Hello,
I am trying to find an overnight train from Paris to Venice with a sleeping accomodation, hopefully.
I am also open to other options. Did not consider flying, thought doing the overnight train would work and will save time and the hotel fee. Perhaps an overnight train to Milan would work with a change over in Milan to Venice?
Thank you for your help.
I.
There are no sleeper trains from Paris to Italy.
I'm guessing you'd like to go the fastest way. That's going to be flying. When I saw your post, I thought of tying together the scenic train rides in Switzerland. You don't have to reserve the panoramic trains, there are regular trains that do the same route. The windows are smaller, that's about it. You could take a high speed train to Geneva. The Golden Pass route starts in Montreaux and goes to Luzern. You could "choose your own adventure" from Luzern. Lots of options! But, definitely not fast.
We are looking at taking fast train from Paris to Turin, spend a couple nights there. Then the train to Venice.
Train to Turin is 5 1/2 hours. By the time we get to airport in Paris and fly to Venice Beach I would be close to that many hours. Does require breaking up the trip to Venice but Turin seemed like an interesting city to explore and we have the extra time
How will an overnight train save time? It will take at least 12 hours by train with at least one change and all in (including travel time to the airport and arriving 2 hours before departure and travel from Venice airport to the city) a flight will be about 5 hours. How will it save on hotels when you will have to get one in Milan or Turin or some other city? The Man in Seat 61 lists all the way to get from Paris to Venice by train and IMO none look like time or hotel cost savers. https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/paris-to-venice-by-train.htm#paris-to-venice-by-train I have done this trip three times (last time in 2017) -- just go ahead and fly.
hey hey innessa1
totally agree with JHK. how will it save you time with a 12 hour train ride plus getting to hotel in venice.
what's the price of train compared to hotel in venice & flight to paris? there are budget hotels/bnb's in venice.
my own opinion is it's crazy, fly to venice. time yourself since check in 3-4pm and check out 10-11am.
it's your decision. good luck
aloha
The only practical overnight option goes through Munich, if I remember correctly. It implies leaving Paris after lunch to reach Munich in time for the overnight train there, and once you add the cost of both trains, I am not sure that you will save much money.
You can fly from Paris Orly to Venice mid-days for between 57 and 73 Euros most days.
The flight only takes 1 1/2 hours. It's the way to go in your situation.
Distances in France and other European countries are sometimes deceiving. And trains are not always easy to deal with. I try to stay off train trips of over 4 hours.
Thank you ALL for your input and your help. There are a lot of interesting options, except the one I initially considered.
Good travels and seamless connections.
Innessa
There are no sleeper trains from Paris to Italy.
Indeed there is. Venice Simplon Orient Express to Venice. Incredible best-of-class one-of-a-kind experience. Likely not at the price point the Op is looking for.
Why is everyone in such a hurry? Slow down and see the sights. You won't see much of the countryside from 32K feet up. If you take a train in the afternoon from Paris to Munich, you will see some lovely scenery. A chance to slow down, eat a delicious pastry you bought before boarding, update a travel journal, listen to music, perhaps fall into conversation with a fellow traveler, and just relax from the pace of traveling. We Americans are always rushing, seeing how fast we can get from place to place. Europeans think we are crazy. I vote for the slow route.
If OP's goal is to spend just one night on the train, if some solution is found to go by train, there will undoubtedly be some train change(s) in the night and OP will arrive in Venice in a sleep deprived condition, and unable to check into lodging there for (probably) several hours.
This makes flying the reasonable option.
If on the other hand OP wants to devote multiple days to do the journey, then trains could work.
My interpretation of the question was a one day transit is what OP is looking for.
Venice Simplon Orient Express to Venice.
A possibility. If the OP wants to spend £3500 or more for 1 night. However she did say she wanted to save the cost of a hotel night by taking a night train, so perhaps not. And she would need a very flexible time frame, given that the classic train route seems to run, on average, less than once a week.
"Why is everyone in such a hurry?"
For me, some times the train is better and sometimes the flight is. It is an overstatement to say that Americans always rush from place to place on their trips. Some do and this American and many others do not. in this particular thread, I think many people are focused on efficiency and timing because the OP mentioned that the train would save time and thus it looks like they are not looking to slow down.
The solution was given many answers up, but not well stated-
1555 TGV Paris to Stuttgart (the Munich train is now extended back to Stuttgart)- arrive 1904. That train starts at 40 Euro each.
For more time in Stuttgart leave Paris 2 hours earlier .
(You can of course still do Paris to Munich (the route I know), dinner in a Bavarian Bierkeller then join the sleeper there (man in Seat 61 recommends the Augustine Bierkeller but plenty of others).
2029 NightJet sleeper train, arrive Venice 0834. Fares from 90 Euro each. Light breakfast included in the train fare.
Probably doesn't save much in hotel costs, but you won't get much more sightseeing time by taking a similarly timed flight from Paris to Venice, and far kinder for the environment.
Demand is outstripping supply for the sleepers showing that Europeans at least welcome the return of such trains, even if users of this forum are rather more circumspect about them.
