Cinque Terre around Christmas

Cinque Terre is not a great place to go in the winter season because much of the town shuts down. You will probably have some difficulty finding accommodations and it is true that the trails might be closed.

December is definitely not a time to go to the Cinque Terre. The CT close down mid November to Mid March.

You may consider adding 1-2 nights to the other destinations on your list.

Keep in mind that spending 2 nights in any one particular destination, equals to one full day to explore & enjoy said destination.

Enjoy!

You need at least 3 nights in Venice and at least 3 nights in Florence alone. You don't need a night in Pisa, you can visit it from Florence. There isn't much to see and there are 56 trains a day going and 56 coming back every day, the journey ranges from 49 min to 70 min each way.
Florence is an excellent base to visit lots of towns in Tuscany (Lucca+Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, Pistoia, and many others), therefore reallocate your nights to Florence as much as you can. Add each night for each day trip.
Dump the Cinque Terre. It's not the right time to go there. If you absolutely need to go there, you can visit on a day trip from Florence or make a stop on your way to Genoa.
I presume you must have family in Genoa or you must have visited pretty much every other place in Italy, otherwise Genoa wouldn't be making my list of places to visit.

I don't have family in Genoa but it's on the way to Nice (I'm going to France after Italy) and I read about what a great city it is for foodies.

I'll scratch Cinque Terre and try to get back there at some other point. I just really wanted to hike the coastline and all that. I'll be solo, as well.

So 3 nights in Venice, 3 in Florence... and add 3 nights Rome to my itinerary (?).

Thanks for the advice!

Rome is kind of a detour, but if you've never been there before, you might as well add 3 nights. You might even decrease Genoa to one night only, if all you want is dinner before heading out to Nice. If you've been to Rome before, just add nights to Florence and take a bunch of day trips within Tuscany. It's hard to give advice, there are so many things one might be interested in. But in December, it's better to stick to cities and towns, which offers lots of indoor places to see, because coast, beaches and countryside may not be the best to visit in winter.

I've never been to Venice in December but I've heard and read that winter full-moons can cause an event called Acqua alta (google it) which is characterized by significant flooding. Be advised that December 14th is a full moon. Maybe our Italian friends on the forum can provide a little insight.

I'm seeing that Rome is 1.5 hours south of Florence. That doesn't seem like too much of a detour to me and I've never been to Italy at all.

After doing a little more research on visiting Venice in winter, it seems like it will be fun... Acqua Alta is actually cited as a reason to go,
"the desertion of the streets in winter is magical, and the sight of the Piazza San Marco under flood water is unforgettable."
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/venice-italys-winter-wonderland-2153884.html

"walks of Italy" has a lot of great information, too!
https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/venice/flooding-acqua-alta-tips

I know it's not the best time of year to be traveling, but it is what it is. I'm taking sabbatical to press "restart" and I just want to wander to places I've never been. I was hoping that the cold weather would mean interesting hiking opportunities. But alas, I'll figure that out.

Here is the rest of my trip, for those interested:

11/3-11/13 - Armenia (visiting my sister, who's in the Peace Corps)
11/13-11/18 - Copenhagen
11/18-12/16 - Germany (lengthy stay in Berlin, then taking trains to other cities to experience Christmas markets, ending in Munich)
12/16-12/29 - Italy (Venice + Florence definitely, now probably Rome)
12/29-1/3 - Barcelona (flying there from Nice or Rome to spend NYE with my sister)
1/3-1/24 - France (lengthy stay in Monaco/Nice/Provence, then north to Lyon and Paris)
1/25-1/31- London

I will be doing some WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) as well as just general leisurely wandering. A client turned me on to this travel forum, so grateful to have advice your advice!

Yes Rome is only 1.5 hours from Florence, but the distance is not short. It's just that there is a bullet train that takes you there that fast. From Rome to the Cinque Terre, along the coastal railway, it will be over 4 hours, since trains there aren't traveling on a high speed railway. If you have the time and it's your first time in Italy, definitely go to Rome. It will be time well spent, more so than at the Cinque Terre in December. If you can spare 4 nights for Rome, even better.

Please be aware that WWOOFing is considered working and that is not allowed based on the travel visa that is automatically given to US residents upon arrival in Schengen countries. You don't mention your residency so it may work for you, but if you have a US based passport you will need to make other plans.

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't realize that about WWOOF. Seems strange to me, but I'll look into the details of getting a work visa... I was only planning on staying at 2-3 farms on my whole trip (In Germany and France). If I can't get a work visa then I guess I'll just travel.

To add to the already good advice you have received from Roberto and the other posters, you might consider flying from Rome to Nice, which would save you some time and can be inexpensive if you book the flight ahead. See www.skyscanner.com for options.

For instance, Easy Jet has a flight on 12/29 for $63 (1 hour 15 min.) as compared to 4.5-5.5 hours on the train to Genoa, a night or two there, then another 3-4 hours to Nice. The flight could be a good option, especially if you aren't interested in Genoa.