we will be going from Rome to Cinque Terre in May for a few days. how many days in Rome and then the CT? then we will travel to Paris. I am not sure how to get to Paris from the CT. any advice or suggestions
thanks
we will spend 5 days in Rome and about 3 in CT. after travel to Paris we are heading to London, so we do not have any time constraints. we were in Florence last April for a week and it was wonderful.
we prefer to travel by train as much as possible.
Best way to Paris is probably train to Pisa Airport (via people mover from Pisa Centrale) then fly to Paris. Easyjet has flights to Orly.
I'd fly from either Genoa, or Pisa or even from Nice Ville.
The only alternative, if you are staying in Monterosso, would be an Intercity train to Milano Centrale, a taxi to Milano P. Garibaldi station and finally a TGV train to Paris. Or an italian train from Milano Centrale to Torino Porta Susa station where you can board the French high speed trains to Paris.
Only you can say how long to stay in these places. Do you like to hike? Why are you going to the Cinque Terre? (Its lovely - just asking, many people go there to hike.) If you just want to check out the area, 3 nights would probably be plenty. There is more to see in the riviera besides the Cinque Terre. A week in the rivera could be fun, if you really have the time, but it sounds like you don't. Some people might enjoy a stop in Genoa (not my favorite city). You could train over to the French Riviera e.g. NIce if you want more time near the sea and fly from NIce to Paris or take the train from there.
If your time is limited, I'd try to fly out of Pisa or Genoa if you can get a good flight to Paris.
The five tiny villages get 2.5 million visitors per year, can be the worst places to stay in the entire country, especially when mega cruise ships are in port:
http://crew-center.com/la-spezia-italy-cruise-ship-schedule-2020
We stay further up the coast and fly from GOA to Paris.
..how many days in Rome and then the CT?
There's no good answer for this unless we know what sort of time you have and what sort of things you are interested in. I've spent nearly 2 weeks in Rome (over 3 trips) without seeing more than a fraction of it, and 3 nights in the CT without more than scratching the surface of the available hiking trails.
Outside of your question about the CT to Paris, what do you want to do and see in Rome and the CT, and how much time do you have to do that?
Editing to add: while the CT is often mobbed during high and shoulder seasons, if you are a hiker then you can lose a big chunk of the masses by heading up into the hills during peak visiting hours. Even just higher points of some of the villages themselves will experience less of the crush, as many day-trippers are unwilling to make the necessary steep climbs to upper churches, cemeteries (great views from those!!!) etc.
Sorry but I'll disagree with, "their destruction as a tourist destination largely due to over publicizing by Rick Steves." RS guidebooks are not widely used or his shows watched outside of North America. Visitors to the CT come from all over the world; we hiked with more fellow trekkers who didn't have English as their mother tongue than those who did.
It would help to know how many days you have for the Rome and Cinque Terre portions of your trip? You could easily spend two weeks in Rome and still not see everything. Depending on what you plan to do while staying in the Cinque Terre, three nights would be about right (IMO). Have you decided yet which of the five towns you plan to stay in?
Regarding getting from the Cinque Terre to Paris, in the same situation I'd use the suggestion from a previous reply... train to Pisa and an easyJet flight to Orly. If you decide to use that option, be sure to read their "Terms & Conditions" carefully, especially related to baggage limits. With the cheapest seats, they only allow one carry on item (that doesn't mean one carry on plus a personal item, it means ONE only of a specific size). I've found that the budget flight experience is much easier with some of the options such as Speedy Boarding and advance seat selection, and that provides more generous carry on limits as well.
Sorry but I'll disagree with, "their destruction as a tourist destination largely due to over publicizing by Rick Steves."
I disagree with your disagreeing. I remember how it was before Rick Steve's put the area on the US maps. You could sleep
in the fishermen's houses or in the winegrowers', not in B&Bs managed by an UK expat living in La Spezia.
There were only a few Italian tourists and some hikers from northern Europe complaining because the hikes were too easy and the pasta was raw. Then Keyser Söze triggered the avalanche putting the area into the spotlight as an "hidden treasure".
Today the issue is the cruise ships, not Rick Steves readers; but before Rick Steve's there were no US crowds and before the US crowds there were no ships at La Spezia.
Last, let's tell the truth... the Cinque Terre were nothing special even in the 80s! I tried to jump off a cliff to flee the boredom of country life.
""their destruction as a tourist destination largely due to over publicizing by Rick Steves.""
I agree with Kathy and Dario. The popularity of the Cinque Terre is not totally due to publicity by Rick Steves. A relative who was living in the U.K. many years ago was aware of that area before it ever appeared on the Rick Steves radar. Also many people in other parts of Europe seem to be aware of it judging by the day trippers I've seen there over the years. I doubt that many people in China and other countries that have been travelling there in the last few years have ever heard of Rick Steves. The fact that the C.T. is a UNESCO world heritage site may also be partially responsible.
