Still buy train tickets day of travel?

Personally I find it easier to use apps to buy train tickets in Europe, but yes, you can buy tickets the day of travel at the station too.

Yes, this is always possible, all the more so if it is a regional train getting you there. Since I usually stay near the train station, I prefer buying the ticket from the machine using cash or the credit card the night before in Germany and France, much less of a rush and all that. There is no reservation anyway. If I have questions at that time , then I go to ticket office. In France I prefer dealing with a staffed ticket counter than the SNCF machine.

Is this currently a possible approach?

It's a little risky when you are going to/coming back from a seaside town on summer weekends. Especially when you'd like to have AC and a seat all the way to your final destination.

Thank you all for your prompt replies. Regional trains are typically how we travel. We are planning to train from Rome to Florence this October and may want a first class ticket for this trip.

Hello, Becky
We just got back from the RS HOI 9 day tour, and we had booked tickets online from Florence to Rome about three weeks ago (on Trenitalia), to get us to Rome a day ahead of our return flight. Firenze SMN (Santa Maria Novella) was mobbed, but there were still many people buying tickets at the station. There were still a few open seats on our trip, so I think they did a good job of anticipating rider capacity.

But, considering how surprised we were about how crowded Italy was (in general), I think would use some kind of advance-purchase strategy, if I were you.

We booked Italo, the private high-speed line, in advance for all our intercity train journeys since the prices were consistently lower than Trenitalia. They all use the same tracks.

Italo's first-class Prima cars have a bit more legroom, but the second-class Smart cars are fine too, all are better than an airplane. The countryside looks the same whether you're going at regular train speed or superfast. Trains seldom go through the most scenic area either. My advice is take the comfortable fast train and maximize your time there. You can rent a car to explore the really scenic parts to your heart's content.

Regional trains are typically how we travel.

Regional trains still do not have reserved seats and still can't sell out.

We are planning to train from Rome to Florence this October and may want a first class ticket for this trip.

Most of the Regionale trains on that route have no 1st class cars; they are also very slow, you'd waste more than one hour.

Even if I like the idea of using the good ol' Regionales, This is one of those trips You should take either an IC train or an high speed one.

Note that many ICs run by Trenitalia stop at Campo di Marte station in Florence and not at SM Novella.