I will be traveling to France & Italy in August. I will fly into Rome for a few days then want to go to Florence then Venice on my way to Paris. In Franc, I want to see Chartres and Carcassonne. Any thoughts on train travel? Should I buy a 5 day pass or go day by day?
Posted by
OP
hartford, ct
50 posts
Thanks Steve - wondering if Eurorail would be a better fit?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
david,
New train timetables throughout much of Europe will go into effect on 13 June. The reason you only see one departure time for Rome-Florence on the Trenitalia site is that Trenitalia has yet to upload their new timetables. Enter an arbitrary date no later than 12 June and you will see that there are many departure times from which to choose.
Buying point-to-point tickets as you go will be your cheapest option for travel entirely within Italy.
Do you plan to take the direct Venice-Paris night train? If so, you will need to book that train well in advance. (Popular night trains often sell out.) Since the Trenitalia site does not accept US credit cards for online booking, you'll need to book with either raileurope.com or italiarail.com.
You also could fly Venice-Paris on a budget airline like easyJet. For all your airline choices go to www.skyscanner.com.
Paris-Chartres is a quick trip on a cheap regional train. No discount for advance booking.
Are you planning to go from Paris to Carcassonne and back to Paris so you can fly home from Paris? If you book your tickets ASAP (up to three months in advance of each departure date) at www.tgv-europe.com, you may be able to get discount fares. To keep the site in English and to avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site which doesn't offer discount fares, choose Great Britain as your country of residence.
Posted by
OP
hartford, ct
50 posts
I looked on the Trenitalia site but it only lists 1 train from Rome to Florence. Is that true or am I doing something wrong?