I am using Rail Europe to book train travel. I notice many time the train schedule will show for example Milan (any station) as an option, then it will list all the other stations. If I select the first one Milan (any station) can I go any station?
I have never purchased tickets by train in Europe before (tour company always did).
Please share with how to read and understand. I will be in Italy and France,
Looking forward to your advice,
Thanks,
Posted by
Wengen
2826 posts
No, Milan {any station) just means that the planner will consider all stations, but in the end will pick one station for you. This is to help you, as you are not expected to know what the name of the main station in each city is.
So if you book Milan (any station) to Rome (any station) you will in most cases get a ticket from Milano Centrale to Roma Termini. And this you will have to go to Milano Centrale to get on your train, as for obvious reasons trains do not call at all stations in a city...
This is very useful for eg. Paris where there are 6 main terminal stations, and by selecting Paris (any station) you do not have to figure out for yourself what the correct station is for your destination.
Two suggestions if you are new to booking train travel in Europe:
- Head over to the excellent site at www.seat61.com and start learning about train travel.
- Consider just booking directly from the train company in stead of using a travel agent.
Posted by
Paris
10588 posts
Another good resource in addition to The Man in Seat 61 is the information provided by the host of this website:
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6789 posts
I strongly suggest purchasing tickets from the Italian train company, Trenitalia. They have an easy to use website or the ticket machines are quite easy to use if you do not need to purchase in advance. If you still have difficulty with Trenitalia, and need to use a 3rd party, I'd use Trainline. Its been a few years now since I've been to France and needed to purchase train tickets, but for France, I've always used the SNCF website.
To learn about trains and purchasing tickets, I recommend using the Seat61 website. The site can feel can overwhelming, just take it slowly. And come back here with more questions. There are many people on the forum that are experts on the train systems.
Posted by
Freedonia
16931 posts
Rail Europe is not the best place to purchase train tickets. It is a third party reseller and doesn't always offer all trains. Or the best prices.
You are better off booking directly with the train operators either Trenitalia or Italo in Italy and SNCF in France.
I also recommend getting train and travel information from the Man in Seat 61
When booking always make sure the train you want actually stops at the station you want. Not just any station in the city you are going to.