How to travel by train from Paris to Milan?

For starters, here's a page that will give you lots of info: http://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm The direct train b/n Paris and Milan is the Artesia train (3 per day); that link shows you photos of the sleeper cars, the regular cars (1st and 2nd class), the seating charts - all kinds of good stuff. The sleeper cars are in the 1st photo, and the regular/day cars are in the first 6 photos of the next grouping of photos. The trains with connections often don't take much more time than the direct ones (and many of their photos are also on this page)...BUT these 3 direct trains are MUCH cheaper - if you purchase in advance! You can, and (in my opinion) should purchase tickets in advance for the discounted price...if your travel plans are locked down. You can also purchase regular price tickets online. If you want the night train, you should reserve ASAP - they will sell out. The bad news - it gets more complicated...but doable! (cont.)

(cont.) First - you can't order from the Italian train website trenitalia.com because you can't take delivery of your ticket (only pick-up or mail delivery IN ITALY). Second - you can buy from tgv-europe.com: http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/?DISTRIBUTED_COUNTRY=GB If the 'ticket collection country' doesn't say 'Great Britain', then choose it to keep you from being routed to RailEurope (charges for delivery; doesn't always show all available trains, etc.). After typing in all of your trip data IF the next page asks you to choose between RailEurope and tgv-europe, click on the 2nd button for tgv-europe. Now, you should see your choices - the direct train departures are at 7:42, 15:24, and 20:33 (night train). I've chosen the date of Sept 27 for the best prices... While not every train combo is shown on the German train website http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml and you can't buy tickets there, I think the layout is much easier to read that at tgv-europe. Regular price, 2nd class: €98, 1st cl: €118 Cheapest 2nd class: €30, 1st: €50 At tgv-europe.com you can see how much more expensive the other trains with connections are - OUCH! Hopefully, one of the 3 direct trains will fit your schedule. I've taken this very train; it was a very nice experience (it was in 1st class), especially considering the length of travel time. Bring some picnic food onboard!!! Hope this helps...!

Nancy, The method I'd use is to drop by an SNCF Boutique soon after arrival in Paris, and simply buy a P-P ticket which will include reservations. There are numerous Boutiques all over Paris. Have a look at www.sncf.com/en_EN/html/media/CH0004-Everyday-life/BR0315-SNCF-Boutiques/MD0305_20070702-Read-article.html for the details. There's a direct train departing Gare du Lyon at 07:42, arriving Milano Centrale at 14:50 (time 7H:08M). There are numerous other trains on that route, but most have at least one change. The direct train is via TGV, which travels at 300 kmH for part of the trip. That's the easiest method AFAIK. Get on the train in Paris, buy a coffee or breakfast in the dining car, relax and enjoy the trip. In a few hours you'll be disembarking into the chaos of Milano Centrale! Happy travels!

I'm with Eileen. Book ASAP (up to three months in advance) at tgv-europe.com to get a 2nd class Prem's fare as low as €30 for a direct day train or a 1st class Depart fare as low as €55 for a bunk in a four-person couchette on the direct night train.