Venice to Paris

You can check out the trenitalia website to see what trains will cost and how long the trip will take. They are in the process of loading their new schedules so just choose a date within November to get an idea of the time frame and cost involved. It won't change much between now and when you plan to travel. Just as a side note, 7 days is not a lot of time and trying to see 3 main cities in that short amount of time will not leave you a lot of time to enjoy them. I would suggest cutting one out and splitting the time between just two of them. You lose at least half a day when changing cities so your 7 days really becomes 5.5 days. Donna

The primary train between Italy and Paris is the Artesia train. There is one Artesia train departing at 19:57 from Venice that goes to Paris-Bercy. The journey takes 12hrs22min and arrives in Paris at 8:19. 2nd class fare is 130Eu. No train changes on this run. If you want a run that is 2hrs shorter in duration, you catch the Italian EScity from Venice at 12:50 and change trains to the Artesia in Milan. Fare is the same but you arrive at Paris Gare-de-Lyon at 23:21. You can see this on the www.trenitalia.com website.

Andrew Larry has provided good information on the trains to Paris. Check to see if the cost he mentioned for overnight train was for a seat or a sleeper compartment. And the cost of private and shared accommodations. In a shared compartment, you could have up to 6 people, some snoring, some getting up in the middle of the night to use the toilet down the hall, and some who had way too much garlic for dinner. Even my son, who was 21 at the time and stayed in some hostels, said never again a shared compartment. If you are in a seat, just compare this with staying up all night. Did you check the cost of a flight? I know you are taking other flights, but this might be a better choice if the train options are not what you want. Bobbie

We actually did this in May. Took the train from Venice to Turin (Torino) and spent the two nights (due to train schedules) and then trained into Paris. Turin was well worth a stop over. Left Venice o/a 1 I think, strolled around Turin that afternoon until dinner. Next day did some sight seeing for half a day and then on to Paris. No fuss no muss with airport security or sitting up all night on a train (tried the sleeper car thing once and that was more than enough). If you can't spare the time the only options are overnight trains or flying. Factor in 2 hours for airport security and getting to the gate when weighing your options. My memory could be at fault here but I seem to recall there were no direct flights Venice to Paris. Finally, I consider train trips as part of the sightseeing experience...ooooh looook at that castle on the hilltop...

There certainly are direct non-stop flights from Venice Marco Polo to Paris. Took one just this past May on Air France. Very easy. Short flight. And the Venice airport has recently been remodeled and it's quite nice. It's the option I would choose, but then I wouldn't be flying in from Australia. I was amazed at how many Aussies we ran into. How long does it take you to get to Italy from Down Under? Happy travels.

taking the train is fine; just know that you could be saving money by using a cheapo airline to connect paris with any other non-france european city, such as venice (i.e. easyjet, vueling airlines, etc.). (assuming you aren't traveling with more than one checked luggage per person). it would probably be even cheaper if you took a train to milan and then a flight. between the 3 airports of milan and the 2 of paris, there are tons of discount airlines based at those airports offering dirt-cheap tickets. (as low as $20 + bag fee(s) anywhere from $20-50/bag---cheaper than the train).

The Trenitalia site doesn't list all routes and times because it doesn't show connections outside of Italy. For complete timetables use the German Rail site. For example, you can leave Venezia Santa Lucia as early as 06:20, connect at Milano Centrale and Zurich HB, and arrive at Paris Est at 17:34. Other daytime routes include Venezia-Milano-Basel-Paris and Venezia-Milano-Geneve-Paris.

Thanks for everyones reply. We land into Italy on the 9th of July and we fly out of europe from paris on the 24th..I plan to stay in paris for at least 4 nights so that leaves me with roughly 10 days in Italy. Do you guys consider Rome, Florence and Venice must sees? or do you guys suggest another city besides venices perhaps on the west coast?
Id like to visit Pompeii just out of history sake... I think we might end up flying to paris seems cheaper and less fuss.

@ Michael We are breaking up the flight a little
Singapore - Qatar - Athens - Rome..if we had to fly direct to Rome from Australia it would take roughly 16 hours

There's a reason that Rome, Florence and Venice are on the standard first tour of Italy - They're definitely the highlights. Whether they're right for you depends on your interests, but I sure am glad I went to all three on our first trip to Italy. They each merit at least three nights in each city. The RS Italy book is an outstanding resource especially for first time travelers to Italy. If you don't have one, I suggest you buy one. It will be the smartest money you spend on your trip. Happy travels.

I would fly and not take the train. I've only taken one overnight train and vowed never to take it again. Never got any sleep so the benefit of traveling all night was lost by needing to spend several hours of our arrival day taking a nap. If you're a sound sleep go for it, otherwise fly. The sleeper cars are not cheap to the flight may be cheaper, just watch the luggage allowance.