Rail travel and train holidays to Italy

Rail travel to Italy and train holidays to Italy

Travelling by rail to Italy starts on the Eurostar from London St. Pancras to Paris (perhaps stopping for a night or two in the French capital in one of our centrally located hotels of character), before boarding the train to Italy. Rail travel services operate as overnight sleepers to Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Bologna, Parma, Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Brescia and Rome. There are also daytime rail travel services from Paris to Milan and Turin. Italian Expressions can arrange the entire journey for you. For a really special experience, then we can offer you a ride on the Venice-Simplon-Orient Express too, either one way or both ways.
How you travel to Italy by train
On the overnight trains you may travel in a two berth sleeper, three berth sleeper, or 4 and 6 berth couchettes.
On the overnight trains, sleeper cars offer a washbasin with power socket, toiletries bag, air-conditioning, room bell, deadbolt lock, wake up call if required, welcome drink and snack in cabin and newspapers. The couchettes offer air-conditioning in the T4 4-berth couchettes and a welcome drink and snack in cabin.
Once your train has arrived in Italy you may choose to visit the cities or a destination where you are happy to explore without the use of a car. However, you may also collect a hire-car when you arrive and have the use of it for the duration of your holiday. This way, you can travel by rail to Florence, for example, collect the hire-car and then spend a week or ten days in the countryside of Tuscany and Umbria before returning your car to take the overnight train back to Paris.
You may also want to take a day-time service to Milan and this does work from Paris but is not practical for travelling further into Italy.
Another option is to travel to Paris and then on to Switzerland and stop in Zurich, Basel or Lausanne for a night. You then continue your journey to Italy the next day, giving you breathtaking scenery as you cross the Alps.
How we price the holiday
We will take the price for the basic holiday you choose in Italy and then work out the difference between what it is with the service of train you want and what it would have been with the flights included. We have special fares with both Eurostar and the operators of the service from Paris to Italy so we build in special rates to your holiday price, no matter what type of accommodation on board you choose. You may choose to travel one way by train and fly one way too.
Suggested holidays  

 We have put together some suggested holidays that incorporate travelling to Italy by train and then staying in one or two places.
Overnight timings
The timings for travel by train to Italy work very well. Here is a selection to give you an idea:
LONDON TO MILAN
Overnight service
St Pancras 15.32 - 18.47 Paris Nord
Paris Bercy 20.33 - 05.38 Milan
Milan 23.38 - 08.19 Paris Bercy
Paris Nord 10.13 - 11.28 London St Pancras
Daytime service
St Pancras 10.25 - 13.47 Paris Nord
Paris Lyon 15.24 - 22.30 Milan 
Milan 06.43 - 13.57 Paris Lyon
Paris Nord 15.13 - 17.34 London St Pancras 
LONDON TO VENICE
Overnight service
St Pancras 16.22 – 19.47 Paris Nord
Paris Bercy 20.33 - 09.34 Venice
Venice 19.57- 08.19 Paris Bercy
Paris Nord 10.13 - 11.28 London St Pancras
LONDON TO ROME
Overnight service
St Pancras 14.02 - 17.23 Paris Nord
Paris Bercy 18.54 - 10.12 Roma Termini
Roma Termini 19.45 - 10.17 Paris Bercy
Paris Nord 12.13 - 13.29 London St Pancras
LONDON TO FLORENCE
Overnight service 
St Pancras 14.02 - 17.23 Paris Nord
Paris Bercy 18.54 - 07.13 Florence Santa Maria Novella
Florence SMN 22.12 - 10.17 Paris Bercy
Paris Nord 12.13 - 13.29 London St Pancras