Will be traveling from Nice by train to Monterosso (new town) in Cinque Terre....anyone familiar with the train route and what the current condition of train travel to CT is. We will be visiting the beginning of July....Would we take Euro Rail? Would appreciate any information or suggestions. Thank you
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
loretta, The trip from Nice to Monterosso is relatively easy. The trip ranges from about 5.5 to 6.5 hours, depending on which train you choose. You'll be travelling from Nice Ville. If you used a departure at 07:55, you'd arrive at 13:56 (time 6H:01M, two changes at Ventimiglia and Genova Piazza Principe, reservations compulsory on one leg). If you'd prefer not to travel that early, there are lots of other departures including one at 10:26 that only has one change in Ventimiglia. Train travel in the Cinque Terre is currently "business as usual", and the trains are stopping in all of the towns. They will likely be busy in July, so you'll have to be prepared for that. One note to mention - Rail Europe (Euro Rail) is a marketing firm and doesn't actually operate trains. You'll be travelling on the rail systems of each country, which will vary (SNCF in France and Ferrovie dello Stato in Italy). The change at Ventimiglia is usually inevitable, as that's where the change from the French to Italian rail system takes place. You can purchase your tickets at Nice Ville, which will include reservations if required. Your Car No. and Seat No. will be specified on the ticket. I can't recall if they're able to sell a ticket for the entire route. Last time I travelled from Nice to Stresa, the office at Nice Ville was only able to provide a ticket to Milan, and I then had to purchase a ticket from Milan to Stresa. Hopefully one of the others can provide further information on that point. In any case, it's not difficult to buy another ticket when you arrive in Ventimiglia. Happy travels!
Posted by
Minneapolis
1261 posts
Hi loretta. You will take a French train from Nice to the border town Ventimiglia, then change to the Italian train system. Depending on which train / time you pick in Ventimiglia, you may change again in Genoa. The whole trip will take 5-6 hours. You can see the schedules at web site trenitalia.com. It will not show you info for July yet, use a date in the next 7 days to see sample info. For this trip, i would suggest to not buy tix in advance online; just buy your tix when there. The trains to CT are running normally; they were only disrupted for a short time after the floods. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
SNCF (French National Rail) will show you timetables for Nice Ville-Ventimiglia but not beyond Ventimiglia. Trenitalia (Italian National Rail) will show you timetables for Ventimiglia to Monterosso but not from Nice to Ventimiglia. To see all possible trains, including regional trains, enter a date within the next seven days. German National Rail (www.bahn.de) is the best train timetables site for virtually all of Europe and will show you detailed timetables for the entire route (Nice-Monterosso). Are you an earlybird? According to the Bahn timetables, you can leave Nice Ville at 05:25, connect in Ventimiglia and La Spezia, and arrive in Monterosso at 10:54. Or you can leave at 05:25, make only one connection (Ventimiglia) and arrive in Monterosso at 11:55. The second route is cheaper because it's all on regional trains.