train transportation

Thanks for ideas. Not sure what to expect weather wise in mid/late March in Interlaken and Luzern, but itineraries look do-able.

Joan, My preference would along the same lines as the Itineraries that Nigel suggested. The travel times are reasonable from Rome to either Lugano or Lucerne. For example, some approximate times.... > Rome / Lugano - 4H:40M > Rome / Lucerne - 7H:11M > Lugano / Paris - 7H:25M > Lucerne / Paris - 4H:43M (depending on which departure you choose from each city, there are trains with only one change) Both cities are beautiful and well worth visiting, so you'll have to do some research and see which one appeals to you the most. I'm not sure whether the lake cruises in Lugano will be as frequent in March as in the rest of the year. Lucerne offers side trips to Mt. Pilatus or lake cruises, and I found the extensive Museum of Transport to be really interesting. Happy travels!

Rome to Milano or Torino, spend the night; direct train to Paris, with a few stops. Check train schedules to be sure this is current.

There are two general train routes from Rome to Paris. The main one goes through Florence, Milan, Torino and then into France (Bardonecchia, Modane, Chambery-Challes and Lyon). The second route goes along the west coast of Italy, whizes through Cinque Terre (whiz - not stop) with train changes in Genoa and Ventimgia just before entering into France. The run then goes through Provence and north to Paris. All of this being said, these fast train runs don't make too many stops so your choices on where to get off and catch the next day's train are few. If you want to stop at other cities along the way, you can do it but you will most likely extend your trip as you will have to book slower trains that make more stops. Milan or Torino would be a good choice on the main run. Nice or Provence would be a great choice on the second run. Or, as an interesting alternative. take a 7.0hr train run from Rome to Interlaken (Switzerland) and a 5.0hr run from Interlaken to Paris. You can easily day-trip into the Lauterbrunnen Valley (22 minutes on the local train). Probably a bit of snow at that time of year but still very scenic.

Interlaken would be nice but I would plump for Rome-Firenze-Bologna-Milano(change)-Lugano-Luzern Night in Luzern. Titlis or Rigi for a ride up into the mountains or a ship on the Vierwaldstaettersee (Lake Lucerne) for a dose of super scenery - check timetables for March as it is very late ski season into the off season. Luzern-Zuerich-Basel-Strasbourg-Paris or
Luzern-Bern-Neuchatel-Paris both work well.

I must disagree with this: " There are two general train routes from Rome to Paris. The main one goes through Florence, Milan, Torino and then into France (Bardonecchia, Modane, Chambery-Challes and Lyon). The second route goes along the west coast of Italy, whizes through Cinque Terre (whiz - not stop) with train changes in Genoa and Ventimgia just before entering into France. The run then goes through Provence and north to Paris." The two major routes by train from Roma to Paris are via Torino (as you described) and via Switzerland. The Adriatic line is not a really viable option, not only because it is longer (200km circa) but much slower between Genova and Aix-en-Provence (and the Roma-Genova sector also doesn't help). It will take some extra hours to go from Roma to Paris via La Spezia, Genova, Nice, and Avignon.