Rome - Florence - Cinque Terre - Italian Riviera by Train

Trip Summary

• Rome

  
  Recommended Stay: at least 3 nights

  Rome is undeniably stunning, from its rich ancient culture, must try pizzas and coffees or just experience a touch of Europe. This city is packed full of sights, with thousands of years of history layered upon itself - you'll find everything here from Roman ruins to Renaissance art. It's also home to fantastic food, the Vatican City, and sights galore!
  
  Explore the Roman Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine; Discover the Vatican, the smallest independent state in the world; Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain; Marvel at the Pantheon; Sit on the Spanish Steps; Wander the Piazzas; Eat the best Gelato in Rome; Climb Palatine Hill; Walk the Ancient Appian Way; Go to the Vatican Museums and so much more!.

• Florence

  
  Recommended Stay: at least 2 nights

  The Italian city of Florence sits nestled among the rolling Tuscan hills, with an unmistakable skyline dominated by the fabulous Duomo. With so much Renaissance art and culture, shopping opportunities, and of course incredible gastronomy, you will be spoiled for choices in what to do and see in this exciting capital city of Tuscany. Florence's museums, palaces, and churches house some of the greatest artistic treasures in the world. The most popular and important sites in Florence include the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Uffizi, the Bargello, and the Accademia. Spend a day at the Boboli Gardens or climb the hill to the church of San Miniato al Monte to experience an enchanting view of Florence, Italy.
  
  Visit The Duomo Complex, Church of Santa Croce, The Cathedral, The Uffizi Gallery, Galleria dell'Accademia, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio, Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens and so much more!

• Cinque Terre Area

  
  Recommended Stay: at least 2 nights

  La Spezia is the main hopping-off point to Cinque Terre and your homebase for your visit to the beautiful Cinque Terre which are most easily reached by train (the journey time to the first of the villages, Riomaggiore, is just eight minutes, and there are generally at least a couple of trains every hour). It is a busy provincial capital and the main training and shipbuilding centre of the Italian navy. It offers low-key charm, several good-value restaurants and some worthwhile museums.
  
  Cinque Terre`s villages: Riomaggiore, Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola and Corniglia
  
  Distances:
  Genoa - 63 miles, Pisa - 49 miles, Florence - 93 miles, Riomaggiore - 10 miles, Manarola - 10 miles, Vernazza - 17 miles, Corniglia - 17 miles, Monterosso - 20 miles

• Santa Margherita Ligure

  
  Recommended Stay: at least 2 nights

  The palm lined harbor town of Santa Margherita Ligure is very close to Portofino. It was well known in the early 1900`s as a fashionable retreat for the rich and glamorous; today it is a peaceful, pretty town, better known now for the food festivals. Santa Margherita is also famous for its lobsters, caught daily by the fleet of fishing ships. It has a picture-perfect seaside promenade, where elegant hotels with Liberty facades overlook million-dollar yachts with bars, cafes, gelaterie and restaurants spread along the seafront the main quay. This is a pleasant, convenient base and ideally situated for day trips, such as Portofino, the picturesque San Fruttuoso monastery, the resorts of Camogli and Rapallo, Genoa and the Cinque Terre (around an hour by train, or an all-day boat excursion).

  Recommended Stay:
  At least 2 nights

  Must See`s:
  Basilica di Santa Margherita (Baroque designs, lavish gold leaf and crystal chandeliers); Shopping (a shopper`s haven, paintings by Massimo Meda; designer home furnishings, original Lacoste shirts, and designer clothes from brand-name shops); Piazza Martiri della Liberta, and Piazza Vittorio Veneto (two seaside squares to sit and watch the activities of the fishing boats); The low hill dominating the waterfront is an interesting place to explore. Behind the small Castello and the severely striped Chiesa dei Frati Cappuccini are intriguing overgrown passageways prowled by semi-wild cats.

• Genoa

  
  Recommended Stay: at least 1 nights

  Nestled in the center of the Italian Riviera, lies Genoa, stretching for several miles from the hills to the coast, it lives up to its reputation as the cultural capital of Europe, a title won in 2004 due to its theaters, museums, restaurants, cafes, shopping centers and Europe's largest aquarium. Genoa's historic center is said to be the largest medieval quarter in Europe and has a wealth of churches, palaces, and museums. During the time of the Romans, it served as an important maritime center for the empire and, during the period of the Renaissance, was known as one of the richest cities of Renaissance Europe. An old port city, Genoa is a mixture of the old and the new, the elegant and the squalid, the historic and the modern. Remnants of the Roman Empire are still available within the town's medieval walls right next to the tenement homes. It is the biggest commercial port of Italy and the birthplace of Christopher Columbus.
  
  Recommended Stay:
  At least 2 nights
  
  Must See`s:
  The Carruggi (the narrow alleys of the old town of Genoa); Strade Nuove and Palazzi dei Rolli (an extraordinary architectural work of the 16th Century built to host politicians and aristocrats); Palazzo Spinola di Pellicceria (paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck and Bernardo Strozzi); Palazzo Lercari Parodi; Palazzo Campanella and Palazzo Podestà; The Aquarium (one of the most complete and technologically-advanced marine life centers in Europe. It houses an entire marine world, in enormous and varied pools behind large windows: dolphins, seals, sharks and colorful fishes of all shapes and sizes)