FLORENCE to CINQUE TERRE and back (an overlooked option)

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜ (San Francisco Bay Area (USA)) on 03/21/16 07:31 PM

This message is to the Travel Advisers to this board.
When giving advice to individuals who want to travel to the Cinque Terre from Florence via train, be aware of an another option introduced for this Jubilee year. It's a FrecciaBianca from Rome to Genova (and back) passing through Florence (Firenze Campo di Marte). That is probably the fastest option from Florence to the Cinque Terre for a day trip (or for any trip).

FrecciaBianca 9758
Firenze CM: departs at 7:38
La Spezia C: arrives at 9:11

FrecciaBianca 9787
La Spezia C.: departs at 20:06
Firenze CM: arrives at 21:40

Posted by Dan

Winooski, VT

03/21/16 08:31 PM

285 posts

This is interesting, I wish it stopped in Montecatini Terme as this would make for quick work for a trip to CT for us. Still looks like the drive toe the La Spezia Centrale station and parking makes the most sense from a time perspective.

Posted by Nigel

Northamptonshire, England

03/21/16 08:42 PM

32801 posts

That's a great piece of information, Roberto...

I guess that the proposed limits on Cinque Terre won't be going in then, if Trenitalia will be getting those folk who used to use the IC to La Spezia even more quickly.

Not that the Bianca is all that huge of a jump beyond the IC service.

Faster?

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜ OP

San Francisco Bay Area (USA)

03/21/16 10:48 PM

15195 posts

The new FrecciaBianca service from Firenze Campo di Marte is the fastest direct train service from Florence to La Spezia.

It's 1 hr 33 min as opposed to 2h 30 min with the direct Regionale trains. The cost is a bit higher (Base price with the FB is 26.50€ instead of 13.50€ with the regionale), but if one is pressed with limited time and prefers the comfort of a Freccia rather than the Regionale commuter, that is the answer.

There is no InterCity service from Florence to La Spezia. The Intercity service is available only from Pisa, therefore one would need to take the Regionale from Florence to Pisa, then connect to the IC in Pisa. The FrecciaBianca saves you a train change and is faster overall.

A way to do the Cinque Terre as a day trip from Florence could be to take the FrecciaBianca to La Spezia in the morning (then a regionale to any of the 5 towns), so that you arrive at the Cinque Terre by 10am, early enough for a hike. To return to Florence in the evening, when the sun is set at the Cinque Terre, then one could take a slower train and maybe stop in Pisa for a quick view of the tower before heading back to Florence.