Hi! The last post I saw about Florence to Cinque Terre trains was from three years ago...and didn't quite answer my questions, so I hope you don't mind. The day that we leave Florence for Cinque Terre, we would like to stop in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower & hopefully climb the stairs; teenagers in our family :-) How long of a stop would you plan for Pisa? Thinking we would climb the Leaning Tower & grab lunch. (Any lunch spots you recommend, too?) :-) I understand there are two train stations, and central station is furthest away from the tower. Of course the high speed trains would be the most ideal between Florence & La Spezia. (Hence why I want to make reservations) Do I make one purchase on Trenitalia for Florence to Corniglia? Or purchase tickets separate? I imagine the answer is separate...so how long would you suggest the Pisa visit be? Many thanks for your help!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23276 posts
Given the uncertainty of your plans the high speed trains would NOT be the most ideal between Florence & La Spezia. I would book two Regionale train tickets -- Florence to Pisa and Pisa to Corniglla. Total time difference between a fast train and Regionale is about 45 minutes. The advantage to the Regionale train is that it is cheaper and NO assigned seats. Your Regionale ticket is good for any R train headed in the correct directions. Just get on and go. If you book any of the other faster trains, a reserved seat is required and your ticket is only good for that train at that time. Miss the train and you need a new ticket. Using the R trains, you can get to Pisa at anytime, spend as much time as you need, and then catch the next R train to CT. A lot less pressure on your schedule, cheaper, and only 45 minutes of extra travel time. Keep it simple.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15188 posts
I presume you will have luggage with you.
Take a regional train from Florence to Pisa Centrale. You can store your luggage at the station's DEPOSITO BAGAGLI
The walk from Pisa Centrale to the leaning tower is approximately 25 minutes. You can also take a bus (LAM ROSSA) and be there in 10 min (for less than 2 euro) or even faster with a taxi (which costs about 10€ but for a family still a bargain (4 people max, unless it's a taxi van).
Once you are done seeing the tower, the cathedral and the baptistery (in a couple of hours or so you can probably see all), make your way back to the Central Station to retrieve your luggage and take the first train to La Spezia. I don't think you'd save a lot of time by taking a high speed Intercity, but in any case I wouldn't buy in advance since you don't know how long you'd like to stay. Just wing it and buy on the spot. If you go with a regionale train it's really cheap and given the distance to SP it wouldn't be that much slower than an Intercity (o FrecciaBianca).
Pisa S. Rossore station (a secondary station right after Pisa Centrale on the way to La Spezia) is less than 10 min walk from the tower, but it doesn't have a luggage storage service, therefore I doubt it would work for your family.
Posted by
OP
USA
31 posts
Thank you so much to everyone for helping me figure out how to best have a visit in Pisa! I greatly appreciate your help, very much! Happy Traveling!
Posted by
Maryland
22 posts
I see mention in this post about luggage storage in Pisa. I'm trying to find out if there is luggage storage in La Spezia Centrale, anyone know? Very hard to find out for sure - one company comes up in a search but their site seems to indicated it is closed.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6079 posts
Google search first result
https://vertoe.com/luggage-storage/la-spezia/la-spezia-centrale
If you have the RS Italy guide book Rick usually mentions where there is luggage storage
Posted by
1 posts
The trains from Florence to the Cinque Terre stations are run by Trenitalia, so they may be covered by the pass: it depeends what pass you have bought. But the tickets are so cheap that it may not be a good use of a day of your pass - https://raileurope.tp.st/CJ5IIBG5