Cinque Terre for 2 days - Iten. suggestions.

Relax on the beach. Take it slow. Do some hiking between the towns. YOU MUST HAVE PESTO PIZZA! It's absolutely amazing! Just relax. There isn't much to see. The CT is a cultural experience and a point of relaxation more than it is a place to see the sights. It, in and of itself, is the only sight you need. Oh, and don't forget to watch the cats taking their cat naps on sunny days in the parking lot above Vernazza. Cats basking on warm car hoods is universal.

Thanks a lot. I should have been more clear, what I mean is how to get to and from CT to other parts of Italy.
We are taking the night train to Genoa from Paris. Reaching Genoa in the day, staying two days. Leaving for Rome by the 7 am train, staying in Rome for 3 days and then heading to Venice. From Venice heading to Frankfurt at night. Is this a good way or any other suggestions?

Yes,this is true. But just wondering whats the best iten
1) take overnight train from Paris to Genoa
2) Train back from Genoa to Rome
3) Train from Rome to Venice
4) Train from Venice to Frankfurt

(OR)
1) Fly from Paris to Milan and then take Milan -Genoa Train
2) Same step (2) to (4) as above

(OR) any other options?

Option q would be the best, but remember the train in CT is slow and old: takes a transfer to get to Rome. Also I would stay in Monterosso, not the smaller towns: you can still do the CT hike. What to do? Relax, swim and eat. Rent a chair at a beach in Monterosso, have lunch, etc.

We stayed at Monterossa in Sept. My husband did the hike in 2 day segments. I took the boat ride between the the town at got of and walked around Vernazza. My husband took the boat ride with me the second morning and then headed out to hike what he had missed the day before. We went from Rome to CT and took a reserved train from Rome to La Spieza then changed to a Monterosa train, so I guess you could do that backwards. It was a pleasant coast ride from Rome to La Spieza. Check the train web site. There is one train a day that does this run, otherwise the other way to go makes you change trains 3 or 4 times from what I found.

just got back two days ago. we took two days to hike the 5 towns. it was wonderful,not sure how the weather will be by the time you get there, it was t-shirt weather when we were there two weeks ago and my husband did swim one day. beautiful scenary, but you had better be in good shape to do some parts of the hike. The little regional trains are a little tricky to figure out; they often don't announce the stops. One trick I learned by the second train trip. at the station before you board, write down the names of every town you will stop at (and the regional trains stop at every little bitty town) so then you will know when your stop is coming up. we got to Vernazza at night after a long plane ride and train from Milan and the train was practically deserted and we didn't know when to get off. Ask the passengers, study up on survival Italian, it really helps.

Once you arrive in the CT, the trains are mostly local. You can easily train between the towns. You can even get a special pass for unlimted train rides. You can get the pass at any Trenitalia station from Levanto to La Spezia. When you choose to depart, you most likely will need to go further south to La Spezia or Viareggio to transfer to a train to Rome. From Rome, you can get a nice Eurostar to Venice. From Venice to Frankfurt, you're looking at a 11hr-12hr journey via Verona, Italy, through Austria and then into Germany.

The only real thing to do in Cinque Terra is hike the trail between towns. Mostly it's a place to relax, see the small waves roll in, watch the sunsets and have nice meals.

Train to La Spezia and change to Roma train makes the most sense.

So once I get to Genoa, I have to use the local trains to get to CT right? And then how do I get to the southern stations to get to Rome?
Like I am not sure of the train stop names and routes. Is there a website?

Not exactly. Many trains that stop at Genoa proceed further south. Some may stop in the CT and some may not. If the train from Paris is destined for Genoa, then it may not proceed farther south. At that point, you change to another train going into the CT. It's about an hour south. Most likely you will board a train that is destined for La Spezia, or Pisa. It just happens to go through the CT. Now note that all trains local to the CT don't all stop at the five towns. Most will stop at all five towns. However, some runs skip Vernazza, Corniglia and Manarola. Isn't this fun? It's not really confusing. At Genoa, as with all Italian train stations, you will see a large wonderful sign behind glass that lists by hour, every train departing the station. It's a 24-hour listing. The sign list every stop for every departing train. Where in the CT do you need to get off? I can send you a list of trains. You can also go to www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html. It's all there.

Just got back from Cinque Terre. A lot of the big trains also stop in Monterosso on their way to either Pisa or Rome