Train from Cinque Terre to Nice

Garry, As Larry mentioned, there are most definitely trains operating on that route (I know that, as I've travelled on them). Which of the five towns of the Cinque Terre will you be departing from? Using Monterosso as an example, the trip will range from 5H:10M to 6H:29M with one two changes, depending on which train / departure time / town you choose. There will always be a change at Ventimiglia, as that's the border crossing point. Depending on what time you want to arrive in Nice, I'd probably consider a departure from Monterosso at 06:55, arriving Nice Ville at 12:35 (time 5H:40M, 2 changes at Genova Piazza Principe and Ventimiglia). Again as mentioned, it's very easy to just buy tickets when you're there, a few days before you'll be travelling. Some of the trips may be on Regionale trains, so can't be pre-booked (DON'T forget to validate!). In my experience, the ticket offices in Italy (or France) may not be able to sell tickets for the entire journey. If you buy tickets in Monterosso, they will get you to Ventimiglia, where you can buy tickets for the final segment. The departure I suggested has a 40 minute layover at Ventimiglia, so lots of time to buy tickets. I've been having a few issues with the Trenitalia and DB websites this week, and it's possible that schedules are being revised. If you want to check the route, use the Swiss Rail website. Buon Viaggio!

Gary, numerous trains a day make this run. Here's why you can't see it or buy it at this time. First, you can only buy this run from either SNCF, Trenitalia or RailEurope. All other sites are informative but you cannot buy from them. Here is a link from www.bahn.de, the German rail website. http://gyazo.com/752c0af997cab8d5c4a73572f50d4594 Second, this is an international run. SNCF doesn't seem to see any towns in the CT. Trenitalia used to be able to see Nice Ville (the station you want) but I can't see it now. Third, all trains making this run will be on the intercity and/or Regionale trains. These trains are slower and make more stops. Journey time is 5.5-6.5hrs. Fourth, you are looking out to far if you are looking in July on Trenitalia. On the French SNCF, you can look out 90 days. For Trenitalia, its 119 days but there is a wrinkle here on the Italian train website. Trenitalia u-p-d-ates their schdules twice a year - mid-June and mid-December. Beyond these u-p-date period, you can see the high-speeds up to 119 days out but it's hard to see the Regionale trains. Right now, I get a blank page for July if I enter Monterosso/Nice Ville. For, RailEurope, they are ticket brokers and they are showing "our system cannot find tickets or schedules for this trip". The journeys that www.bahn.de shows in the above link is an estimate. For overall information, this is the best train website in Europe. But, they will show you what they have and u-p-date after Trenitalia u-p-dates.

Sorry I ran out of room in the above message before telling you that the bottom line at this time is that you can see the run but you cannot book it. Next, I know that this is hard to believe but you can easily buy the tickets 2-3 days in advance when you get to Italy. For Reginale trains, no additional discount online. No seat reservations and the trains cannot be sold out. For the intercity, you can buy online in advance. Any discount is very slight. If you are coming to the CT from either Florence or Milan, you can easily buy the tickets in advance from these locations. If you are coming from Florence, its mostly all Regionale trains to the CT and you can't buy those in advance online either unless its within 7 days of travel.

On this same general topic, how much time should we plan for the train changes along the way? My family and I have a trip planned to Europe this summer and will be traveling from Manarola to Paris via train. Looking at doing this leg through Nice but don't know how much time we should plan for train changes (is the amount of time the DB Bahn site lists adequate?), especially for the train change in Nice Ville (switch from regional train to TGV). Is the 29 minutes the schedule shows adequate (especially given we have muliple train changes along the way)? Thanks,
Lindsay

Lindsay, The connection times shown on the DB site are adequate. As little as ten minutes would be plenty of time to make a connection at Nice Ville. However, the key for you will not be how many connections you make between Manarola and Nice but whether the regional train from Ventimiglia to Nice arrives on time. And the odds are very much in your favor.

I've taken trains from Monterosso to Nice-Ville a couple of times. I think there were train changes in Genova and Ventimiglia (the Italian names for these towns).
By starting very early in the am, I arrived in Nice at noon or 1 pm. Try entering dates for this week just to see what is available. Many of the trains are regional and don't take reservations. Just buy tickets at the train station at least a day in advance for very early trains. It's the French train system (SNCF) from Ventimiglia (Ventimille) to Nice. Try using the station "La Spezia Centrale" for your CT end of the journey. Most (maybe all) trains heading north thru that area stop in La Spezia. Some also stop in Riomaggiore &/or Monterosso.

especially for the train change in Nice Ville (switch from regional train to TGV) I don't get why you will be changing onto a TGV at Nice Ville if your destination as specified in your OP is Nice. You will be there when you arrive. Nice Ville is the main station in Nice.

Tim - thanks for the input. I was hoping the general times listed on the DB Bahn site would be adequate, but wasn't sure how "on time" the trains tended to run. From what I've seen, the regional trains the the ones to be most concerned with. Getting to Nice Ville earlier is an option, but we would have to leave Manarola 3 hours earlier to get us into Nice ~1 hour before the TGV departure to Paris. Would prefer to not have the multiple long waits with some train changes... Nigel, sorry, I latched onto this same thread with a different question since we're traveling on from Nice to Paris and want/need to do this in a single day. Thanks!
Lindsay

OK, so now I get why you want to change in Nice. But, my gosh, that's one hell of a slog, isn't it? Good grief. Can't you drop anchor somewhere along the way? You do know that although the train you will board in Nice is a TGV that it just creeps along until it gets clear of the mountains, well on the way to Avignon? Aside from looking out the windows (left side) of the train from Ventimiglia to Nice at the lovely Med - you will have seen it from the other side in the CT - for 15 minutes you won't see anything? Any time in and around Nice Ville station is a loss - seriously ugly. You would need a bit of real time to enjoy Nice. How long is your layover? Did you say one hour? Why don't you think of the simpler route - via Turin? IE (based on this week): Manarola Friday, 15.03.13 dep 13:27 R 24494 Sestri Levante Friday, 15.03.13 arr 14:13 Transfer time 6 min. - you can leave on an earlier train to make this more painless Sestri Levante Friday, 15.03.13 dep 14:19 IC 510 Intercity Subject to compulsory reservation, Global price Torino Lingotto Friday, 15.03.13 arr 16:45 Transfer time 16 min. Torino Lingotto Friday, 15.03.13 dep 17:01 R 4523 2nd class only Torino Porta Susa Friday, 15.03.13 arr 17:08
Transfer time 27 min. Torino Porta Susa Friday, 15.03.13 dep 17:35 TGV 9248 TGV Subject to compulsory reservation, Global price, Bar coach Paris Gare de Lyon Friday, 15.03.13 arr 23:19 Simples...

but wasn't sure how "on time" the trains tended to run Of course it goes without saying that how on time the trains tend to run is completely irrelevant. It only matters how on time the trains you are taking on the day are.

Thanks for the alternate route suggestion Nigel. I think taking this path is likely a better option even though it gets us into Paris an hour later. Regards,
Lindsay