7 Days Interrailing Through Italy: A Perfect Train Itinerary

By WoW Train · June 2026 · 7 min read

Italy is made for the train. Fast lines link the great cities in a couple of hours, and a short regional hop drops you into the cliffs of the Cinque Terre. Here's a relaxed but complete one-week route — Rome, Florence, Venice and the coast — that you can ride entirely by rail.

The route at a glance

• Days 1–2: Rome
• Day 3: Rome → Florence (high-speed, ~1h 30m)
• Days 3–4: Florence
• Day 5: Florence → Cinque Terre (~2h 30m via La Spezia)
• Day 6: Cinque Terre → Venice (~5h with a change in Milan or Florence)
• Day 7: Venice

Days 1–2 · Rome

Start in the capital. Two days is enough for the essentials: the Colosseum and Roman Forum, the Pantheon, Trastevere at dusk, and an early morning at the Vatican before the crowds. Stay near Roma Termini — it's the main station and the hub for everything that comes next.

Day 3 · Rome → Florence

One of Europe's great fast-train rides. Frecciarossa (Trenitalia) and Italo both run Rome–Florence in about 1 hour 30 minutes, at up to 300 km/h. Trains leave Roma Termini and arrive at Firenze Santa Maria Novella, a 10-minute walk from the Duomo.

Book a morning train and you'll be eating lunch in Florence. Fares from €20–€30 if you book ahead; closer to departure they climb past €50.

Days 3–4 · Florence

Renaissance central. Climb the Duomo, see Michelangelo's David, walk the Ponte Vecchio and watch the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo. Florence is compact and walkable — no need for transit inside the city.

Day 5 · Florence → Cinque Terre

The scenic highlight. Take a train to La Spezia Centrale (around 2h 30m, usually via Pisa), then switch to the Cinque Terre Express — the little regional line that stitches together the five cliffside villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso.

A Cinque Terre Card gives you unlimited hops between the villages all day, so you can village-hop without buying a ticket each time. It's one of the most beautiful short rides in Italy.

Day 6 · Cinque Terre → Venice

The longest leg of the week — roughly 5 hours with one change, usually in Milan or back through Florence onto a Frecciarossa. Trains arrive at Venezia Santa Lucia, and the moment you step out the Grand Canal is right there. No cars, no taxis — just water.

Day 7 · Venice

Finish slowly. St Mark's Square early before the day-trippers, a vaporetto down the Grand Canal, and the back canals of Cannaregio or Dorsoduro where the city feels local again.

Which trains, and how to keep costs down

• High-speed (Frecciarossa, Italo): book the long city-to-city legs 3–6 weeks ahead for the cheapest fares — prices are dynamic and rise toward departure.
• Regional trains (like the Cinque Terre Express): fixed price, no need to book in advance — just buy on the day.
• Validate regional tickets before boarding if your ticket isn't time-stamped.
• Travel city-centre to city-centre — Italian stations are central, so you skip airport transfers entirely.

Roughly what it costs

Booked ahead, the four train legs above typically total around €90–€130 per person for the week — less than a couple of short flights, and far more scenic.

The tricky part of a trip like this is juggling several operators and live times across the week. That's exactly what we're building WoW Train for: live departures and fares across Trenitalia, Italo and every other European railway, scenic routes like the Cinque Terre mapped out, and the whole journey in one app — in your language.