Mix & Match: Turin & Cinque Terre by Rail

Welcome to Italy. On arrival at Milan airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Turin, a drive of around two hours west across the Po valley.Turin was the first capital of a united Italy and the seat of the House of Savoy, and it looks the part. The centre is laid out in baroque squares and long arcaded streets, eighteen kilometres of them in total, so much of the city can be crossed under cover. Depending on what time you arrive, your 48 hour hop-on hop-off pass starts here, and the route links the main landmarks if you would rather sit than walk after the flight.This evening is at leisure. Turin takes food seriously and the local specialities are worth seeking out, from gianduiotto chocolate and a bicerin of coffee, chocolate and cream to vitello tonnato and agnolotti, with the wines of Piedmont alongside.Special InformationArrival airport transfers are included as part of your package. You will be met upon arrival at Milan airport and transferred to your hotel in Turin. The drive takes around two hours.If Inspiring Vacations has not provided your international airfares, please ensure you provide your flight details via your Traveller Hub portal no later than 90 days prior to travel so that your transfers can be confirmed.If you are arriving early and have made your own arrangements prior to your tour commencing, airport transfers will not be included. Please note - this itinerary is unescorted. You will make your way between destinations. A step by step guide will be included in your documentation.

After breakfast, the day is yours in Turin, with your hop-on hop-off pass and an entrance ticket to the Royal Palace of Venaria Reale included.Venaria Reale sits just outside the city and was built as a hunting residence for the Savoy dukes. It is one of the largest palaces in Europe and is UNESCO listed. The Great Gallery running through the middle of it is the set piece, a barrel vaulted hall of white stucco and tall windows, and the gardens behind run to sixty hectares.Back in the city, the museums are the other draw. The National Cinema Museum occupies the Mole Antonelliana, with a lift running up through the middle of the building to a viewing platform. The National Automobile Museum sets out the history of Fiat and Italian design. The Egyptian Museum is the oldest in the world devoted entirely to ancient Egypt and holds a collection second only to Cairo. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsTurin Hop-on Hop-off BusRoyal Palace of Venaria RealeSpecial InformationYour hop-on hop-off pass and your entrance ticket to the Royal Palace of Venaria Reale will be included in your final documentation. The palace is reached on the hop-on hop-off route or by local bus, and is closed on Mondays.

This morning after breakfast, make your own way to Turin Lingotto station and board the train to Alba, a little under two hours through the rolling hills of the Piedmont countryside.A private driver meets you at Alba station and takes you out to a winery in the heart of the Langhe, the hills that produce Barolo and Barbaresco. A guided tour of the cellars is followed by a tasting of the estate wines, paired with a selection of regional food. Your driver then returns you to Alba.Alba itself is worth the time you have left. It is a medieval town known internationally for its white truffle, and the streets around the cathedral are lined with pasticcerie, wine shops and small restaurants. Board the train back to Turin in the late afternoon, with the evening at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsLanghe winery tour AlbaSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 4 hours.Trains to Alba depart from Turin Lingotto station rather than Porta Nuova. Your train tickets and step by step directions to the station will be included in your final documentation. Tickets on this sector are regional coach class.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and make your own way to the station for the train to Genoa, a little under two hours on the direct intercity service.Genoa was one of the great maritime republics and still calls itself La Superba. It has one of the largest medieval centres in Europe, a dense grid of carrugi, the narrow alleys that run between tall houses and open without warning onto a square or a church front. The Palazzi dei Rolli, the Renaissance and baroque palaces built by the merchant families, are UNESCO listed and several are open to visitors.Your 24 hour hop-on hop-off pass starts today, and the route covers the old town and the Old Port, redeveloped by Renzo Piano and now given over to the aquarium, the maritime museum and a waterfront promenade. The evening is at leisure, and Genoa is the place to eat pesto alla Genovese, farinata and focaccia at their source.Inspiring HighlightsGenoa Hop-on Hop-off BusSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 2 hours.Your train tickets and step by step directions to the station will be included in your final documentation. Tickets on this sector are intercity first class.

After breakfast, board the train east along the Ligurian coast to Santa Margherita Ligure, around forty minutes with the sea alongside for much of the way.Santa Margherita is an elegant seaside town on the Gulf of Tigullio, with a palm lined promenade, a small harbour and pastel buildings rising behind it. There is time to walk the front, browse the boutiques on the streets behind and sit with a coffee looking across the bay.From here, a taxi or one of the frequent ferries reaches Portofino, a small harbour of coloured houses that has drawn visitors since the 1950s, and San Fruttuoso, an abbey in a secluded cove on the far side of the headland that can only be reached by boat or on foot. Return to Genoa by train in the late afternoon, with the evening at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsSanta Margherita LigureSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 2 hours.Ferries and taxis to Portofino and San Fruttuoso are not included and are paid locally. Ferry services to San Fruttuoso are seasonal and can be cancelled at short notice in poor sea conditions.

After breakfast, board the train west to Monterosso al Mare and the Cinque Terre, five old fishing villages set between the sea and the terraced hills of the Ligurian coast. The whole stretch is UNESCO listed and the journey takes around an hour and a half.Monterosso is the largest of the five and the only one with a long sandy beach, which makes it the easiest place to start. Your Cinque Terre Card covers the local train between the villages, and the service runs every few minutes through tunnels cut into the cliffs, with each village a short hop from the last.We suggest choosing no more than two of the other villages, so the day does not turn into a succession of platforms. Vernazza has the prettiest harbour, Manarola the view most often photographed, Riomaggiore the steepest lanes, and Corniglia sits high above the sea with a long staircase up from the station. Return to Genoa in the evening.Inspiring HighlightsMonterosso al MareCinque Terre CardSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 4 hours.Your Cinque Terre Card will be included in your final documentation and covers the local trains between the villages. The coastal walking paths between the villages open and close depending on conditions, and some sections require a separate trekking card.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and board the train to Milan, a little under two hours on the direct service.Milan is Italy’s financial and design capital and the centre is compact. Your 24 hour hop-on hop-off pass starts on arrival and links the main sights, beginning with the Duomo, a Gothic cathedral of white Candoglia marble that took nearly six centuries to finish and has a roof terrace you can walk out onto.The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II runs off the cathedral square beneath a glass and iron dome, and beyond it the Brera district keeps a quieter grid of galleries, bookshops and small restaurants. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsMilan Hop-on Hop-off BusSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 2 hours.Your hop-on hop-off pass and boarding details will be included in your final documentation. The pass is valid for 24 hours from first use. Tickets on this rail sector are intercity first class.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel. A transfer will collect you and take you to Milan airport, where your tour comes to an end.Take with you the memory of a journey by rail through three regions of northern Italy, from the baroque squares of Piedmont and the wine hills of the Langhe to the Ligurian coast and the Cinque Terre, and finally to Milan.Thank you for travelling with Inspiring Vacations. We hope you had a memorable experience.Special InformationDeparture transfers are included as part of your package. You will be collected from your hotel at the appropriate time and transferred to the airport to meet your flight. The pick-up time will depend on the flight you have booked.If you choose to extend your stay this included service will be forfeited and no refund will be issued.If Inspiring Vacations has not provided your international airfares, please ensure you provide your flight details via your Traveller Hub portal no later than 90 days prior to travel so that your transfers can be confirmed.