Hi,
I am in the midst of planning our itinerary for a 3 week trip to France and Italy. I've never done the Cinque Terra, so from Florence we're going to go there for a few days and then back to Paris. This will be in the first week of May, so I'm not expecting fantastic weather on the coast, but I am sure the views will be awesome. I have two major questions --
For a first time visit to Cinque Terra what would be the best city to use as a base?
And what is a good way to get to Paris by train? I can't seem to get a route suggested to me by RailEurope.
Shelley
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32470 posts
sg,
Everyone here has their favourite town in the Cinque Terre, and my preference is Monterosso. It's the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants and other amenities. One suggestion though - for travel in May it would prudent to get a hotel booked SOON!!!
Regarding your trip to Paris, FORGET using Rail Europe as a source for travel information or rail schedules. The best website to use for information on rail travel just about anywhere in Europe is the German Rail website.
Travel from the Cinque Terre to Paris is going to be a LONG travel day. One of the quickest and easiest (fewest changes) is a departure from Monterosso at 05:17, arriving Paris Gare de Lyon at 16:11 (time 10H:54M, 2 changes at Milano Centrale and Torino Porta Susa, reservations compulsory on all three legs).
A quicker and more efficient method would be to travel via budget airline on that route. Again using Monterosso as an example, travel by train to Pisa Centrale (time 1H:12M direct), take the PisaMover Bus (currently €1.30 PP one way) to the airport and then travel by air to Paris ORY. EasyJet has daily flights departing at about 15:45 (flight time ~1H:40M, current prices indicated at €56 PP). If you decide to use that method, be sure to read the Terms & Conditions carefully when you book, especially related to luggage. Note that in many cases, the cheaper tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable, so choose carefully. There are several methods for transportation from ORY into central Paris, including the automated ORLYVAL train to Antony station, and then RER "B" into the city.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
360 posts
We stayed in the CT in May two years ago and loved it -- I couldn't agree more that Monterosso made for a great base and we were so glad that's where we were. There are so many more restaurants/options than the other cities, and we also enjoyed sitting on the beach at the end of a long day of walking. We stayed at Hotel Colonnina (a reco from the RS book) and really enjoyed going to this cute enoteca every night called Enoteca Eliseo (also an RS reco).