La Spezia, all info about the city in the south of Liguria (Italy)

La Spezia is a coastal town with just under 100,000 inhabitants in the south of Liguria (Italy) near the border with Tuscany. Tourists come to La Spezia mainly because the city is the starting point to the Cinque Terre. These 5 villages are considered one of the most beautiful and most visited places by tourists in the whole of Italy.

The city of La Spezia

La Spezia is located on the west coast of Italy between Genoa and Pisa. It is a beautiful city with many green spaces, but the big sights are missing. Nevertheless, many tourists come here. They stay here overnight and visit the 5 world-famous places of the Cinque Terre from here.

The main pedestrian zone in La Spezia is Via dei Prione. It connects the modern port of La Spezia with the railway station over a length of about 1.5 kilometres. Here you will find shops as well as some nice restaurants and cafés.

An interesting museum in La Spezia is the Museo Technico Navale military museum in the south of the city centre. A walk through the harbour is also worthwhile.

Most tourists come to La Spezia to visit the Cinque Terre. As the train is the best means of transport between the villages of the Cinque Terre, a hotel near the main train station of La Spezia makes sense. Our favourite is the simple and inexpensive Hotel Mary right by La Spezia’s main train station, which you can book on this link via Booing.com.

La Spezia as a starting point to the Cinque Terre

The villages of the Cinque Terre are very difficult to reach by car. The distances between the villages by road are long, and most of the villages are car-free. It is much better to take the train.

From La Spezia station you can reach all 5 villages of the Cinque Terre one after the other by train. The first village, Riomaggiore, is only one stop or 6 minutes by train from La Spezia. The other 4 villages follow at intervals of only a few minutes. The last village is Monterosso. The local trains run every 30 minutes during the day, often three times an hour in both directions. The trains are long and well-filled, in season thousands of tourists visit the Cinque Terre from La Spezia every day. After the five villages of the Cinque Terre, all trains continue to Levanto. Also from Levanto you can easily visit the 5 picturesque villages by train.

There is an extra room in the La Spezia train station that is a tourist information centre for the Cinque Terre National Park. Here you can also buy the popular Cinque Terre Card. With this card you can use all the hiking trails (some of which are chargeable in the Cinque Terre National Park), the trains and many buses for free. The Cinque Terre Card costs 16 euros for one day for adults, 29 euros for 2 days. There are discounts for children, families, etc.

Our tip: Day trips Cinque Terre

Compare current Cinque Terre excursions below. Check the departure city, transport, village stops, language and inclusions in the selected offer.

>>> Very good tour by bus from Florence to Cinque Terre: Compare Cinque Terre day trips from Florence Village stops, transport, boat rides and meals depend on the selected offer.

>>> Alternative Cinque Terre excursions (check departure city): Browse alternative Cinque Terre day trips This is a general selection. A departure from Pisa has not been confirmed; check the actual meeting point.

>>> Great bus tour from the city of Milan to Cinque Terre: Check Cinque Terre day trips from Milan Check the available dates, route, guide language and transport included.

>>> Very good tour by bus from nearby La Spazia to Cinque Terre: Check the Cinque Terre train excursion from La Spezia with limoncino tasting Check the departure point and voucher instructions. This is a train excursion, not a bus tour.