How to Get Around Cosenza

Cosenza is two cities with a river between them, and they walk very differently.

The modern city is flat and easy, with Corso Mazzini pedestrianised through the middle of it.

The old town is a steep climb on stepped lanes. There is no easy way around that; budget the effort and wear the right shoes.

Buses cover the city and run out to Rende and the university.

The station, Cosenza, is north of the centre with a bus link; regional trains run to the coast and north towards Sibari.

A car is the only practical way into the Sila, and mountain roads there are good but slow and can close in snow.

Parking in the old town is close to impossible; leave the car below.

Cosenza is inland and reached by road more than by rail.

By road it sits on the A2 motorway, which is the main north-south route through Calabria: about an hour to Tropea's coast, two and a half hours to Reggio Calabria, and around four to Naples.

The nearest airport is Lamezia Terme, about an hour south, which is Calabria's main airport.

Trains serve Cosenza on a branch; the main Tyrrhenian line runs through Paola on the coast, about forty minutes away, and that is where fast trains to Rome and Naples are caught.

Coaches run long-distance north and are often the better option.

The Sila is half an hour east by road; the historic narrow-gauge line up to the plateau runs as a tourist service in season.

Coverage for mobile networks is good in the city, patchy in the Sila forests.