Web site for train travel

Stew, the best train site for Europe train travel is www.bahn.de the German train site. Note however, that even this site may not quote fares for inter-country travel. Also, www.sbb.ch does show fares within Switzerland. I look them up all the time. What are you looking for?

I am ending a 7 day bike tour of Avignon area of France.

I was thinking of slowly making my way to Rome to fly home instead of Paris(thats if Air Canada is still going to Rome in May 2009)They announce big flight cuts.

Anyways I was wondering about just catching a train here and there from Avignon to Rome?

thanks

By train, you have some choices. A couple of runs route to Rome via Lyon/Geneva/Lausanne/Milan. A couple of others route via Nice/Genoa/Pisa/Florence. Trip time takes anywhere from 13hrs-17hrs depending on the run you choose. However, you are indicating that you would like to stop on the way. Any particular preferences on the runs?

As Larry stated, Die Bahn is best for researching inter-country rail travel.

For your trip, you will need native sites to purchase tickets. The Trenitalia site will do the same for Italy. You will have to create an account on the site. Look out for "Amica" fares.

For France, visit the SNCF sales site. Click the TRAIN tab. In the address bar, search for "CommVoySaisie&_LANG=fr&". Change "fr" to "UK" and refresh. The page will convert to English. Purchase tickets 3 months (90 days) in advance to save the maximum amount of money. Look out for PREM and Loisir fares.

P.S. Avignon has two stations, a local one (Centre) and a high speed one (TGV). Make a note of whether you are leaving from Avignon TGV or Avignon Centre. The TGV station is outside the town. You can reach it by using the frequent shuttle service which departs at the Post Office. Avignon Centre is right outside the city walls.

Any suggestions what to see between Avignon and Rome?

Also any idea the cost to travel from Avignon to Rome?