We will be taking a train from Milan to Venice. I've been using RailEurope to look at tickets. The time varys from 2-3 hours, but the train ends at Venezia Mestre stop. I thought we wanted to end at the S. Lucia stop in Venice....but the tickets to get into that station say the ride is over an hour longer? Am I right, to get to the main sites, we want to come into the S. Lucia stop? This other train stop (mestre) is it really an hour away and we'll have to take a train to Lucia anyways? Thanks for any clarification
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1003 posts
Mestre is not an hour from Santa Lucia, it's like 10-15 minutes across the causeway. The difference might be that the train that ends at S. Lucia might be an intercity (slower) train and the train that ends at Mestre might be a EuroStar train. You definitely want to take the EuroStar if you can because it's faster, but if the only EuroStar trains end in Mestre, it's no big deal. I took a train out of Venice that left from Mestre and it wasn't a huge inconvenience (you just have to deal with your luggage one more time haha). You do need to get to the S. Lucia station to get to Venice itself (Mestre is on the mainland), but either way it is not a huge deal. But I would personally use the Trenitalia site to confirm the schedule, I think sometimes RailEurope doesn't show all the options, and you don't have to book in advance, you can book your ticket to Venice when you are in Milan. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a EuroStar train that goes from Milan to Venice S. Lucia
Edit: - in fact a quick look at the Trenitalia site shows several a day, so you should have no problem getting to the right station on the faster train. So raileurope was giving you incorrect/incomplete information.
Posted by
Austin, TX, USA
492 posts
Raileurope doesn't always show all the available trains, it might be better to look directly at the trenitalia web site. From their site it look slike its only about 10-12 minutes from Mestre to S. Lucia.
Posted by
OP
Baudette, MN, United States
163 posts
If we come into Mestre...how do we get to S. Lucia? Any ideas on the cost of that? Thanks
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1003 posts
It used to be 1 euro, not sure if it's gone up in the past year... it's very simple, you just buy the little ticket in the tobacco shop or whatever in the station and hop on any train going to S. Lucia. But from my very quick look at the Trenitalia schedule, you really shouldn't have to stop at Mestre.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
Jodi,
When you arrive in Milano, buy a P-P ticket direct to Venezia Santa Lucia station (preferably using a EuroStar Italia, as it will be faster). The ticket cost will be a bit higher on the fast trains, due to the mandatory reservation fee. I wouldn't bother changing at Mestre.
I checked the route briefly, and the shortest trip from Milano to Venezia SL was 2H20M, using a direct (fast) train (no changes). Reservation compulsory of course. Note that new schedules will be posted on Dec. 14 AFAIK, so be sure to check the web site just before you head to Italy.
When you arrive at Venezia SL, walk out the large doors and down the steps, and you'll be at the Grand Canal (it's an unforgettable feeling to see for the first time)! Check Rick's book for info on which Vaporetto routes are best.
If you want to check times for rail journeys, use the www.bahn.de website. It's much preferable to the Rail Europe site.
Happy travels!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
All trains that end at Venezia Santa Lucia stop first at Venezia Mestre. However, not all trains that stop at Mestre go on to Santa Lucia.
It's a ten-minute ride from Mestre to Santa Lucia. Regional trains make that run at least every ten minutes.
Posted by
Boscombe, Dorset, UK
964 posts
Hi Jodi,
I just got back from Italy and made that very same journey, from Milan to Venice. Yes, you want the S.Lucia stop.
I see you have a post from Tim, in Minot- I have to say, he saved our bacon when we made the return journey, because the trains were on strike. He gave me the number and time of the only 2 trains that were running that day. So IMHO, Tim's The Man when it comes to Italian trains! Best wishes, Maggie.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
13 posts
Yes, be careful of the train strikes. We were planning on saving a few Euros by leaving our rental car in Mestre and taking the train to Venice two weeks ago, but when we arrived all the trains and buses were on strike. We learned that there was one train still running to Venice in a few hours, but judging by all the people waiting at the station on this one train, we decided not to take a chance and instead drove our car into Venice and paid the extra 15 Euros a day to park in Tronchetto. Evidentally strikes are not that unusual and often just last a day, as the person at the desk at our hotel simply shrugged it off and said it will be over at midnight.
Posted by
Renton, WA, USA
39 posts
We took the train from Cinque Terre to Venice and had no trouble getting right to S. Lucia without switching trains.
As I said in another post, some of the vaporetto route numbers have been changed recently, so guidebooks might not have that info.
It is indeed a thrill to step out of the train station and gaze at the Grand Canal. I put our bags down and said to my wife "NOW we're in Venice!"