Travel Note
The venue is Villa Miragola, located in Lerici (in the province of La Spezia (SP)) in Italy. If you're using Google Maps to navigate, please search "Villa Marigola"; searching for the address directly instead pins a different location. Lerici is 15 minutes by car from Sarzana, but it may take about 30 minutes as the weekend of May 31-June 2 is a long weekend. The easiest way to get there from your accommodation is by car (parking is available at the venue). Please register your vehicle at the reception desk, as Lerici has a limited traffic zone. If you’re staying in Lerici, you might be able to walk to the venue. Taxis should be available in La Spezia and Sarzana, but you'll need to be able to make phone calls abroad to reach them: Radio Taxi La Spezia +39 0187 523523, Radio Taxi Sarzana +39 0187 627777. As far as we know, Uber/Lyft do not exist in the area. La location sarà Villa Miragola a Lerici (in provincia di La Spezia). Se usate Google Maps per le indicazioni, cercate “Villa Marigola”; cercando l'indirizzo direttamente si ottiene una posizione diversa. Lerici è a 15 minuti di auto da Sarzana, ma potrebbero volerci circa 30 minuti a causa del ponte del 2 giugno. Se arrivate col treno, le stazioni più vicine sono Sarzana e La Spezia Centrale. Dovrebbero esserci taxi disponibili, ma consigliamo di chiamare in anticipo (Radio Taxi La Spezia +39 0187 523523, Radio Taxi Sarzana +39 0187 627777). A nostra conoscenza, Uber/Lyft non esistono nella zona. Se arrivate in auto, il parcheggio è disponibile presso la location; dovrete registrare la vostra auto alla reception della Villa, siccome Lerici è una zona a traffico limitato.
Flight
This airport is the closest major airport to Sarzana and offers some direct flights overseas.
Rental Car
Renting and driving a car from the airport may be the easiest option to get to Sarzana. This takes about 3.5 hours; almost all highways in Italy are toll roads, so be prepared to pay. In this case, you’ll need to pick up a ticket at the entrance of the highway and show this ticket to the attendant at the exit (or automatic machine); be sure to pick the attendant with your preferred form of payment (some accept both credit card and cash, some one or the other, and some are reserved for people with the contact-less machine).
Train
Milano Malpensa Airport is about 5 hours by train to Sarzana. You will need to take a train from Malpensa airport to Milano Centrale train station, and from Milano Centrale you will be able to take a train to Sarzana (this may or may not require a transfer). Most trains will go through Genoa, along the northwest coast and usually require you to transfer in Genoa or La Spezia to be on a train that stops in Sarzana (careful: both Genoa and La Spezia have multiple train stations).
Flight
Rome Fiumicino is another major international airport in Italy that offers some direct flights overseas, but it's further from Sarzana. Renting and driving a car from the airport will again be the easiest option; this takes about 4 to 5 hours (depends heavily on traffic). There is also a train station at the Rome Fiumicino airport. You will need to first go Roma Termini train station and transfer there to another line.
Flight
This is a much smaller airport that will most likely require 2 lay-overs from overseas, but it is the closest airport to Sarzana. Driving to Sarzana is about 1 hour. Pisa Airport has a train station (Pisa Airport Station) that is direct to Pisa Centrale train station; this connection takes 5-10 minutes and appears to have one train leave every 10 minutes. There are many trains that go to Sarzana from Pisa Centrale each day (both without transfer or with 1 transfer); this takes about 1 hour.
Flight
This is the 2nd closest airport to Sarzana, which will also most likely require 1-2 lay-overs from overseas. It is approximately 1.5 hours by car or about 2 hours by train to Sarzana. This airport does not have a train station, but does have an airport shuttle that can bring you to Santa Maria Novella (main train station in Florence); this takes about 20 minutes, with one leaving every 5-10 minutes at peak hours. Florence train station is also well connected to Sarzana, with most connections going through Pisa Centrale (other options are also possible, including a few direct ones).
Travel Note
The easiest places to rent a car is at the airport; La Spezia, the city closest to Sarzana, also has 1 or 2 options. It’ll be useful to have a car to get around in the area, but trains and buses are generally also available (and easier to use in some cases where parking is limited). A car will also be useful for getting to the weeding venue in Lerici. Driving in Italy: Almost all cars in Italy are standard cars (stick-shift). You may be able to rent an automatic car, but they are not common. Cars are on average much smaller than in the US or Canada, which work well for the size of Italian streets and parking spots. Please be careful of scooters and motorcycles while driving; it is common for scooters and motorcycles to use the other lane of traffic to bypass slow cars or to drive in between slow traffic. Electronic speeding tickets can also be issued; however, these are usually signed in advance (Controllo Elettronico Della Velocità). Speed limits are shown with a number (in kilometers per hour) in a red circle on white background.
Travel Note
There are several types of trains: - Regional train tickets depend on the number of kilometers; if purchased online, they usually already include the time and date they are to be used on; if purchased at the train station, you may need to stamp them before getting on the train (look for the stamp boxes on train tracks, they’re often yellow; worst case, write the date and time on them yourself). Seats are not assigned. - Fast train tickets come in different prices depending on how fast they are and the class selected (first class is often not worth it); they are to be used on the date and time specified on the ticket. Seats are assigned (look for your car number (carrozza) and seat number on the ticket; you can usually select seats next to each other when you purchase, if the train is not too full). For transfers, be sure to leave enough time between trains, as delays of 5-10 minutes are normal.
Travel Note
There are several accommodations options in the area around Sarzana (like bed&breakfasts (agriturismi – usually very cute), apartments, Airbnb, hotels). Lerici also has several accommodation options. However, it is a very touristic area, so availability can be low in the summer (and prices can get high). In particular, the weekend of May 31-June 2 is a very popular long weekend for travel. We’d recommend booking in advance, if possible. Below are a couple of examples of hotels around Sarzana with more rooms or larger rooms, but many more options are there in the city center and the area. Nei dintorni di Sarzana ci sono diverse possibilità di alloggio (agriturismi, appartamenti, Airbnb, hotel, etc.). Anche Lerici ha molti alloggi. Tuttavia, é una zona molto turistica, quindi la disponibilità può essere scarsa in estate (e i prezzi possono diventare alti). In particolare, durante il ponte del 2 giugno la disponibilità può essere limitata. Vi consigliamo di prenotare in anticipo. Di seguito, abbiamo elencato qualche esempio di hotel vicino a Sarzana con più stanze o con stanze più grandi, ma ci sono molte altre opzioni in centro o nei dintorni.
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