One huge advantage of European travel is using trains. Train travel in Europe is usually quite smooth and very efficient. When we discovered we could take trains to visit a few countries on the Mediterranean, it was a no brainer. This post will detail our itinerary, it will give you a loose idea of what to do and what to expect in each place. We spent time in mostly major cities along this route, but I’d like to do it again someday and visit some smaller towns and cities along the coast.
Rome, Italy
There is so much to do and see in Rome, I know we could spend weeks here and still not touch it all. However, in the summer (which is likely when you’d be doing this itinerary) Rome is VERY hot. Rome is always incredible, and very much still worth traveling to, but you may be ready to move on from Rome to the rest of the towns on this itinerary, which are by the sea. Rome is a great starting point since many flights from the US to Rome are cheaper due to large international airports.
When in Rome, there are countless things to see, there is so much history here and so much to learn. In Rome, you can take a walking tour, visit the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Vatican, and all of the other major attractions that Rome has to offer.
We were advised by my cousin, who studied abroad in Rome, to stay in the Trastevere neighborhood. I am so glad we were given this advice, the neighborhood is so charming and feels a bit more local than some other areas of Rome. There are flowers and vines growing all over, and there are so many great places for food and drinks. One of the highlights of our trip was eating at Roma Sparita and having cacio e pepe out of a bowl made of Parmesan cheese! It is definitely important to make a reservation to eat here as it has become quite popular. We also hunted down “Trapizzino”, a Roman street food place that has grown in popularity over time. There are now a few locations in Rome and they are famous for their pizza pockets and “suppli”, which are a type of breaded rice ball filled with cheese or other toppings.
We stayed at Villa Della Fonte guesthouse and found the location, price, and space to be perfect. It was comfortable, well designed, walkable to the things we wanted to do, and had a lovely rooftop terrace we coudld spend time on.
We spent 2 days in Rome on this trip to get in all of the major things we wanted to do. It was a great start to our trip and an easy flight from the East Coast of the US.
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Cinque Terre, Italy
We have visited the Cinque Terre four times now and are absolutely in love with this area of Italy. I hesitate to write about how much I love it because I never want it to change. On this trip we stayed in the “middle” of the 5 towns in Corniglia. This was a very cool experience as this town is small and a bit less touristy, if that is possible. We also happened to be there on “St Peter & St Paul” day and got to see the most unique and special celebration throughout the town.
I wrote a blog post about making sure to look out for celebrations/holidays/Sundays in places you’re visiting, you can check that out here.
Taking the train between the 5 towns of the Cinque Terre is an incredible experience, even better though, in my opinion, is getting to hike from town to town. One of our favorite places we’ve been in the whole world is a tiny little bar between Corniglia and Vernazza. The food in this region is amazing, pesto is tops, and limoncino is perfection. You can hike in the morning, swim in the sea all day, and enjoy wine and gelato by night. It truly is an incredibly magical place and I couldn’t recommend it more.
The first time here we stayed in Montorosso, which is the most built up of the five towns and has a bit more as far as options for accommodation. While in Corniglia, we stayed in an adorable airbnb overlooking the town, it was so quiet and peaceful. We hope to eventually stay in all 5 towns to see what each one is all about, but you can easily visit all 5 within a few days stay in this region. It’s also easy to visit the nearby towns of La Spezia or Levanto, which are also really special and beautiful. You can get cheaper accommodation in these towns and easily visit the Cinque Terre. It would be worth a look if you’re on a budget. You can hike from Montorosso to Levanto, we tried this hike once and really enjoyed it. We sat on the beach for a while and grabbed lunch in Levanto before hiking back.
I recommend 3-4 days in the Cinque Terre. You could EASILY spend a whole week here though, just relaxing and taking in the slower pace. There are so many things to do and see and I know we’ll continue to come back here all throughout our lives.
I am returning for the 5th time this summer to baes in Riomaggiore, so keep an eye out for new info when we return from that trip!
If you’re looking for more information about where to stay and what to do I have a number of blog posts for this area that I love so much. 1. Why you should stay in Corniglia 2. Mini Guide to Monterosso 3. Read Before Visiting the Cinque Terre 4. 9 Must-Do experiences in the Cinque Terre
Nice, France
Nice is a stunning seaside town on the French Riviera that I am dying to revisit. The architecture in Nice is so gorgeous. It feels like a relative of Paris, but with all of the pretty colors of the Mediterranean. The beaches in Nice are pebble beaches, however, there are many umbrella and chair set ups to be rented for the day. We brought towels and discovered that people leave giant flattened cardboard boxes down at the beach for you to lay your towel down on for more comfort. I am not sure if this is still a practice, but it was really helpful! Food in Nice is amazing and french wine is perfect for summertime. We also loved that Nice was within quick train distance of some mini half-day trips. We visited Eze, which is a medieval hilltop village overlooking the sea. We only needed a few hours in Eze, it was a perfect place to stroll around, grab a drink, and just enjoy all of the beauty before heading back to Nice.
