Florence or Cinque Terre advice?

[fthomas31]

Anyone up for comparing Florence to Cinque Terre? My dear friend loves Florence and does not want me to miss it, but with a 2 1/2 hour transfer each way DCL's "do it on your own" excursion gives us approx. 4 1/2 hours in the city. Is this enough time to enjoy the city? Do you know if the drive is scenic so the time passes quickly? I'm debating because DCL's ship docks in La Spezia so I do not lose "5 hours" in travel time and I've read a variety of positive reviews for Cinque Terre.

[GSPLover]

Anyone up for comparing Florence to Cinque Terre? My dear friend loves Florence and does not want me to miss it, but with a 2 1/2 hour transfer each way DCL's "do it on your own" excursion gives us approx. 4 1/2 hours in the city. Is this enough time to enjoy the city? Do you know if the drive is scenic so the time passes quickly? I'm debating because DCL's ship docks in La Spezia so I do not lose "5 hours" in travel time and I've read a variety of positive reviews for Cinque Terre.

 

Kind of a tough call. Docking in La Spezia would cause one to lean heavily towards Cinque Terre (15 min away by train). CT is not for anybody that has mobility problems; steep streets, stairs at the train stations, stairs on the side streets (generally very steep). Very beautiful and lovely to visit.

 

As for Florence. 4½ hours will give you a slight feel for the city if you exclude any museum visits. Enough time to catch the highlights. The route from La Spezia to Florence is slightly to moderately scenic; not at all boring and it will go quickly.

 

Never been to either, I'd lean towards Florence. It is a beautiful city.

[Hlitner]

We happen to love both places (and a lot of other places throughout Italy) but we do not know anyway to compare the two since they are totally different. Florence is a relatively large city with an amazing history, great museums, gorgeous architecture, terrific shopping, world-class restaurants, etc etc. Cinque Terre is a name given to 5 very small villages which all happen to be along a stretch of coast line that is not easily accessible. From La Spezia is does make a lot of sense to go to Cinque Terre because its a short train ride (or drive). Cinque Terre is a great place for long walks (between the towns), eating at outdoor cafes, and just soaking up the atmosphere. If you were docked in Livorno and had not been to Florence we would suggest going to Florence. But since you are in La Spezia take advantage of the location to see the villages of Cinque Terre and go to Florence on a future trip.

 

Hank

[medsailing]

Although we've yet to visit Cinque Terre (going this June and very excited about that), agree with Hank. We love Florence and would visit whenever we could. There's so much to see and do. The brief visit as you're suggesting, with the amount of travel involved, tips the scales in favour of Cinque Terre for me.

[moyaroo]

If you have been to the Amalfi Coast you have seen the IMHO best coastal village area so go to with no worries. Cinque Terre as we know it is largely an invention of Rick Steves in his backdoor to Europe. It was a cheap and less crowded way to see the charm of the Italian Coast. This edge has been lost and CT is flooded with tourists, it is no longer the back doot to anything.

 

Florence will be teeming, it always is, but it is a city with such history and elegant architechture, you will not be sorry. It is further, but is the better choice.

 

On the other hand I always like to promote low hassle no stress tours and CT would have that. Think of it as Florence is worth the trip, CT is easy and lower maintenance.

[Eileen G]

Which DCL cruise are you on? We are on 5-26 and plan on doing Cinque Terre. It will be our third time there. Florence is a city with great art and archutecture. The Dumo is really beautiful and you can wander around and enjoy it in 4 and a half hours. I don't think you will have much time for the museums. The trip there should be very seanic. CT on the other hand is about outdoors. The five villages are quaint and we really enjoy the hikes. If the weather is bad there will be nothing to do but have lunch indoors. It is very easy to get to on your own and just a short train ride. Read a few reviews of each and decide on your own tastes. My DH and I prefer CT over Florence but that is because we are not that much into art. Here is a link to my pictures of CT.

http://cid-1e98e90214e77bf9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/CT

[fthomas31]

Which DCL cruise are you on? We are on 5-26 and plan on doing Cinque Terre. It will be our third time there. Florence is a city with great art and archutecture. The Dumo is really beautiful and you can wander around and enjoy it in 4 and a half hours. I don't think you will have much time for the museums. The trip there should be very seanic. CT on the other hand is about outdoors. The five villages are quaint and we really enjoy the hikes. If the weather is bad there will be nothing to do but have lunch indoors. It is very easy to get to on your own and just a short train ride. Read a few reviews of each and decide on your own tastes. My DH and I prefer CT over Florence but that is because we are not that much into art. Here is a link to my pictures of CT.

http://cid-1e98e90214e77bf9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/CT

 

Thanks for all the posts and the pictures of CT. We are on the 5/15 DCL cruise so you will be starting your adventure as we leave ours behind...:(

[Hlitner]

If you have been to the Amalfi Coast you have seen the IMHO best coastal village area so go to with no worries. Cinque Terre as we know it is largely an invention of Rick Steves in his backdoor to Europe. It was a cheap and less crowded way to see the charm of the Italian Coast. This edge has been lost and CT is flooded with tourists, it is no longer the back doot to anything.

