My wife and I are going to Europe about the end of April, and are planning to take the train from Paris to Rome. (I'm a retired railroad Conductor, and still love traveling by train.) We'll have 4 or 5 days in Rome, and were thinking that a day trip to Florence might be a good idea.
It appears to me, however, that our train from Milan to Rome (Milan is where we change from SNCF to Trenitalia) will be going through Florence, and that it might be a good idea just to stop off in Florence for a day on our way to Rome.
What say ye, travelers? Should we make the stop-off in Florence, or should we visit there on a day trip from Rome?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23666 posts
It would be a more efficient use of your time and would provide a better view of Florence the longer you can stay. A day trip to Florence will eat up four or five hours of your time - round trip travel, waiting for the train, etc. On a day trip you time would be more limited than if you stayed overnight or even two.
Posted by
Orlando
516 posts
If your going to see Florence, I would try and spend one night. Lots of people talk about spending a week in Florence, but you can see it in two. Rome can take a week easy and then some.
Posted by
752 posts
Get off the train in Firenze and stay awhile because Firenze is Not a day trip from Rome. And Firenze is Not some place you pass thru just to get to Rome. You will miss all the day trips from Firenze -- Cinque Terre, Siena, Lucca, Pisa, Versilia, and so much more. You will miss the class and beauty of Firenze, the fashion, and the Food that's only found in Firenze. Everywhere i go in Italy, locals ask me about the food of Firenze because they have only heard about it. Don't miss the food of Firenze. Don't miss Dante's neighborhood and Michelangelo's house. The best 18 carat gold in Italy is found at Ponte Vecchio. The Conad on Pietrapiano is not found in Rome. The caffe bars, dolce, and gelato shops in Firenze are like no where else. The culture, the people, it's all different, the most honest taxi drivers are in Firenze, a phenomenon in itself.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Morris, you can do this. Just don't buy your train tickets from Paris to Rome and expect to get off in Florence for a few days. Buy your tickets from Paris to Florence. I see them now for as low as 59Euro. For the 6:41am run, it takes 7.0hrs to get to the Milano-Porta Garibaldi station (not the Milano-Centrale station). At the Milano-Porta Garibaldi station, and according to the SNCF schedule, you change to the very nice and new Italian Italo train to get to Firenze-SMN. 2.0hrs later and you are in Florence. Other later routings from Paris take longer and will go via Munich/Venice (Oh, Oh, you may want to stop there) or via Basel, Switzerland.
If you can plan your precise departure from Florence (and I bet you can as a former conductor), you can buy tickets up to 119 days in advance of travel from Firenze-SMN to Roma-Termini on www.trenitalia.com for as low as 19Euro (it's a 45Euro ticket). Tickets are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged. Or, you can buy tickets on the new Italo train from Firenze-SMN to Roma-Tiburtina https://biglietti.italotreno.it/Booking_Acquisto_Ricerca.aspx for as low as 20Euro. Same restrictions.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32404 posts
Morris,
I agree with the others that it would be better to stop for a day or two in Florence, especially as it's "on the way". Florence is an incredible city with lots to see and a day trip doesn't really provide as much time (IMO).
The method suggested by Larry in the last post is probably the one I'd use. Disembark at Milano P.G. and then use Italo for the trip to Firenze SMN. As you may know, many cities in Europe have more than one station, so it's important to know the correct stations when buying tickets.
One point to note is that there are some potentially expensive "caveats" when using trains and Buses in Italy. If you need further information on those, post another note and I'll send my usual "boilerplate" on the subject. It would be a shame for a retired railroad Conductor to get nicked with a huge fine!
Happy travels!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8371 posts
Italy is one of those places that's overloaded with art, architecture, history and great food. 4-5 days in Italy is even a short time to just tour Rome.
Paris to Florence is about 725 miles--in a straight line. It's another 170 miles from Florence to Rome.
My suggestion is to fly from Paris-Orly to Pisa for between 45€ and 50€ on EasyJet.com. You can catch the train out of the Pisa Airport into town and transfer to a direct train to Florence that runs just about hourly.
That'll give you time to visit Florence, and not be dead dog tired from the train trip. When it's time to go to Rome, you can be down there from Florence in a couple of hours on a Fast Train. The fast trains do require reservations, however.
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
927 posts
Morris, Since you are a train man and short on time, you might consider taking an overnight train from Paris to Milan and then on to Florence via the fast train. You will arrive in Florence around 0900, spend one night and then take the train the next evening to Rome. This would effectively give you 2 days to wander around Florence and then the final 3 for Rome. Here is a link for overnight train info.
http://www.seat61.com/thello-train-from-paris-to-italy.htm#.Uqc7jvRDt8E