I am going cross-eyed trying to figure the best way to travel from Paris to Venice. We prefer to NOT take an overnight train. I have 3 days in which to travel and would like to see some countryside, although there will be an 8 year old traveling with us, so slow train rides are not the best idea. We will be returning from Venice to Milan by train, and then flying home from Milan (so would like to avoid routing thru Milan to Venice) If I take the full two nights to travel I would want to arrive into Venice before 1pm, to make the most of my time in Venice.
OR should we fly to Florence and train thru Tuscany to Venice?
OR
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
Have you looked at flying one of the discount airlines (Ryanair for example) from Paris to Venice? You won't necessarily see any countryside between the two cities but you'll have more time to spend in Venice! It's a short flight and usually very inexpensive.
Posted by
in a train schedule...
267 posts
Why don't you visit Milan first and then fly out of Venice? That would take care of the backtracking problem. You could also take the train to a city/ies in the South of France (Avignon/Marseille/Nice), see countryside from the high speed train window, then fly/take a train to Northern Italy. The space between Paris and Marseille is filled with pristine fields, complete with cows, sheep, and isolated cottages.
Posted by
southwest, Missouri, U.S.A.
1717 posts
Hello Georganne. If you must fly from Milan to the U.S.A., I recommend fly from Paris to Florence. And train from Florence to Venice.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
If you want to see some countryside, take the one-hour train trip from Milan to Lake Como (Varenna) after you arrive in Milan. You can make it a daytrip or stay in Varenna overnight. On the flight from Paris to Venice you can see the Alps if it is a clear day. You and the 8-yr old should both enjoy that view.
Posted by
gaston, oregon, usa
842 posts
Look at all of the options with the discount European air lines. (Ryan Air is fantastic....but sometimes flys into and out of obscure airports)
Use whichbudget.com to search for lo cost inter-Euro airlines.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
The shortest train ride from Paris to Venice is 10.5 hours with most about 13.0 hours. These runs will take you through Milan.
There are inexpensive flights from Paris to Venice. Here's a response from Tim from Minot, N.D. on this subject to a previous poster. "However, if I were flying, I'ld take a budget airline. MyAir flies between Paris Orly and Venice Marco Polo. Both easyJet and Vueling fly between Paris CDG and Venice Marco Polo. I would avoid Ryanair because it uses Paris Beauvais and Venice Treviso. Both are outlying airports (especially Beauvais) so there is extra time and expense getting to and from them".
Posted by
Reseda, CA, USA
196 posts
Georganne,
Here is Ricks recommended train research web site for train routes. I have looked and couldn't find a better tool:
http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml
I often take the TGV (250 mph train) Paris to Nice in one day. I would spend a day in Nice before continuing on. I'm not sure but I bet you could go through Pisa on the way to Venice... Good luck!