Train travel from MIlan to Geneva Switzerland

There are 3 or 4 daily direct trains on that route. No transfer required. Check Trenitalia.

You can also use the DBahn train site to check out schedules. Here's the site: http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en When looking at the schedules, you can click on the arrow in the red box on the left to get a list of intermediate stops. Click on the arrow twice to get a complete list of all stops the train will make. Take a copy with you to know where you are and what stops are before yours so you can prepare to get off. If you want, you can purchase your tickets at a train station upon arrival in Europe. Yes, it will be more expensive. Maybe Lee will reply to your question and suggest the best way to purchase cheaper tickets.

Many thanks !

Direct EC trains make the run from Milan to Geneva in just under four hours. If you book well in advance (up to 120 days allowed) on the Trenitalia site, you can get a Smart fare as low as €19.00. The standard 2nd class fare is €74.40. While it's possible to book tickets on the Trenitalia site without registering, people have reported that things go more smoothly if you do.

After reading Rick's book he suggests international train travel should be booked thru a travel agent with reservations .We plan on arriving in Milan and the next day taking the train to Geneva.We stay there 3 nights and then take the train to Florence.Should we look for a travel agent when we get to Milan? I have tried to hypothetically book to Geneva with no success. Has anyone done this what do you suggest?

Hi Kirsten. As Tim mentioned, you can wait and buy when there, or book ahead online. The trade off is flexibility vs. a much lower price. When you tried to book, did you use trenitalia.com? I just tried and it is working. However, you don't say what your dates are; you can only book 4 months in advance. Send me a message if you need additional help. Enjoy your trip!

Kirsten, I'm a bit curious on why you're travelling from Milan to Geneva, and then back to Florence? It's not the most efficient route. I don't use a Travel Agent to book rail trips in Europe, except on rare occasions. Although you'll paying "base" fare, you could easily buy your tickets when you pass through Milano Centrale on your arrival day. You could either use the Kiosks or the ticket office (two floors down from track level). You could also pre-purchase tickets, although I'm not sure if Trenitalia will be able to provide tickets for the entire journey. When is this trip taking place? There appears to be an EC-32 departure at 08:25, arriving Geneva at 12:18 (time 3H:53M, reservations compulsory), and that's the one I'd probably use. You may be able to buy tickets on the www.sbb.ch (Swiss Rail) website. They currently indicate a one-way fare of CHF 95 per person on that route (I didn't check return tickets, since you'll be going from Geneva to Florence). Good luck and happy travels!

Kirsten ,All of the previous posters have given you very good information , however it is of the detailed variety and I think you need generalized basic technique based perspectives in order to put what all these kind and helpful people have said into a workable context . Go to the " Man in Seat 61 " website and spend some time ( several hours wouldn't be a bad idea ) in order to familiarize yourself with the basics of rail in Europe . As well , for trains in Italy study the " Ron in Rome " site for a thorough overview of Italian trains . The time I spent on these sites in addition to following Ken , Lee , Nigel , And many other very well informed posters on this site has made all the difference in learning how to effectively use the great european rail systems like being a duck in water ! have a good trip !