---
title: "Backpack: Two Days by Rail From Paris to the Cinque Terre of Liguria"
description:  No direct train links Paris to Cinque Terre, and that turns out to be the appeal rather than the obstacle. A two-day rail itinerary through the Alps to Ital...
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-08-07T17:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-08-07T17:26:18.873Z
canonical: https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/backpack-two-days-by-rail-from-paris-to-the-cinque-terre-of-liguria
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/caption (1).jpg
categories: Destinations
content_type: Guide
region: Italy
publication: Rich Travel Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

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There is no direct train from Paris to the Cinque Terre, and once the journey is underway, that absence stops feeling like an inconvenience. It becomes the point. The route runs south-east out of Paris Gare de Lyon, climbs into the foothills of the Alps, crosses into Italy and only then turns toward the coast, arriving eventually at a string of five villages so compact that cars were never really invited in the first place. It is a journey best taken slowly, in the middle of what European rail is calling its biggest year of expansion in decades, with new night trains and high-speed links reshaping the map on either side of this particular route.

## The route

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