 

Florence will be teeming, it always is, but it is a city with such history and elegant architechture, you will not be sorry. It is further, but is the better choice.

 

On the other hand I always like to promote low hassle no stress tours and CT would have that. Think of it as Florence is worth the trip, CT is easy and lower maintenance.

 

WOW! Most of the time we agree with your posts, but this one had me laughing and shaking my head. Rick Steves would probably love to take the credit for Cinque Terre, which I might add is also a UNESCO World Herritage site. The interesting thing about Cinque Terre is that if you go there on an Italian holiday (such as May 1) you will find the area packed with Italians who we suspect have never heard of Rick Steves. Yes, the villages can be overrun with tourists on a nice spring or summer day, but who can blame them for visiting. The region (or sub-region) is stunning in it's natural beauty and some of us love hiking the trail between the villages. Since you mention the Amalfi Coast (where we have spent two extended vacations) I guess we should all understand that Positano and Ravello are not full of tourists? Sorry, but could not resist that last comment!

 

The issue that was raised by the OP was does it make sense to spend nearly 5 hours in route to and from Florence vs a short ride to Cinque Terre. As much as we love Florence, we do not think it makes a lot of sense to drive for 5 hours to get a short day in that city.

 

The fact of life is that nearly every place (there are a few exceptions)visited by cruise ships in Italy are overrun by tourists and the cruise ships only add a small percentage to those crowds. If we want to escape the touristy places its time to head to the Marche (Urbino is a nice city) or perhaps Puglia. But most cruise passengers want to go to the tourist places and Cinque Terre is pretty high on our list of nice tourist places.

 

Hank

[euro cruiser]

If we want to escape the touristy places its time to head to the Marche (Urbino is a nice city) or perhaps Puglia.

Hank, shhh! Let's try to keep some part of Italy off the radar screen, please! Le Marche is wonderful ... we spent a week there in a a rural cottage a couple of years ago and didn't talk with one other American for the entire week - bliss! (Not a slam on Americans, just expressing the joy of actually getting away from our "real" life.)

[iancal]

One is not better than the other. They are completely different. You need to decide on the kind of day you want...this is not like comparing two Tuscan hill towns.

[moyaroo]

OF course Rick didn't invent or even discover the CT but he did introduce them to the American audience. I do like the CT, though I found it funny how the youth of the area seemed to wonder what the attraction was to tourists. It was sort of how we felt in high school about the tourists that swarmed through our town on the way to Yellowstone.

 

Bottom line CT or Florence the OP will be in for a treat.

[Hlitner]

Hank, shhh! Let's try to keep some part of Italy off the radar screen, please! Le Marche is wonderful ... we spent a week there in a a rural cottage a couple of years ago and didn't talk with one other American for the entire week - bliss! (Not a slam on Americans, just expressing the joy of actually getting away from our "real" life.)

 

Now this post is almost funny. Two years ago we spent 6 nights just outside of Urbino and we also never saw a single American (other then my wife) for the entire week. On the other hand, we did meet quite a few folks from Germany since that part of Italy is along a common driving route for the Germans. We stayed at a hotel that had nearly 120 rooms and the manager told us he had not had a single American visitor in months! But not to worry Euro Cruiser because this part of Italy is well out of range of the cruise passengers, and also not included in "excursions" taken by most of our fellow Americans. The only way to get to that area is to do it yourself which means there will never be a large American contingent. We can just imagine somebody now asking us, "What is there to do in the Marche?" Of course our response would be there is nothing to do in the Marche which is why it is wonderful!

 

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

OF course Rick didn't invent or even discover the CT but he did introduce them to the American audience. I do like the CT, though I found it funny how the youth of the area seemed to wonder what the attraction was to tourists. It was sort of how we felt in high school about the tourists that swarmed through our town on the way to Yellowstone.

 

Bottom line CT or Florence the OP will be in for a treat.

 

I was waiting for your next sentence which was going to say " Fodors discovered Yellowstone! My bad!

 

Hank

[moyaroo]

I was waiting for your next sentence which was going to say " Fodors discovered Yellowstone! My bad!

