Touring from La Spezia — Cinque Terre, Florence & Pisa
La Spezia sits on the Gulf of Poets in Liguria, at the crossroads of the Italian Riviera and Tuscany. It is the gateway to Cinque Terre — the UNESCO-listed string of five colourful fishing villages clinging to sea cliffs just minutes from the port. With a private driver-guide your day can begin at Riomaggiore or Manarola and wind through Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare by local train or private boat, with time to walk the vineyard paths between villages, photograph the pastel houses stacked above the harbour, and stop for fresh pesto and focaccia at a cliffside trattoria.
Beyond Cinque Terre, La Spezia also opens the door to Tuscany. Pisa and its Piazza dei Miracoli — with the Leaning Tower, the Cathedral and the Baptistery — are about an hour south by private vehicle. Florence is roughly two hours by road, and with a full port day a private driver-guide can get you to Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Gallery, the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and back to the ship on schedule. A popular combination tour visits two or three Cinque Terre villages in the morning and stops at the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the return to La Spezia in the afternoon.