In Nice you can have all of the glamour that you would imagine when you hear about the French Riviera, but you can also have hidden charm and many more low key things to do as well. Nice has a beautiful park, called “Castle Hill Park”, overlooking the sea and port where you can picnic, workout, or just wander and enjoy the scenery. Between the beaches and the city, there is plenty to do in Nice to keep you busy for a few days. There are also so many more options for day trips and visits to other small towns and villages on the coast.
Marseille, France
Marseille was the place we were most surprised by on this trip. Although we booked it and thought we would love it, we’d heard some conflicting reviews leading up to our travel. We’d heard some people describe the city as “gritty” or just not as appealing as other parts of France. We felt the complete opposite. We truly loved and enjoyed everything about the vibe of this city. It felt a bit more local and a bit less touristy coming from Nice. I’ll admit, it wasn’t as visually appealing at first glance, but it has so much hidden charm.
We ate a ton of good food here, we enjoyed the beaches, we explored the Notre Dame de la Garde on the hill overlooking the city, and rode the ferris wheel at sunset. One of the areas we really enjoyed was the Panier district and the Cours Julien. This area has an incredible art scene, from graffiti to murals and ceramics. We loved how vibrant this area was and really enjoyed walking around it. If we were to return, I would definitely look into a more informative tour of this area. We also really loved our hotel in Marseille, it is a Moroccan inspired hotel called “Hotel Le Ryad”. It was a boutique hotel with a gorgeous garden and we stayed in a top floor room with a balcony and were treated so warmly by all of the staff. The room now has a name on their website, it is called “Mogador”.
We actually took two trips out of Marseille during our time here. The first was to “Attrap Reeves” which is a bubble hotel resort in the pine forest outside of Marseille. We spent a night here and it was a truly magical experience and we highly recommend it. It was a beautiful nature escape during a very city filled vacation. Another day trip we took was to the town of Cassis. Cassis is small but packed with beauty. There are adorable little restaurants lining the water and a nice little beach. This town also gives you access to walking by the calanques. Calanques are basically an inlet surrounded by steep rocks jutting out into the sea. They are breathtaking to see, the water is so blue and the cliffs are so imposing stretching out over the water. I would definitely recommend spending more time hiking here or taking a boat tour to see more of this area.
Barcelona, Spain
There is so much to love about Barcelona, there could be endless blog posts and I know there will be many to come. The streets of Las Ramblas, the Gothic Quarter, the El Born neighborhood, all of the incredible work of Gaudi, tapas and sangria, the list goes on and on. One of the best things we did upon our arrival in Barcelona was to take a bike tour. We really loved this experience because it gave us the lay of the land in a quite large city. It helped us to know which places we wanted to go back and spend more time in.
I have a post about why it is a great idea to do a tour like this to start your trip here.
You’ll definitely want to visit the Sagrada Familia (and book that tour in advance). Park Guell is another incredible location that you should see and should surely book ahead of time. The Mercado de La Boqueria was one of my favorite spots, I loved running in there in the morning for a juice, and visiting later in the day for incredible food. The beaches of Barcelona are beautiful and it’s easy to lose time hanging out enjoying the sunshine. We stayed at Hotel Gaudi and we loved it for one of its huge perks, a small rooftop pool overlooking Gaudi’s “Palau Guell”. We were able to sit in the pool, sip wine, and watch people exploring the Palau Guell across the street. We spent 4 days in Barcelona on this trip and I still feel that I could go back and see entirely new things!
I recently returned to Barcelona and had some great experiences. I have a few posts that may be helpful. 1. A Perfect day in Barcelona 2. Visiting the Penedes Valley for Cava Tasting 3. Sunset Wine & Tapas Tour
Overall this is an incredible and very easy itinerary. You can take the train to every location and all of these cities and towns are easily walkable. I find trains to be such a stress free way to travel and this is a perfect itinerary for the upcoming summer!
Below are some great sites I use for train travel. These are affiliate links which means that if you book through the links I earn a small commission at no cost to you! If you want to support all the time and effort that I put into this blog, this is a great and FREE way to do that! Thank you!
If you’re on the hunt for the tours & activities I mentioned as well as others you might enjoy, you can check these sites. These are affiliate links which means that I may earn a small commission at no cost to you if you book through these links. This helps to keep my blog ad free. It also helps to support all of the time and effort I put into this blog and is FREE for you!
If you’re interested in the hotels we stayed at and enjoyed along the way I will list them here and you can use my booking.com link to book!
This post contains affiliate links. This means if you book through my links I may earn a small commission at NO cost to you. This helps to keep this blog AD free and easy to read.