Steve,
I am planning a five day train route begining in Florence. I see I can go toward La Spezie from Florence to get to Cinque Terre but which route should I take to Venice? Would I have to back track?
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Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Steve, the route from Florence to the CT will take you through Pisa and La Spezia. No train goes directly to the CT. Thus, you will need to change trains at Pisa or La Spezia to complete your journey. Not difficult at all.
From the CT to Venice, most runs do return to Florence where you change trains for Venice. Others can go through Genoa and Milan if you're further north into the CT or Levanto. IMO, the best run is the 7:52am train out of La Spezia for Venice. This train will go through Parma and terminate in Bologna where you will change trains. In Bologna, I suggest the Eurostar into Venezia Santa Lucia. The whole trip has great scenery.
HERE'S THE LINK to a sample train schedule.
Note that we found it thrilling to arrive in Venice in the early afternoon. We got so much done learning our way around and setting up the things we wanted to see. It was like having an extra day.