Train from Milan to Venice

The direct high speed train from Milan Central to Venice Santa Lucia takes about 2.5 hours. The cost varies based on 1st or 2nd class coach and time of travel and when tickets are purchased. We rode this train last month for 35 Euros in first class. Easy trip with many daily departures.

Hello and welcome to the forum!

When is your trip?

You can check for yourself at
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html

The fast train (Frecciarossa) takes about 2.5 hours. Give or take a few minutes.
There are many trains all day long

The price varies, if you purchase in advance there are discounts (but restrictions)
You can see the Base Rate on their website

Station names:
Milano Centrale
Venezia S Lucia

If you can do add another night and arrive in Venice a day before the tour

If you are interested in seeing the Last Supper you will need to purchase timed entry in advance
Tickets go FAST
I believe they are available now thru early October
Let us know and we can point you to website and more info about getting those tickets,

You've provided such great information. Thank you for your help.

Refresh
I added a few things

I started my best of Venice, Florence and Rome tour in Milan because I wanted to see the Last Supper. The morning the tour started I took the Trenitalia over to Venice. I’d bought my tickets before leaving the US. I had a first class ticket and it wasn’t terribly expensive. I think it lasted about 3 hours, then a vaporetto to the hotel. I arrived around lunchtime, got checked in and had plenty of time to walk over and see San Marco before our tour kicked off at 4.

You can also use Italo for fast trains from Milano Centrale to Venice Santa Lucia. This is a private company. Their website is a little more user-friendly than Trenitalia, and prices are comparable.

https://www.italotreno.com/en

Thank you. I appreciate the website link.

Unsolicited comment, but I would want to be on a train leaving Milan by 11 AM at the latest.

I'm a bit late to the party here, but just want to add that flying into Milano is a great idea given that you want to spend some time there before getting to Venice for the start of the tour. This will also allow you time to recover from the flight/jet lag while spending a few days in a delightful city. Quite a lot to see. All of that will be so much easier than flying into Rome, then taking a train to Venice (which is what someone recommended in your other post re: flights).

Not sure how many days you'll have to devote to Milano, but I'd recommend a minimum of 3 nights, more if you can, especially for your first destination. (And I second Christine's recommendation to get tickets ASAP for The Last Supper.) For similar reasons, if you can arrive in Venice a few days before the tour, you'll be able to see and experience other things that are not part of the tour. Your tour days in Venice are very limited, and there is so much to see. I would absolutely not train to Venice from Milano the same day your tour begins in case there is a snag with train travel.

We trained from Venice to Milan (the reverse of what you're proposing), and found it to be an easy train ride requiring no transfers. (Minimizing the schlepping of luggage is always a good thing!) The key is booking your train reservations in advance for the best price, and also to ensure that you get the departure date/time that works best for you. Pro-tip: it's a long enough train ride that you might want to buy takeaway food at the train station (or market) to eat on the train, especially if you're traveling during lunchtime. The food options on the train were quite disappointing.

In August there is a construction closure on the train line between Verona and Padua which which will add more than 1 hour to the travel time as the fast trains have to be diverted on a detour to the south on regional tracks that are slower speed in addition to being a longer distance. Alternative is a fast train to Bologna followed by a fast train to Venice. Either way, it is a longer travel time

Thank you for the construction update. It is good to know when planning.