Trains

Best site for European timetables: http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml Best site for info on European trains (aside from this one) with links to the national rail sites: http://seat61.com/ For prices check the national sites: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ http://www.sncf.com/en_EN/flash/ http://www.trenitalia.com/
http://www.renfe.com/ Be careful with the SNCF site, which may try to send you to RailEurope, usually the most expensive place to buy tickets. Tell it you live in the UK.

Zahra - There is a train that departs London Euston at arrives Manchester Piccadilly, 12:49. The fare is £11.50 per person. I use eastcoast.co.uk to book train travel in the UK. The earlier you can book the better the fare. There is a train that departs From PARIS GARE DE LYON at 07:46 am and arrives Nice at 1:25 pm. The fare is 55.00 € per person. Use TGV-EUROPE.COM to book this ticket. Under Ticket collection country enter Great Britian, otherwise you will be sent to Rail Europe and thier fares are quite a bit higher. Once again the earlier you can book the better the fare. I am unfamiliar with train travel in Italy and Spain. (I hope to correct that problem next year)

Or, you could go up to RS Headquarters in Edmonds, WA and have a talk with one of their train travel counselors for a more personal approach. Call ahead of time to find out the particulars.

For Madrid to Barcelona, you can buy discounted tickets (60% off!) on the Spanish train site, Renfe.com. They generally appear 62 days in advance, so around July 5 for a September 5 trip. Many people have trouble getting their US credit cards to work on Renfe, but there are detailed instructions on the Tripadvisor "Madrid" discussion forum. Two crucial things are to inform your bank in advance of the purchase, and register your card with "Verified by Visa." We took this train a few weeks ago and it is amazing. It travels at 180 mph and is so smooth. Unlike trains in other countries, you need to show up a bit in advance as you go through security before boarding the train. Nothing like airline security (no liquid restrictions), but they put your bags, purse, etc. through a machine. Rome to Venice is on the fast ES Italia train ("Frecciarosso" or "Frecciargenta"). These are nice trains too. You can get a discounted "mini" fare by buying in advance from Trenitalia. Wait until they have all the trains loaded on the website for your day of travel until you purchase. This may be now or a few weeks from now. This train does not go near Pisa. If you want to stop in Pisa, that would be different trains on a longer route, and several changes on the way. Frankly, I would not take the time to detour to Pisa but would enjoy the extra time in Venice.

Thank you for all the great advice!

I'm about to book a train from Rome to Venice on trenitalia and I noticed the train stops many times before we reach to Venice. Is there not a non-stop train? Also when I book it gives me seats and how can I assure they are near each other and the location on the train? Last question it says when I book it ticketless that we show up on the train and just give our booking # to the conductor? The train would be the ES Italia AV 9478. Help would be much appreciated.

There is no such thing as a nonstop Rome to Venice train. The train makes stops, that's what trains do.

Zahra, EuroStar Italia AV trains are Italy's newest high-speed trains. Your train only makes four stops (Firenze, Bologna, Padua, and Venezia Mestre). You will have a very short ride for the distance covered. If you book two tickets at the same time, you will be assigned adjoining seats. The tickets will show your car number and seat numbers. Yes, your e-mail confirmation with the booking number serves as your tickets and you will need to show it to the conductor.