1. pick up train at Milan Sunday late afternoon, is there another more scenic choice rail, other than trenitalia, and is it worth it, if traveling late afternoon, early evening? or already dark at 6:00 pm in October. 2. after 2 days in Monteux, what is the most scenic place to go next, knowing that we have to be in Venice, that Friday night, leave Montreux on Tues,afternoon, )and will need easy travel from that "new spot" to Venice. Scenic Rail/ or bus tour, or private tour (that isn't tooo pricey) to New spot is fine...just need help finding that perfect place for the next few days after Montreux...scenic beauty wanted
3. we were thinking Lucerne, but how to easily get from Lucerne to Venice, other than a $900 perperson flight?? Help thanks everyone....
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
1. You'll only have three choices: a. A direct Eurocity train, departing Milano Centrale at 17:25 and arriving at Montreux at 20:23. b. A Eurocity train from Milano Centrale to Brig, departing at 18:25 and arriving at 20:16, and a regional train from Brig to Montreux, departing at 20:28 and arriving at 21:53. c. A direct Eurocity train, departing Milano Centrale at 19:25 and arriving at Montreux at 22:23. The standard 2nd class fare for a direct Eurocity train all the way to Montreux is €59.50. Booked well in advance (up to 90 days allowed) on the Trenitalia site, you can get a Smart fare of €19.00 or a Smart 2 fare of €29.00. The standard 2nd class fare for a Eurocity train only as far as Brig is €34.40. Booked in advance, you can get the same Smart or Smart 2 fares. If you choose "b", you'll have a short connection time in Brig. You'll need to book e-tickets on the Swiss Rail site so you don't miss your connection. You can book up to 30 days in advance. The default 2nd class fare is 18.00 CHF, but that requires having a half-fare card which won't benefit you. Uncheck the half-fare box and proceed with booking tickets for 36.00 CHF. 3. Lucerne - Venice: Take a Eurocity train leaving Lucerne at 08:18 and arriving at Milano Centrale at 11:50. Take a Eurocity train leaving Milano Centrale at 12:05 and arriving at Venezia Santa Lucia at 14:40. To get discount fares, book Lucern-Milan up to 90 days in advance on the Swiss Rail site to get a fare as low as 23.00 CHF. The standard 2nd class fare on the Milan-Venice Eurocity train is €36.00. You can book it on the Trenitalia site, but there is no discount for advance booking. If you're willing to wait and take the 12:35 EuroStar Italia train from Milan to Venice, book up to 90 days in advance on the Trenitalia site to get a discount fare as low as €9.00. The standard 2nd class fare is also €36.00 for the ES train.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
One more thing. Smart and Smart 2 tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable. Unless you buy standard fare tickets, be sure to allow lots of extra time between your flight's scheduled arrival at Milan and your train's scheduled departure.
Posted by
OP
Dallas, TX, USA
2 posts
thank you so much for the rail advice. How much time do you think , for us novice rail travelers , we need between landing and getting to the train? Do you think this train is scenic enough to wait till the next am, and waste part of that day traveling?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Allow up to one hour to go through immigration and passport control and another hour to get from the airport to the Milano Centrale station. If you buy discount fare tickets that are only good for a specific departure time, I'd add still another hour to give you more connection time in case your plane is late.