Rail travel in Italy

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Holidays by rail to Italy are a popular way to travel . Watching the countryside of Europe change in front of your eyes is an undeniably romantic pleasure . There are a number of different , interesting routes you can take to reach Italy from the UK – we summarise these below and give some short example itineraries to illustrate timings . You may wish to travel outwards by one route and back another , or perhaps out by train and back by air . Italian Expressions can tailor-make your rail holiday to Italy .

1 . To Italy on daytime trains through France It is possible to travel from the UK to Italy in one go , all in a day . High speed trains travel from Paris to Turin and Milan a few times a day and you can connect onto these services coming from the UK the same day by Eurostar . From Turin and Milan , onward connections to elsewhere in Italy can be made .

Sample timings Day one London St Pancras 07.55 Paris Nord 11.17 – Eurostar Paris Lyon 14.41 Milan Porta Garibaldi 21.50 – TGV Day two Milan Centrale 10.15 to Rome Termini 13.40 – Frecciarossa

2 . To Italy via the Swiss Alps Eurostar to Paris , then TGV onwards to Zurich . Spend one night in Zurich ( or more if you wish ). On day two , travel by Eurocity train from Zurich through the Alps to Milan and onwards to other parts of Italy . For those with more time , a spectacularly scenic route is to travel from Zurich to Chur , Davos , or St Moritz , then to Tirano on the Swiss / Italian border on the Bernina Express – this four hour journey is through some of the very best Alpine scenery travelling slowly in a specially designed train with panoramic windows . From Tirano you can continue to Milan by local train along the eastern edge of Lake Como . Using the Bernina Express , we can arrange a holiday breaking up the journey twice in Switzerland – in Zurich and the Engadine , making the journey to Italy gently paced with plenty of time to appreciate the breath-taking mountain scenery .

Sample timings - direct from Zurich via the Gotthard Day one London St Pancras 07.01 Paris Nord 10.17 - Eurostar Paris Lyon 12.23 Zurich 16.26 – TGV Lyria Day two Zurich 11.09 Milan 14.35 - Eurocity

3 . To Italy via Munich and the Austrian Alps Following the Eurostar to Paris , or Brussels , you can travel by daytime trains to Munich . After a stay in Munich , a daytime train takes you southwards through the Austrian Alps to Italy arriving into Verona or Venice . There is also a good quality sleeper train that travels overnight from Munich through Verona and Florence to Rome , and there is a separate service to Venice .

Sample timings Day one London St Pancras 10.24 Paris Nord 13.47 – Eurostar Paris Est 15.55 Munich 21.36 – TGV Day two Munich 11.34 Venice 18.10 – Eurocity

4 . To Italy via overnight sleeper The Thello sleeper service travels overnight from Paris to Milan , Verona and Venice . This sleeper train is simple in terms of on board comfort , but offers a time efficient and reliable route to reach Italy overnight .

Sample timings London to Milan and on to Florence and Rome St Pancras 12.24 Paris Nord 15.47 - Eurostar Paris Lyon 19.10 arriving Milan Centrale next day 06.00 – Thello Then Milan to Florence 07.20-08.59 , or Milan to Rome 07.00-09.59

London to Verona and Venice St Pancras 12.24 Paris Nord 15.47 - Eurostar Paris Lyon 19.10 arriving next day 07.54 Verona or 09.35 Venice .

Through Switzerland by train

Sample timings - direct from Zurich via the Bernina Day one London St Pancras 11.31 Paris Nord 14.47 - Eurostar Paris Lyon 16.23 Zurich 20.26 – TGV Lyria Day two Zurich 06.37 to Chur 07.52- Intercity Chur 08.32 to Tirano 12.49 – Bernina Express Tirano 15.08 to Milan 17.40 – Regionale

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