My daughter and I will be spending 2 weeks in Aix en Provence and then heading to Cinque Terra (2 nights in Vernazza)from Nice and 3 nights in Florence before heading back to Paris in June 2009. Do we need to change trains between Nice and Vernazza? What is the cost? When I try to plug in Nice to Vernazza on sncf, it won't allow me. Is that because it is going from France to Italy? Has anyone taken the Florence to Paris train? Is it possible to fly more cheaply?
Posted by
Edmonton, AB, Canada
668 posts
Susan:
Try the German site, they cover just about all of Europe. English link at the end of this post
To answer at least part of your question. You will almost certainly have to change trains. The CT is a sort branch line, though it does go all the way through, but you can probably chnage at Genoa or LaSpecia to a local train. We did this from Villefranche-sur-mer, but were going to Pisa than back to CT. Changed at Genoa on teh way down and LaSpezia on the way back.
We went from Paris, but to Pisa not to Florence. Paris-Geneva-Nice-Villefranche-sur-Mer - Monaco - Genoa - Pisa.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?ld=212.125&rt=1&newrequest=yes&
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You will need to change trains in Ventimiglia. From there at some times of the day you can go directly to Vernazza and at other times of the day you will have to change in Genova or in one of the smaller towns between Genova and Vernazza.
To get the fares for Nice-Vernazza, you have to use both the SNCF site and the Trenitalia site. The fare on a regional train for Nice-Ventimiglia is €6.40. The fare on a regional train for Ventimiglia-Vernazza is €12.90. If you have to take an ICPlus train from Ventimiglia to Genova and a regional train from there to Vernazza, the fare is €19.80.
If you book well in advance, flying easyJet from Pisa to Paris Orly will be cheaper than taking a multi-leg day train route from Florence or for beds in a 2-bed sleeper on the direct night train.
However, if you book as far in advance as possible (up to 90 days allowed) at www.tgv-europe.com, you can get PREMS fares of €35 for a bunk in a 6-person couchette and €45 for a bunk in a 4-person couchette on the night train. (It's worth paying a little more for the extra space and comfort.) To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares, choose Great Britain as both your country of residence and the country in which you will retrieve your tickets. Don't worry. You can pick up your tickets at any SNCF station or boutique in France (like Nice).
Posted by
St. Louis, MO, USA
53 posts
Susan, you may have all your answers by now, but I've been researching Nice to Vernazza for a trip in June, and you have to change trains in Genova Piazza Principe or in Ventimiglia. The EC and ICplus trains get there faster, but Trenitalia says you have to reserve your seat in Italy on the ICplus from Genova to Levanto. That would mean standing in line during the transfer time. We're not used to train travel, so I feel uptight about that, unless somehow we can reserve in Nice. There are also regional trains that don't require a reservation. Mainly I'm just worried about finding the right train in the station.
Good luck.
Jinny
St. Louis, MO 3/16/09
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
There are several runs a day from Nice Ville to Florence. The fares run from 26Euro-39Euro depending on the run. The reason for the difference is that some runs have the faster ICPlus and/or Eurocity trains. They are more expensive to ride than the regional trains.
For Florence to Paris, there are a couple of night train options but there is one with no train changes to Paris-Bercy. The website shows 105Euros for a 4-person couchette and the trip will take just over 12hrs.
For flights, no budget airlines out of Florence going to France. However, if you take the train to Pisa airport, easyJet flies from Pisa to Paris-Orly. EasyJet has fares as low as 34Euro on up.