French South Coastline > Italy

will369

Hi guys,

This summer I am going interrailing.

My 1st stop is Barcelona, I then want to visit Italy. (I want to visit the main cities & Amalfi Coast)

Do you suggest I fly to Italy?

Or catch the train (I will have an interrail pass) along the french coast?

Where would you reccomend I stop off on the way? Montpellier? Nimes? Marsellie? Cannes?

Thanks

peachyprice

As I said on your other thread, catching a plane surely defeats the object of interrailing? Unless you're in a rush use your pass.

If you head up to Nice you can use this as a base for a day or two and use your pass on the local trains to lots of nice towns along the coast including Cannes and Monaco, from there it's just a short journey into Italy where you could stop off in Genova, head up to Milan or the lakes or down to Pisa and Rome before going south for the Amalfi coast.

will369

peachyprice wrote: »

As I said on your other thread, catching a plane surely defeats the object of interrailing? Unless you're in a rush use your pass.

If you head up to Nice you can use this as a base for a day or two and use your pass on the local trains to lots of nice towns along the coast including Cannes and Monaco, from there it's just a short journey into Italy where you could stop off in Genova, head up to Milan or the lakes or down to Pisa and Rome before going south for the Amalfi coast.

Where do you suggest I stop off before Canes / Monaco as it will be a long journey to there?

richardw

Fly to Rome, get the train to Salerno, get the ferry to Amalfi.

Do the Amalfi Coast, then Naples, then do trains going North back to the UK.

slinga

Montpellier is a great city as is Marseille.

Enjoyed both.

We stayed in the Ibis in Montpellier , very central.
And in a boutique hotel a short walk from the train station in Marseille.

Both hotels surprised us in cleanliness and helpfulness of staff.

We usually stay in apartments.

peachyprice

Marseilles is an experience, it's a bit like the Napoli of France, a bit rough around the edges but full of character.

It's roughly half way so would be a good place to stop over.

You don't say how much you're planning to pack into this trip. Do you need to save time by paying extra to fly places?

For me, the train journeys were part of the experience, not just a means to get from A to B. I met so many interesting people, made some great friends and really enjoyed the down time you get travelling by train. So it depends really whether your trip is about the experience or the destinations.