We are on Rick's "France My Way" tour this fall. We end in Nice on a Sunday and we want to get to Monterosso in the Cinque Terra by train. Is it better to spend a night in Genoa and then on to CT on Monday or is it possible to make the 2 or 3 train connections/transfers all in one day? I'm concerned about possible cancelled trains or delays and the fact that it is a Sunday with less trains in service. Thanks for any insight.
Betsy
Posted by
Washington DC
27104 posts
I haven't made that particular trip, but the connection times don't look too short to me. I'd plan to take one of the earlier trains (probably not later than the 10:37 AM) so if something did go wrong and I missed a connection, I could just wait for the next train at the transfer point and still not be too late into my destination.
Posted by
Chicago
7834 posts
I went from Monterosso to Nice with a change in Genoa in 5 hours, more or less.There is not necessarily less train service on a Sunday. I would just take the earliest one from Nice operated by Thello.
Posted by
Austin TX after living in Boulder CO for 25 years
1166 posts
We took the Thello train from Nice into Genoa last September, had lunch and walked the town, and rode the train into Monterosso - very easy to do in a day.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32202 posts
Betsy,
I've made that same trip and I'd recommend going directly from Nice to the Cinque Terre as it's only about a five hour trip. Don't waste a night in Genova.
It's too early to check rail timetables for October, however they probably won't vary much from the current schedules. I'd probably use the departure from Nice Ville at 09:30, arriving in Monterosso at 15:05 (time 5H:35M, 1 change at Genova Piazza Principe). I used an arbitrary date of Sunday 19 May to check this. The change in Genova is 1H:22M which is a bit long, but that solution will get you to the Cinque Terre in time to have a brief walkabout and then go for a fine meal at one of the excellent local restaurants.
The final segment of that trip from Genova to Monterosso is via Intercity train, so seat reservations will be required. If you wish to buy advance tickets, you might try https://www.thetrainline.com/?redirected=true as they sell tickets for trains both in France and Italy.
Posted by
OP
Fulltime RVer, All States, USA
10 posts
Thank you all for the helpful info. We will just do it all in 1 day. I just made my hotel reservation in Monterosso at one of Rick’s suggested hotels for the same day we leave Nice. I keep forgetting how easy it is to travel through different countries in Europe so fast.