Milan - Cinque Terre - Florence
Replies: 6 - Last Post: Mar 19, 2013 9:04 AM Last Post By: aman_pia
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Milan - Cinque Terre - Florence
Hey Globetrotters!We are planning with my friend a long weekend in Italy, arriving in Milan on a Thursday and aiming to do Cinque Terre, a very quick visit to Piza and Florence, BUT we will only have 3.5 days available. We depart again from Milan.
Any ideas on transport? Should we use train? Are buses available?
Any recommendations on places we need to see / things to do in the area? We dont really mind spending less (if any) time in Florence, our main target is to do Cinque Terre.
Is anyone planning to be in the area in mid May? We could meet up for a coffee or a glass of italian wine?
Marina & Vasia
1
If your aim is the CT,then try to get there as fast as possible from Milan (depends what time you arrive of course).Train from Milan Central takes 3-4 hours,via Genova.
If you want to do lots of walking (which is really the only reason to go to the CT that i know) then you will need a couple of days there at least.
When you are bored,you can head by train to Pisa/Florence...depending on your interests and how much time you have left.
2
Don't try and do Milan, Piza, Florence and Cinque Terra in 3.5 days. Relax. Expect that you will return.If it were me, here's what I would do: Spend a couple of hours exploring Milan center (you'll probably have to go to the central train station near the center anyhow), then head to Cinque Terra. Spend 2 days exploring around, including hiking. On the way back to Milan, stop in Piza and spend a half day there seeing the leaning tower and exploring around. The other half day will be eaten up in transportation.
3
You don't mention when in the year this weekend will be. If it's summer, Cinque Terre will be crazy crowded.As davee suggests, it would be wise to have a more limited and realistic itinerary. There's little point in asking for more to see or do. And if Florence is skip-able but Cinque Terre isn't, my priorities are so different that I'm not the right person to offer them anyway.
Similarly, yes, I'll be in Milan. But I don't see how you'll have any time for socializing.
4
Sorry, in #2 should be spelled Pisa, not Piza (of course). I think I'm just hungry for pizza today or something. :-)5
Just making sure you're aware of the track closures in Cinque Terre, aman_pia: blue path is closed from top to bottom. http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp shows detailed info on what's closed and what's not.
