second-guess that list of destinations. Two nights in Cinque Terre is fine, but I'd go ahead and get there as directly as possible, no need to stop along the way, other than the required train connection(s).
How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it, but does not sell tickets. All schedules are currently published through June 13, not all later than that.