 

Hank

 

Of course not, it was Arthur Frommer! :-)

[fthomas31]

WOW! Most of the time we agree with your posts, but this one had me laughing and shaking my head. Rick Steves would probably love to take the credit for Cinque Terre, which I might add is also a UNESCO World Herritage site. The interesting thing about Cinque Terre is that if you go there on an Italian holiday (such as May 1) you will find the area packed with Italians who we suspect have never heard of Rick Steves. Yes, the villages can be overrun with tourists on a nice spring or summer day, but who can blame them for visiting. The region (or sub-region) is stunning in it's natural beauty and some of us love hiking the trail between the villages. Since you mention the Amalfi Coast (where we have spent two extended vacations) I guess we should all understand that Positano and Ravello are not full of tourists? Sorry, but could not resist that last comment!

 

The issue that was raised by the OP was does it make sense to spend nearly 5 hours in route to and from Florence vs a short ride to Cinque Terre. As much as we love Florence, we do not think it makes a lot of sense to drive for 5 hours to get a short day in that city.

 

The fact of life is that nearly every place (there are a few exceptions)visited by cruise ships in Italy are overrun by tourists and the cruise ships only add a small percentage to those crowds. If we want to escape the touristy places its time to head to the Marche (Urbino is a nice city) or perhaps Puglia. But most cruise passengers want to go to the tourist places and Cinque Terre is pretty high on our list of nice tourist places.

 

Hank

Thanks for the debate, I'm enjoying the posts. :D

[fthomas31]

OF course Rick didn't invent or even discover the CT but he did introduce them to the American audience. I do like the CT, though I found it funny how the youth of the area seemed to wonder what the attraction was to tourists. It was sort of how we felt in high school about the tourists that swarmed through our town on the way to Yellowstone.

 

Bottom line CT or Florence the OP will be in for a treat.

 

Thanks for the multiple posts and information you have provided me with.

[euro cruiser]

We can just imagine somebody now asking us, "What is there to do in the Marche?"

Truffle hunting!

 

One of the oddest events I have ever witnessed or participated in was a town fair in Le Marche, a combination truffle festival and motorcycle rally. Amist the dozens of booths selling anything and everything made from truffles, there was a contest to see who could best reproduce the sound of a motorcycle. Much oinking and snorting from the audience ... it was a hoot, even though we couldn't really figure out what the heck was going on.

[CathyCruises]

It was sort of how we felt in high school about the tourists that swarmed through our town on the way to Yellowstone.

quote]

 

Okay, now I have to ask where you live since I am heading to Yellowstone on Friday, 6th year in a row I will be there on opening day! I live in beautiful downtown Tetonia--population 242.

 

Cathty

[Hlitner]

Cathy, we have to agree with your location comment about living in the most beautiful place on earth (perhaps that is a bit of a stretch). When we drove through your region we were in awe!

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

Truffle hunting!

 

One of the oddest events I have ever witnessed or participated in was a town fair in Le Marche, a combination truffle festival and motorcycle rally. Amist the dozens of booths selling anything and everything made from truffles, there was a contest to see who could best reproduce the sound of a motorcycle. Much oinking and snorting from the audience ... it was a hoot, even though we couldn't really figure out what the heck was going on.

 

This is why I love Italy -- their inexplicable local festivals. :D Well, one of the reasons, anyway.

[moyaroo]

I lived in the big city- Idaho Falls. My mother is still (or rather back) there even now. Love Tetonia- best skiing anywhere is at Grand Targhee.

[CathyCruises]

Yup, Targhee, I can see the lift line from my window right now, got 18" of snow YESTERDAY! I couldn't even get to work--and this is April!

 

Hank, you're right, it IS beautiful, but I do sometimes long for the city lights! We are contemplating a move back to CA--the real estate market is just terrible here and since that is my only source of income, it may be time to move along. But we will always come back and visit--in the summer! It would be nice to live somewhere again where my life wasn't completely dictated by the weather.

 

This is a photo of my back deck yesterday morning--there wasn't a snowflake on it when I went to bed the night before!

 

Cathy

[Hlitner]

Geez, snow in mid-April! Oh well, we live in PA where this was one of the snowiest winters on record. On the other hand, since we spend much of the winter in Puerto Vallarta we missed nearly all the snow! At this time in my life it is sufficient to look at gorgeous deck photos full of snow...and spend my time on the beach.

 

Hank

[Traveler50]

We will be at port of Liverno on Wed July 14 and was wondering if anyone knows of a tour company that would pick us up and take us on a Cinque Terre tour for the day?

[jmb4534]

We will be at port of Liverno on Wed July 14 and was wondering if anyone knows of a tour company that would pick us up and take us on a Cinque Terre tour for the day?

 

Try romeinlimo. I was just looking at their website, I think it was 550 Euros for 2 people.