Train sites are giving me crazy routes to get from Lauterbrennun, Switzerland to Florence, Italy. It is giving me a 17 hour ride that takes me thru Austria! I am getting a eurorail select saver 3 country pass to go from Paris to Lauterbrennen to Florence, then Pisa, then Rome. Any suggestions?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16330 posts
I don't know what website you are using, but you should check the national rail sites like SBB.ch, the Swiss site. (You can use rail.ch for English).
It is only a 6 1/2 hour journey from Lauterbrunnen to Florence, following the route Lauterbrunnen---Interlaken Ost---Spiez---Brig----Milan---Florence.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
When you do your search, be sure to spell it Lauterbrunnen, not Lauterbrennun!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you can commit to specific departure dates and times and book well in advance (up to 90 days), point-to-point tickets will definitely be cheaper than a pass.
For Paris-Lauterbrunnen first book Paris-Interlaken at www.tgv-europe.com to get a Piccolissimo fare as low as 58.60 EUR. To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares, choose Great Britain as your country of residence. When you get to Interlaken, buy a regional train ticket to Lauterbrunnen (7.00 CHF) and jump on the next train.
According to the Swiss Rail site, if you depart at either 07:03 or 12:33, you do not need to make a connection in Brig when going from Lauterbrunnen to Firenze. The 07:03 route is the fastest (5hr57min). If you book well in advance, you can get a discount fare of 127.20 CHF (87.50 EUR).
Because Trenitalia (Italian Natiional Rail) doesn't accept US credit cards for online booking, buy your Firenze-Pisa and Pisa-Roma tickets in Firenze. The station ticket machines have an English option and they do accept US cards. You can check fares on the Trenitalia site.
Posted by
OP
New Albany, OH
16 posts
This information is extremely helpful. I will start researching immediately. Thank You.