While trying to check fares on the Trenitalia site from Firenze to Nice, the drop down menu does not show SMN station. Is there another name for it?
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7180 posts
The official name is Santa Maria Novella, is that in the drop down menu?
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Just tried it, I typed "Fir" and a list popped up, first entry "Firenze S. M. Novella". You can also select "Firenze ( Tutte Le Stazioni )" = Florence, any station. If you type "Florence", it doesn't find anything.
for Nice, it found "Nice-Ville" = Nice town.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
When looking at train schedules, it's usually best to just put in the city name. If there is an option for "all stations," choose that one. Only if you have to choose should you then pick the most central one for a city (which for Florence is indeed Firenze SMN, and for Nice, Nice Ville).
A note on train station names in Europe: in a city with more than one station, there will first be the city name, then the specific name of that station. While some of the names are very recognizable, others aren't, or will exist in more than one city. So, if you say "Santa Maria Novella," most people will think "Florence," but that's not the full name - it's Firenze Santa Maria Novella, as opposed to Firenze Rifredi or Firenze Campo di Marte. Rome and Milan have over 20 stations, each with "Roma" and "Milano" as the first part of the name.
Why is this important?
1) On some routes, you will pass through several stations, all with the city name, before reaching the one you want. It's important not to get off at the first "Nice" or "Interlaken" you see, but to make sure you are at the right one (I've made this mistake more than once). Interlaken in particular causes problems - connections for the Berner Oberland can only be made at Interlaken Ost, but many trains go through Interlaken West first - so people get off there, then post angry rants that the station names should be clearer. They are - if you know the system.
2) Not using the full name can get you to the wrong station, particularly in England. London has a Liverpool Street station, and Liverpool has a Lime Street station - so asking for a ticket to "Liverpool" can easily get you to the wrong place, if you don't use both the city and the station name.