Cinque Terre or Florence or both??

[MarleyMc]

We are cruising to Livorno next week and have a van booked. Obviously we only have one day. Should we spend a relaxing day in Tuscany and Cinque Terre or drive through Tuscany to a busier Florence or is there time for both? Our group is not really big on alot of museums.

[euro cruiser]

Given that your trip is next week ... and you're only now asking about this ... I'm guessing that no one has a burning interest in any particular thing.

 

The geographic realities make doing everything you listed physically impossible, unless you don't plan on getting out the van, just driving by everything on your list, and I doubt that was your intention.

 

Cinque Terre is about an hour and a half drive from Livorno. Actually seeing the five towns cannot be done in a vehicle, so no matter how you do it, if you are going to see any of the area it will be on foot, train and/or boat. The barest minimum visit will take up about six hours of your day, including the trip up and back.

 

There are several places in northwestern Tuscany you could see on the way back, including Carrara, Viareggio, Lucca and Pisa.

[GSPLover]

We are cruising to Livorno next week and have a van booked. Obviously we only have one day. Should we spend a relaxing day in Tuscany and Cinque Terre or drive through Tuscany to a busier Florence or is there time for both? Our group is not really big on alot of museums.

 

As others have said, you cannot do all of these in one day. Given that you have already committed to a van, go to Florence and spend the day. Forget the others as those will have to wait. Florence is the most beautiful, wonderful city in all of Italy. One day does not do it justice. You still have time to book a visit to David online and stay away from a very long line.

 

I speak from experience as I lived in Italy for 3 yeras. I have been to Florence 50+ times and yet there are many places I have yet to see. I hope to get back again this year.

[Carolyn R]

If you are not really big on alot of museums, I would recommend touring the Tuscany/Chianti countryside, visiting a winery and some of the hilltop medieval towns, and stopping for a leisurely lunch with some local wines.

[slidergirl]

As another has said, it isn't really feasible to do Cinque Terre. The way to do it is by train and foot. It really is gorgeous there - I just spend 4 days there. But, I don't think you'd have the time. If you don't want to cruise around Florence, then definitely tour some of Northern Tuscany. You could do Lucca, or go the opposite direction and drive to Volterra (good for Twilight fans) and San Gimignano. You'll want to divide your time between driving the countryside and walking in these towns.