Train from Paris to Venice

Russell, That's a LONG trip by train. There's a direct (no changes) overnight train with a travel time of 13H:49M. It departs at 19:45, arriving Venezia Santa Lucia at 09:34. You may not save much on the cost of a Hotel room, as you'll have to pay not only for the tickets but also compulsory reservation fees and the cost of a Couchette for your group. Keep in mind also that some people don't sleep well on trains, so you may be tired when arrive in Venice. That will be worse if you choose a train that has several changes during the night. A much faster option would be to take an EasyJet flight from either CDG or ORY to VCE (1H:40M flight). They have fares currently listed as low as €43.99 PP. Happy travels!

Thanks Ken, This site is fantastic, thanks for the quick response, where on the internet do find that schedule so I can see what all the costs would be. (fyi we are planning to travel the later part of May 2013 Thanks
Russell

Russell, One of the best sites for finding information on rail trips is the German Rail website. They don't always show prices (especially a long way in the future), but have good information on trains, departure times, etc. Lee or one of the others will be able to provide more specific information, as they're more familiar with German rail. If you need information on travelling by train in Italy, post another note as I'm quite familiar with that. There are a few potentially expensive "caveats" you should be aware of. Cheers!

Ken, Our schedule is still up in the air, and I am sensitive to costs, it's a family trip and we don't mind skimping. For example we are thinking of staying in a youth hostel in central London as we can get a private room for 4. Anyway what we are looking at for this part of the trip is Paris - Venice - Florence - Rome, most probably about 6 days in Italy.
I know it's a bit rushed but we have never done it before and wanted to see as much as we can in a relatively short time. (We have not decided on if we should sleep in Venice, but if we did it would be for one night) Russell

If you book far enough in advance (up to 120 days allowed) on thello.com, you can get a discount fare of €55.00/bunk in a 4-person couchette. There is an allotted number of tickets at this price and they go fast so book ASAP.

HI, we are doing the couchette in July for 4 and if you wanted to save a bit and are adventurous, the 6 person couchette is even cheaper (if you don't mind sharing with someone). We haven't booked anything yet, as we are too far out, but popping in dates to get an idea so we can budget for it is a great way to get an idea of costs. Anyway, my comment was on Venice. If you are only planning on staying one night, you might want to start looking now for accomodations for 4 sooner rather than later. I didn't find a lot of places that had availability for 4, especially if you want to stay together for just one night right in Venice. On Mestre (mainland) you might be luckier. We booked an apartment for 2 nights, and even to find one that only had a 2 night minimum wasn't easy.
Good luck, have a wonderful time!!

Russell: After visiting London, take the Eurostar train down to Paris Gard Du Nord. Then, you can fly on a EasyJet.com to Venice for between E34 and E42 out of De Gaulle or Orly airports.
Going deeper into Italy is best by train out of Venice, with frequent service and low fares.

Russell, be advised that Venice is such a popular place, hotels and B&Bs can demand a minimum 2-night stay. Youth hostels, pensiones and many 1-stary hotels may let you stay for 1 night.