My husband and I are spending our summer in Europe and are wonding about travel between stops. We are staying in Paris until mid July, then our next stay will be in Italy in the Cinque Terre. We are wondering the best way to get from Paris to Cinque Terre and were considering stoping in Monte Carlo on our way? Any suggestions on how to travel (would like to try a car but are open to rail or bus) between Paris and Monte Carlo, and then from Monte Carlo to Cinque Terre would be appreciated! Also, would you recommend one day travel or two.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
From Paris to Monte Carlo, you can take the train (under 6 hours) or fly to Nice airport and take a bus to Monte Carlo. To find flights, use http://www.skyscanner.com. To find trains, use http://www.tgv-europe.com. Choose Great Britain as your country, and France as your ticket collection country, and refuse to be redirected to Rail Europe. From Monte Carlo to the Cinque Terre, you can take trains, but there will be several changes. Flying may be possible (nearest airport is Pisa) but may not save time since you then have to get from Pisa to the CT town of your choice. And driving will cost a lot unless you are returning to France, since a car rented in one country and returned to another comes with a very high surcharge (people have posted fees here of 500-600 euros).
Posted by
Kansas
1175 posts
We took the TGV train Paris to Monte Carlo, around 6 hours. We booked tickets 1st class, upper level, at 90 days prior to travel and got very inexpensive tickets. Booking at 90 days gets the best price, nearly the price of 2nd class booked a the station on the day of travel. We selected seats on the right hand side of the coach to view the Mediterranean waters as the train went slower along the coast. We chose to travel to Monte Carlo rather than stop at Nice. We didn't go on to CT so can't help you with that. We spent two nights in Monte Carlo which was just right. We got a reduced rate at a hotel overlooking the yacht basin by asking for an upgrade upon arrival.