Look out for the glimpses of the Cinque Terre beaches north of La Spezia

Firenze / Florence to Genova / Genoa by train

How take a rail journey from Florence/Firenze to Genoa/Genova

There are two options for taking a train from Florence/Firenze to Genoa/Genova:
1: Taking a direct train, though they depart early in the morning and late in the evening, and don't call at the main city centre station.
2. Taking a train to Pisa and making a connection there for Genova, more frequent and usually cheaper.

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Routes

Option 1: taking the 'direct' trains

Journey Summary

From
Firenze / Florence
Image coming soon...
Firenze Campo di Marte
To
Genova / Genoa
Image coming soon...
Genova Brignole
Travel Time
2hr 27 min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Departing from Firenze/Florence:

These are the only direct trains from Firenze/Florence to Genova/Genoa, but they don't depart from the main city centre station - Firenze S.M.Novella.

Instead they depart from Firenze Campo di Marte station, which is some distance from the city centre, at 07:54 daily and at 21:54 not on Saturdays.

The easiest public transport access from the city centre to Camp di Marte, is to take a local train on a one station hop from S.M.Novella station.
A train which should depart from S.M.Novella station at 07:25 on Mon-Sat (heading to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme) and 07:18 on Sunday (heading to Arrezo), connects into the 07:54 departure.

A train which should depart from S.M.Novella station on Monday to Friday and Sunday at 21:22 (heading to Arezzo) connects into the 21:54 departure.

Arriving in Genova:

These trains will call at two stations in Genova, they call first at Genova Brignole station, before going on to call at Genova Piazza Principe station.

So it's worth confirming which of these stations will suit you best before booking tickets and boarding the train.

Though if you're heading to Genoa/Genova city centre, the quickest option will be to leave the train at Genova Brignole - and then transfer to the Genoa Metro for a one station hop on to De Ferrari station in the heart of the city

1 or 2 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date

These trains are usually scheduled to depart from Firenze Campo Di Marte station daily at 07:54 and at 21:54 on every day except Saturdays, but that isn't the main city centre station in Firenze/Florence.

So select 'Firenze Campo Di Marte'  as the 'Departure' station when looking up this journey on Trenitalia, though you'll need to make your way to Campo di Marte station in order to board the train.
A train from S.M.Novella is the easiest public transport option, buy you'll need to buy a ticket for the journey to Campo di Marte, or book a through ticket from S.M.Novella.

Your seat(s) will automatically be reserved on these trains when booking tickets, but rail pass users can save €10 by avoiding these trains and taking a combination of R/RV and IC trains instead.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
ItaliaRail *

ItaliaRail Guide

ItaliaRail lives up to its name by selling tickets for rail journeys within Italy and the core feature of its service is that it is primarily designed to be used by international visitors to Italy.
So the English translations of place names are used when looking up journeys and the terms and conditions for using each type of ticket are clearly explained.
It also clearly points out the additional costs of upgrading to other classes and types of tickets while spelling out the additional benefits of doing so.

Users of InterRail and Eurail passes can also book seat reservations on the Frecce and InterCity trains without paying a booking fee,

Trenitalia *

Trenitalia Guide

Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:

  • Group Offers, provides for a discount of up to 50% when 3-5 Adults travel together.
  • Family Offer for when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 11 and under.
  • The Children Free Offer is available for journeys by Frecce trains, when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 15 and under.
    Those aged 15 and under travel for free, but the Adults will need to purchase full price 'Base' tickets.
Trainline *

Trainline Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesCoastal viewsNot High Speed
Look out for the glimpses of the Cinque Terre beaches north of La Spezia Look out for the glimpses of the Cinque Terre beaches north of La Spezia
The sea views will be on the left The sea views will be on the left
Though most of the coastal views are north of Sestri Levant Though most of the coastal views are north of Sestri Levant
The views remain fabulous as the train nears Genova The views remain fabulous as the train nears Genova

If you take the first train of the day your efforts at making an early start will be rewarded by some fabulous sea views between La Spezia and Genova, if your assigned seat is on the left side of the train.

Option 2; connecting in Pisa

Journey Summary

Travel Time
3hr 5min - 3hr 45min approx
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

There are only up to two direct trains from Firenze/Florence to Genova/Genoa per day, one of which departs early in the morning and the other departs late in the evening, and neither of them leaves from the main city centre station, S.M.Novella.

So another option to take a train from S.M.Novella and connect in Pisa for a train on to Genova.

ShowMeTheJourney has honed in the connections which involve taking an express train on from Pisa and not a Regionale Veloce train service.

There are three reasons why this is a better option if you'll be purchasing tickets in advance of your travel date.
(1) The end-to-end journey will be more than an hour faster.
(2) It won't be comparatively expensive.
(3) You can travel from Pisa on to Genova in a reserved seat(s) on an air-conditioned train.

10 optimum x connections per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date

If you select the main city centre station, Firenze S.M.Novella as your departure station when looking up this journey to Genova, the vast majority of the journey options you will see on the booking websites involve

  • taking a train to Pisa, and
  • connecting there into a train on to Genova.

That's because there are only 1 or 2x direct trains per day from Firenze/Florence to Genova, neither of which depart from S.M.Novella station.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trenitalia *

Trenitalia Guide

Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:

  • Group Offers, provides for a discount of up to 50% when 3-5 Adults travel together.
  • Family Offer for when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 11 and under.
  • The Children Free Offer is available for journeys by Frecce trains, when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 15 and under.
    Those aged 15 and under travel for free, but the Adults will need to purchase full price 'Base' tickets.

Journey Features

Not High Speed

Good to Know

Final Destination: Livorno or La Spezia or Grosseto or Pisa

The frequent train service between Firenze/Florence and Pisa comprises slightly faster RGV (Regionale Veloce) trains and slightly slower REG (Regionale) trains.

As the time journey time difference is fairly marginal and there is little variations in the trains used take which ever train has good connections in Pisa, the type of train won't affect the ticket price and seats can't be reserved on either of these trains services.

Train 2

Between And
Genova / Genoa
Image coming soon...
Genova Brignole

Journey Features

Scenic - YesCoastal viewsNot High Speed

Good to Know

Final Destination: Genova. P.P or Milano or Torino

The express train service from Pisa to Genova is split between faster Frecciabianca services and slower Intercity services

However, when connecting into these trains in Pisa, it doesn't particularly matter which of these servcies to travel by on to Genova, the Intercity trains depart in the hours when no Frecciabianca train is due to depart, and vice versa.

Though if you will be travelling with a rail pass, you can save €10 if you look up the journey and target the connections which involve taking an Intercity train on from Pisa.

Arriving in Genova:

These trains will call at two stations in Genova, they call first at Genova Brignole station, before going on to call at Genova Piazza Principe station.
So it's worth confirming which of these stations will suit you best before booking tickets and boarding the train.

Though if you're heading to Genoa/Genova city centre, the quickest option will be to leave the train at Genova Brignole - and then transfer to the Genoa Metro for a one station hop on to De Ferrari station in the heart of the city.

There are glimpses of the Cinque Terre beaches north of La Spezia There are glimpses of the Cinque Terre beaches north of La Spezia
The sea views are on the left The sea views are on the left
Most of the fabulous views can be seen north of Sestri Levant Most of the fabulous views can be seen north of Sestri Levant
The fabulous views continue all the way to the outskirts of Genova The fabulous views continue all the way to the outskirts of Genova

There are some fabulous sea views between La Spezia and Genova if your assigned seat is on the left side of the train.

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