Italy Rail Pass

The Italian pass will get you to the border. Need a ticket from there. But do your homework carefully. With mini fares it is very hard to make a pass work.

If you want a pass to cover the entire ride, then it would have to be either an Italy-France pass, a Select pass that includes both Italy and France, or a global pass. However, as Frank says, it can be cheaper to book discount fare point-to-point tickets online in advance.

...and a Venice/Paris route may also include Switzerland, which depending on the train, may require a supplement. The main issue with an Italian rail pass is that the trips are usually too short to justify the daily cost of the pass (a point to point ticket, even at full price, is usually cheaper)

Thanks for your advice. The Italy pass would have only been worth it if the Venice-Paris route was included. Any idea why that trip is only 55 Euro on the French TGV site and 130 Euro on the Italian Trenitali site?

While the standard fare (Flexi) on the Trenitalia site for a bunk in a 4-person couchette on the direct night train is €130, you can find discount fares by clicking on the "Choose your fare" drop-down menu. The lowest fare (€45) is called Smart Price. To get it you need to book well in advance (up to 90 days allowed).