La Spezia Cruise Port Guide: Gateway to the Cinque Terre, Pisa and Florence

Arrival in the Gulf of Poets

La Spezia sits at the head of the Gulf of Poets, a long blue inlet edged by pine-dark hills and the grey shoulder of the Apuan Alps beyond. The morning a cruise ship swings into the harbour, the air smells of warm pine resin and diesel in roughly equal measure; fishing boats nose past the cruise pier in the direction of Lerici, naval frigates lie at anchor across the bay, and the spires of the village churches of the Cinque Terre prick the western skyline.

A Working Italian Port

It is a working Italian city, unhurried and slightly scruffy in the way that Livorno is scruffy, and it makes no particular effort to charm the visitor. Almost everyone steps off the ship and leaves again within the hour, bound for Vernazza, the Leaning Tower or Michelangelo’s David. Those who stay find a pedestrianised old town, a covered market trading since 1934, an excellent free naval museum and a quiet promenade where elderly Spezzini take their evening passeggiata along the palms.

Planning the Day

The choice on a La Spezia port day is essentially four-way: the Cinque Terre by train, Pisa or Florence on the regional or high-speed network, Portovenere by ferry across the gulf, or the city itself on foot. Most cruisers pick the Cinque Terre and ration two or three villages rather than try all five. This guide covers the shuttle, the trains, the ferries and the practical realities of each option so the day ashore is not lost queueing for the wrong ticket.

Port Overview

Getting From the Port to Town

Top Excursions

More Experiences in La Spezia

Things to Do in La Spezia

Most cruisers spend the day out of La Spezia rather than in it, but the city is a perfectly pleasant walk if a train day does not appeal. Via del Prione runs the spine of the old town from the waterfront up to Piazza Cavour, where the covered market has been trading since 1934. The Museo Tecnico Navale beside the Arsenale gates is one of the better free naval museums in Italy.

For sea and views, the Portovenere ferry from the inner harbour is the easiest half-day out without a train ticket. The Cinque Terre Express handles everything else: trains every 15 to 20 minutes, five villages and Levanto along the line, and a single park card that covers trains, shuttles and trail access.

• Catch the Early Cinque Terre Express. Trains from La Spezia Centrale fill up by mid-morning. Joining the 08:00 or 08:30 service to Riomaggiore puts you a village ahead of the day-tripper wave and gives a clean run at photographs in Vernazza before the harbour wall is three deep. Express trains run every 15 to 20 minutes.
• Walk Corniglia’s Lardarina Steps. The brick staircase from Corniglia station to the clifftop village is 33 flights, 377 steps in all, and a Cinque Terre rite of passage. A shuttle bus runs every 10 to 15 minutes for travellers who would rather not, and is included in the Cinque Terre Card.
• Try the Salted Anchovies of Monterosso. Monterosso’s anchovies, known locally as ‘pan do ma’ (bread of the sea), have their own DOP and their own festivals each June (fried) and September (salted). Eaten on focaccia with a glass of Vermentino, they make the simplest lunch in Liguria.
• Visit the Museo Tecnico Navale. The Italian Navy’s museum sits just outside the Arsenale gates near the cruise terminal. The collection of figureheads alone is worth half an hour, and entry is a nominal fee with photo ID required for security.
• Ride the Harbour Ferry to Portovenere. The 45-minute crossing rounds the headland past the naval base and Palmaria island. In Portovenere itself the tall, narrow houses of the Calata Doria form a single painted wall along the quay, and the church of San Pietro stands on the rock above Byron’s Grotto. Return tickets sit around €13 in 2026.
• Buy Lunch from Piazza Cavour Market. The covered market has been trading since 1934. A wedge of focaccia di Recco, a few slices of salame nostrale and a bottle of Sciacchetra will cost less than a coffee on the ship and travel happily back to a bench on the passeggiata.
• Climb the Doria Castle Terrace in Portovenere. The terrace at the top of the Doria Castle (entry €2.50) looks back across the gulf to the Cinque Terre and out to Palmaria island. A modest climb up cobbled lanes from the harbour, rewarded with one of the best free-ish views on the Ligurian coast.
• Day-Trip to Pisa’s Field of Miracles. Regional trains run roughly hourly to Pisa, with the fastest direct services around 50 minutes. Some regionals stop at Pisa San Rossore, only 400 metres from the Field of Miracles. Climbing the Leaning Tower costs €20 in a timed 30-minute slot for 30 visitors; combined tickets including Duomo, Baptistery and Camposanto are €27.

Best Restaurants in La Spezia

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Getting Around

Essential Travel Tips

Most cruise passengers underestimate how long the return queue takes on a busy La Spezia call. Build that into your day, and a quick packing list with layers, water and decent walking shoes covers the practical side without overthinking it.

Deciding between a shore excursion and independent travel in La Spezia comes down to two things: how much you trust the local logistics, and how forgiving the return is if something runs late. First-time cruisers usually overestimate the difficulty of independent travel in compact ports and underestimate it in spread-out ones.

Excursions are worth the premium in some ports and not in others. La Spezia sits in the middle: ship tours carry real logistical value on long day trips, but the city itself is straightforward enough that your spending money goes further on independent food, taxis and the occasional museum.

Repeat visitors to La Spezia often time their next cruise around shoulder season; the difference in crowd density and cabin pricing is significant. Visa and passport rules rarely catch UK passengers out here, but the right cabin choice can make the rest of the cruise more comfortable than any single port day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to Explore La Spezia?

La Spezia is rarely the reason a ship calls; it is the door to the Cinque Terre, the back route to Florence and Pisa and, on a good day, the quiet alternative of Portovenere across the gulf. What it offers in its own right is more modest: a working harbour, a long pedestrian street, a market that has fed the city for ninety years and one of the better free naval museums in the country. The trick on a port day is to commit early and book hard. Choose the Cinque Terre or the Tuscan cities, not both. If it is the villages, buy a Treno MS Card and ride the first train out; if it is Florence, accept that one gallery is the realistic ceiling. Plan the day before the gangway opens, take the first train out and the last back, and leave a little room at the end for a glass of something cold on the passeggiata before the all-aboard horn.