La Spezia to the Cinque Terre

Hi Mark,

You will just transfer trains in La Spezia to the Regional train that goes to Cinque Terre. When you buy your ticket in Florence to CT it will include the regional train as well.

I hope you will be leaving early though so you have enough time in CT. It's approx. 2-2.5hrs from Florence to CT.

Have fun!

When I was there in early May, I think the La Spezia to Cinque Terre lines ran every 45 minutes to an hour depending on what time of day. It's only 8 minutes to Riomaggiore from La Spezia.

And if you need to kill some time in La Spezia before the next train and want some fresh air, there’s a small restaurant/kiosk right across the street from the station…you can grab a beer, bottled water, coke, sandwich, whatever and sit outside for a bit before heading back into the station. I thought it was a nice break after a long ride from Milan.

"I found out that there is a train that runs from Florence to La Spezia"

Actually, there are 22 trains a day that run from Florence to La Spezia Centrale. Once there, 44 local trains run from La Spezia Centrale to Monterosso and beyond. Fewer trains go to the other 4 CT towns. North Americans are surprised by the enormity of the Italian train system.

If you were to look at the runs from Florence to Vernazza, you would see nine runs for the day from Florence. That's the way the Trenitalia schedule works it. It figures out the train changes, time of day you select and the trains available at the time.

Buses do not run from La Spezia to the CT towns with this volume of trains. Besides, the trains are literally buses on tracks. They are far faster and the stations are in the center of the towns.

You can easily go from Florence to La Spezia Centrale and wait for the next local into the CT towns. Or, better yet, book a ticket from Florence to the town you want. There are no direct trains. Depending on the run, you could change trains in Pisa, La Spezia or even both. However you do it, its about 3.0hrs from Florence to the CT.

CLICK HERE to see the tyical morning schedule.

I was in Florence for the entire month of May (just came back yesterday from my trip) and found out from the Italian family I rented from that it was very easy to go to La Spezia and then to Cinque Terre on the train. I actually stayed at a hotel that was decent and inexpensive near the train station called the Hotel Firenze e Continentale--80 Euro a night for a very decent room with twin beds (which I had as a single). I made the reservation the morning I arrived, in fact. I walked about 3 minutes down the street to the train station and I was in Riomaggiore, the most southern CT town, in about 10 minutes on the train. I would say the trains run about 2-3 an hour all day. You can get a train pass at the La Spezia station for Cinque Terre for unlimited train rides per period (I think I paid 8ish Euros for a one-day pass). You also have the ferry dock there which for 21 Euros goes maybe 3 times a day to several of the CT towns (there is one that doesn't have a dock, so not there). It wasn't going the day I was there for because of higher tides.

However, where you can go by public bus from La Spezia (recommended by a young guy on the train from Florence who lives there) was the town of Portovenere, which is next to CT and just across the bay from La Spezia. The bus ride winds around the hills among delightful colorful houses and is very pleasant in itself. This is a little fishing village on an inlet, and it is so charming and the sound of the tide is so muted and tranquil -- with a line of nice if touristy restaurants and a beautiful small marina--actually probably the most romantic place I went to in 6 weeks in Italy (including even Venice). FWIW, Portovenere means "Port of Venus." For my money, Poertovenere is prettier than any of the CT towns and much less tourist-filled.

I would also recommend a great inexpensive but good restaurant in La Spezia called All'Inferno. Just ask people how to get there.