Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Things to do in Livorno?

kwhigh

By kwhigh,
in Oceania Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

kwhigh

kwhigh

Posted
Posted

We will be in Livorno Sep 2nd on board Riviera.

Any suggestions for tours etc that do not involve Pisa, Florence or Lucca? We have been to all three, also taken Livorno’s hoho bus. Looking for something different - countryside tour/ wine tasting??

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pet Nit Noy

Pet Nit Noy

Posted
Posted
We will be in Livorno Sep 2nd on board Riviera.

Any suggestions for tours etc that do not involve Pisa, Florence or Lucca? We have been to all three, also taken Livorno’s hoho bus. Looking for something different - countryside tour/ wine tasting??

 

You could book an excursion of the famous tower town of San Gimignano and the Etruscan ruins at Volterra, along with a wine tasting at one of those locations. Both Viator (9 hours) and Bella Italia (8 hours) offer a version of this tour. If you don't even have a full eight hours, I'd contact Bella Italia and ask what can be accomplished in the time you have in port. (Since Viator is a booking agent, I don't know how much you'd accomplish by contacting them if you're unable to take a full nine hour tour.)

 

https://www.bellaitaliatour.com/tours/sangimignano-volterra-winetasting-shoreexcursion-livorno/

 

https://www.viator.com/tours/Livorno/Wine-Tasting-and-Tuscany-Countryside-including-San-Gimignano-and-Volterra/d22138-6721P28

 

Bella Italia also offers wine tours to other destinations as shore excursions from Livorno.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
the more ports the better Great Review Rare

the more ports the better

Posted
Posted

We have driven to Cinque Terra from Livorno. It takes a little over an hour. There is online prereserved parking under the La Spezia train station. The trains run back and forth between La Spezia and the five villages every 20 min or so as the villages are only a few minutes apart by train.

 

You can rent a car at the Livorno port from Hertz and Avis on the dock. It is one of the few ports where you get off the ship and your car is right there. The Cinque Terre is my favorite place in Italy, maybe in all of Europe.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Caroldoll Great Review Rare

Caroldoll

Posted
Posted
I highly recommend hiring a guide to take you to the hill towns of Volterra and San Gim. The ride through Tuscany is very memorable and both towns are very interesting.

How long is this, we might be interested.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sammiedawg

sammiedawg

Posted
Posted
How long is this, we might be interested.

 

It was a six hour day. The guide took us on a quick walking tourof San Gim, than we had a couple free hours. The guide walked us through Volterra in an hour or so. We stopped quite a few times along the beautiful Tuscan roads to admire the gorgeous scenery. We stopped at the famous field Bocelli uses for his concerts.

So sorry but I don’t remember the guide’s name, we found him on TA. Guides in Tuscany tend to be expensive but the money spent was well worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
YoHoHo

YoHoHo

Posted
Posted

I would be re-consider Cinque Terre. We've enjoy a few days there on a day trip and it is indeed lovely but it is an other place where it is being damaged from "too much of a good thing".

 

Maybe look into purchasing a ticket before booking transportation.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/17/italy-to-impose-limits-on-visitors-to-cinque-terre-with-tourist-ticket-system

"Italy plans to severely reduce the number of tourists visiting the Cinque Terre UN world heritage area this summer because the rugged coastal area risks being wrecked by coach parties and cruise ships.

 

About 2.5 million tourists poured into the picturesque park in north-west Italy’s Liguria region last year to visit the five small fishing villages, which are connected by narrow cliffside trails.

 

Residents say day-trippers from cruise ships docking at nearby ports have overwhelmed their communities and the head of the Cinque Terre park said no more than 1.5 million visitors would be let in this year.

 

“We will certainly be criticised for this, but for us it is a question of survival,” Vittorio Alessandro told la Repubblica newspaper.

 

Roads leading to the area are being fitted with devices to gauge the number of people heading to the villages and once a certain number has been reached, access will be closed.

 

Tickets will be sold ahead of time online and an app created for tourists to show which of the villages are most congested."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JPR

JPR

Posted
Posted

We recommend renting a car and driving to Lucca (bike ride on the city walls, Puccini’s house, shopping) and then stopping on the way back in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower and it’s two beautiful neighboring buildings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Caroldoll Great Review Rare

Caroldoll

Posted
Posted

We have done Cinque Terre and it is beautiful, but don't want to do that again.

 

Would love to do something that takes 4 to 5 hours, but this may not be realistic.

 

Wondering about La Spetzia (excuse the spelling).

 

All these ideas are very much appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dlouise

dlouise

Posted
Posted

We are booked on the Riviera next August, and have an overnight in Livorno.

We have been to Florence, Lucca and Pisa many times and the heat in August in Tuscany is over the top.

We will spend the first day in Forte dei Marmi, it is about 45 minutes from the port. The beaches are wonderful with private clubs that have day passes and great restaurants, and the shopping area is beautiful. We hope to have dinner on the beach and then return to the ship.

The second day I think we will just spend a few hours exploring Livorno. We have been to the port many times but have never been into the city. We have always been on private tours up to Tuscany, and have never seen Livorno.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Caroldoll Great Review Rare

Caroldoll

Posted
Posted

We went in to the city one time and I thought it was just horrible. However, this time I am stuck about a tour. Trying to find a food walking tour, but I think it is too early to book. Viatour has one. I was thinking of going to Lucca, but they close at noon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pet Nit Noy

Pet Nit Noy

Posted
Posted
Caroldoll, If you find a food walking tour, please post about it, we would be very interested.

 

Viator is wonderfully convenient as a booking agent, but I always try to find the company that is actually offering the tour Viator is booking. Here's a link to a Bolgheri wine tour originating in Livorno. Since the Viator activity lasts 90 minutes and this tour lasts 6-8 hours the two tours are clearly different, although they may be run by the same company.

 

There's no specific mention of a shore excursion, but the text says "pick up from your location" and a port is a location.

 

Here's the web site: http://www.tuscany-winetours.com/bolgheri-wine-tour/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ORV "Live from...." Rare

ORV

Posted
Posted
We went in to the city one time and I thought it was just horrible. However, this time I am stuck about a tour. Trying to find a food walking tour, but I think it is too early to book. Viatour has one. I was thinking of going to Lucca, but they close at noon.

 

 

The whole town closes?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
drwong

drwong

Posted
Posted
We have done Cinque Terre and it is beautiful, but don't want to do that again.

 

Would love to do something that takes 4 to 5 hours, but this may not be realistic.

 

Wondering about La Spetzia (excuse the spelling).

 

All these ideas are very much appreciated.

 

If you enjoy naval history, La Spezia was a major naval base during the wars (in the same way Toulon was to the French Mediterranean Fleet), and like Toulon, there's an impressive naval museum at the entrance to the base. There are indoor and outdoor exhibits featuring cannon, anchors, torpedoes, submersibles, figureheads, and an extensive display of ship models, including one of the tall ships that visited the US during the bicentennial. Admission is a mere pittance ($2 US) and you can spend a good four to five hours there, thanks to translators who added English captions to the exhibits (I wish they had done the same at the Turkish naval museum in Istanbul!). And if the weather is nice, you can walk down the canal and catch some frigates and destroyers at anchor.

 

If naval history doesn't float your boat, there's a railroad museum to the west of the train station, with some steam locomotives and rolling stock outside, and some model trains and railroad displays inside.

 

Or you can walk around downtown and see the modern cylindrical cathedral, and take a glass-enclosed funicular elevator up to the top of the hill and enjoy the views from the Castello de San Giorgio. They're only a 10-15 min walk from the cruise terminal and there are lots of interesting shops along the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...