Nice-Cinque Terre-Pisa-Florence... Is this a doable adventure?

1. It depends on what time you arrive in Monterosso from Nice. It is 4 hour plus train ride. There is bag storage there. The bottom line the charm of Cinque Terre is at night when the human traffic tourist jam of other day trippers from cruise ships have gone. It looks and feels better after 5 compared to full sun and thousands of tourists walking in each other's heels. I was there in 2016 and it has gotten worse as far as crowds since then.

2. No to a guide. The train Cinque Terre Express stops at all 5 villages and terminates at La Spezia. I can't see what a guide would do.

3. You can if you don't have any trouble walking about a mile about 25 minutes. That's the way I did it on a day trip from Monterosso where I stayed 3 nights.

No, I don't think your plan is doable as a pass through. Even without a stop, the trip from Nice to Florence is over 7 hours. If you were to attempt it, you would need to book separate tickets- the first to Monterosso, and the second from Monterosso (or laSpezia) to Florence on a regionale train.

The CT is 5 separate villages, connected by train, roads, hiking trails (between some but not all) and ferry (not Corniglia). It is barely possible to see all 5 villages in an entire day, never mind in the VERY few hours you would have available. And you would arrive in Monterosso at the most crowded time of day, when all the other day trippers are packing the towns and trains. A guide is unnecessary.

The train from Monterosso to Florence stops at Pisa Centrale. To get to the Field of Miracles, you would first need to store your luggage, then take a taxi or walk about 20 minutes. On a regional ticket, you would have time for a very brief stop. Otherwise you would run out of time to complete the train journey, and would need to buy a new ticket to Florence. Or to be safe, book separate tickets- Monterosso to Pisa and Pisa to Florence.

While I could see the temptation to knock off a few items on a checklist of places to see, in reality it's a marathon of different trains interspersed with just glimpses of the places you want to see. And no time to really experience or enjoy them.

CT is also NOT an easy day trip from Florence, given the amount of time just getting there and back. It really needs, at minimum, an overnight stay.

I would go to Portofino over the Cinque Terre. It is so much more charming.

Are you still planning on going to Paris?

Why are you going to Nice? We've been everywhere you've mentioned except for CT. I read your other post. You seem to want to do a 4 month semi-grand tour in 2 weeks.

Florence to CT is not an easy day trip. CT has devolved from the postcard images you've seen into an over touristed headache. There's not really anything to do other than try to see the vista. There's tons of better ways to spend your precious time trying to got to CT, which will be 80% travel to and from.

I understand the desire to see everything. I went to Europe for the first time as a high school student in 1966 and my wife and I have been back numerous times since then. Since you only have two weeks, I urge you to spend one week in Paris and one week in Florence and not spread yourself too thin.

It looks like you are still trying to put a size 8 foot into a size 6 shoe. If you manage to do it, it will be painful

Doing a 'whistle stop' to/through all the CT towns would be daunting even if you had a way to magically make you luggage go to Florence on its own. Trying to see the villages while toting your bags is ....... hmm, I am at a loss for the right word(s) to express how bad an idea that is. ( storing the bags in Monterosso means backtracking to retrieve them which is only by the slimmest margin not a s bad as lugging them with you all day long)

Any advice appreciated!

Accept the fact you cannot do everything on your wish list in 2 weeks. Make the hard decisions to cut back and plan a trip you will enjoy, not merely survive.

We would like to spend time in Florence and Cinque Terre in ‘25. Please comment as to itinerary, best months and cooking classes. About two to three weeks?

Hwillisiii, please start your own thread. Your post is unlikely to be seen by very many people.

rgainey324, Reading this post and your previous posts, I suggest that your travel enthusiasm has morphed into a see-it-all mania that will interfere with enjoying your adventure to the fullest. Resolve that this is not your last trip to Europe - you'll be back. For this leg, just go from Nice to Florence and settle in - Florence has much to offer and if you feel constrained you can take an impromptu day trip to Pisa or Lucca. The Cinque Terre day trip is possible from Florence, but it makes for a long day of travel w/o the relaxed reward that makes the best travel experiences.