Italy to Austria by Train

It might take a bit longer but you could add the Dolomites by taking a bus from Venice to San Candido via Cortina and catching the train from there through Innsbruck to Salzburg.

Andy, can you recall anything about the trip? Do you think you went through Switzerland? Did you pass lakes (Lugano route) or go through a tunnel (Gotthard tunnel, also on the Lugano route)? Do you remember seeing glaciers and snow-clad peaks?

We've been the Brenner Pass route (Bolzano---Innsbruck) and it is scenic, but I wouldn't describe it as "magical" unless you detour into the Dolomites (not a train trip; you go by bus). The elevation of the pass is around 4500 feet, and the mountains you can see are rocky and forested, without the drama of glaciers.

The one trip over the Alps that I have heard described as "magical" would be the Bernina Express route, from Tirano to Chur, from which you continue on to Salzburg via Sargans and Innsbruck. (You wouldn't need to go to Zürich on that route.) This route climbs up and over the mountains at Bernina Pass (nearly 7,000 feet high) instead of going through a long tunnel like the Lugano to Zürich route does.

I now recall from an old journal that I found that my route was Venice-Milan-Zurich-Innsbruck-Salzburg.
I remember passing lakes, snow capped mountains and then arriving in Lucern before heading to Zurich. Thanks for the information guys.

If you look at a schematic of the train route between Lugano and the top (where it goes through a tunnel) you'll see some amazing loops that the train makes to gain elevation. We'll be on that route next month ourselves--I'm lookin gforward to it.

Depending when you are going, you can get a great advance purchase fare for the portion between Milan and Zürich on the Swiss rail site (www.rail.ch (for English) or www.sbb.ch)---30 CHF instead of 91 CHF, including the compulsory reservation fee.

And if you want a nice stopover to break up the trip, Luzern would be the place.

Andy,

As you're going from Venice to Salzburg, this is the route I normally use:

• Venice to Verona Porta Nuova, where you'll probably have to change trains.

• Verona to Munich via the Kufstein-Brennero route. I always find the route through the Brenner Pass very scenic and beautiful. The train will stop for about 10 minutes or so to change locomotives at the Italian-Austrian border.

• Munich to Salzburg

I've never tried the route via Villach, which involves travelling part way by Bus and then train to Salzburg.