Night train travel on the Artesia: 6p Couchette vs Double Sleeper?

$222 is a log of money to save or spend on something else. In all likelihood, you will have a few to possibly four extra roomates on the overnight. However, there are some rules and the beds get turned down at a ceratin hour and people are expected to sleep. The rocking of the train in our experience makes for a very good night's sleep. The Double Sleeper provides privacy and your own washbasin (2nd class) or private shower and toilette for first class sleepers. So if you can't stand others sleeping in the same compartment, you are worried you'll get a snorer or two, maybe it is worth the money. I'd go with the 6p Couchette and save the Euros.

If you are on a budget, personally I would take the train from Paris Lyon station that departs at 07:42 and arrives in Venice (Vicenza) 16:54, with a train change in Milano....duration 9 hours 12 mins vs the extra hours spent on the night trains.

The night trains are ll hours 45 minutes and 13 hours and 54 minutes.

Personally, I'd fly....about 50 Euro per person on easyjet out of Orly.....and spend an extra night in Venice. It's not as cheap as a six-person couchette....but it'll be a heck of a lot more restful.

I agree with Norm and Samuel--I dearly love trains, but in this particular situation flying a discount airline is the best choice by far.

While flying on a budget airline is a good choice, I would choose the night train. It saves the cost of a night in a hotel, gives more daylight hours for sightseeing, and leaves a much smaller carbon footprint.

However, the Man in Seat 61 (www.seat61.com), who is an expert on train travel in Europe, says this about the Artesia night train: "I've always enjoyed dinner in the restaurant car as the sun sets over the rolling green hills and picturesque villages of the French countryside, then waking up in my sleeper or couchette to coffee and croissant and a classic Italian landscape of red-roofed houses and poplar trees. But sadly, in the last couple of years Trenitalia mis-management has let timekeeping, cleanliness, onboard service and food quality on its Artesia sleeper trains slip badly."

If you book far enough in advance (up to three months allowed) at www.tgv-europe.com, you can get a Prem's fare of €35 for a bunk in a six-person couchette, a Prem's fare of €45 for a bunk in a four-person couchette, or a Depart Plus fare of €140 for a bed in a two-person sleeper. All couchettes are the same size so it's well worth spending a little more to have only four bunks pulled down rather than six. Much more room for both people and luggage.

If you can get Prem's fares, you could book all four bunks in a four-person couchette and still spend less that you would for two beds in a two-person sleeper.

To keep the tgv-europe site in English and avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares, choose Great Britain as your country of residence. Pick up your tickets at any SNCF station in France.

Unfortunately, if you're travelling the Artesia between early September and the end of March, you'll find the sun has set by the time you leave Paris.

bought far enough in advance, the sleeper with shower can be less expensive than the couchette at full price. And what I like about the sleeper with shower is that you can walk around all day, then have a shower to rinse off the grime before bed. On the trains I've been on, if you get a washroom only then there's a bathroom on the car but not a shower. Haven't take the couchette so don't know about that.