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Italy by Train

Discover the beauty of traveling Italy by train

Traveling Italy by train means you can get everywhere, from the ancient relics of Pompeii to the spectacular Tuscan coastline. Discover the many treasures of Rome and Florence, go shopping in Milan and explore the canals of Venice by gondola. With a Eurail Pass and comfortable Italian trains, the entire country is within your reach!

 

Train types in Italy

Map with main train connections in Italy
Map with main train connections in Italy

Regional and intercity trains

Trenord regionale (R)

  • Runs through the central northern region of Lombardia, close to Switzerland.

  • No reservations required.

  • Trains between Lecco and Piona are not included in your Pass. 

  • Trains between Milan and Malpensa airport are not included in your Pass.

  • Check train times on the Trenitalia timetable.

InterCity (IC)

  • Connects major cities like Florence, Milan, Rome, and Venice.

  • Faster than regional trains and fewer stops.

  • Reservations are mandatory.

The Leonardo Express

  • An express train between Rome and Fiumicino Airport.

  • All seats are 1st class, therefore a 1st class Eurail Pass is required to travel on this train. If you have a 2nd Class Eurail Pass you will need to buy a ticket.

  • 2nd class Pass holders can travel between Rome and Fiumicino airport with Frecciarossa trains.

 

Domestic high-speed trains

Le Frecce high-speed trains (formerly known as Eurostar Italia) are modern and comfortable. All trains have air-conditioning, luggage racks, power sockets, refreshments, and usually a restaurant car.

 

Frecciarossa (FR)

  • Connects the main Italian cities from north to south on high speed lines.
  • The fastest trains in Italy, with speeds up to 300 km/h.
  • Flagship: Frecciarossa 1000
  • Reservations are required.

Frecciarossa (FR) to and from Fiumicino Airport (Rome)

  • Fiumicino - Roma Termini 
  • Fiumicino - Napoli (via Roma Termini) 
  • Fiumicino - Venezia S. Lucia (via Bologna, Florence, Roma Termini) 
  • Reservations are required.

Frecciargento (FA)

  • Connects the main Italian cities from north to south on high speed lines and conventional railway lines.
  • Second fastest trains in Italy, with speeds up to 250 km/h.
  • Reservations are required.

Frecciabianca (FB)

  • Connects the main Italian cities with secondary cities on conventional railway lines.
  • Third fastest trains in Italy, with speeds up to 200 km/h.
  • Reservations are required.

Freccialink (Frecce + bus)

  • Trenitalia offers bus connections with Freccialink to towns otherwise hard to reach by train. 
  • However, Freccialink bus reservations can only be made at train stations in Italy and by phone
  • They can only be booked in combination with Le Frecce trains. See here for more information.

International trains

EuroCity Brenner

  • Connects Venice / Verona / Bologna to Munich (Germany), via Innsbruck (Austria)
  • Reservations are optional
  • Mandatory supplement if you are traveling to/from/within Italy
    • 1st class: €15
    • 2nd class: €10
    • A supplement can be bought on board for an additional fee, costing €5

Railjet Brenner (from April 2024)

  • Connects Venice / Verona / Bologna to Munich (Germany), via Innsbruck (Austria) 
  • Seat reservations are optional
  • Mandatory supplement if you are travelling to/from/within Italy.
    • 1st class: €15 (including supplement)
    • 2nd class: €10 (including supplement)
    • Business Class upgrade: €30(including supplement)
    • A supplement can be bought on board for an additional fee, costing €5

EuroCity to Switzerland

  • Connects Milan and Venice to Zurich / Bern / Basel / Geneva (Switzerland)
  • Reservations are mandatory

EuroCity (Express)

  • Connects Milan to Frankfurt (Germany) via Basel (Switzerland)
  • Reservations are mandatory if you're traveling to/from/within Italy.

EuroCity to Austria via Slovenia

  • Connects Trieste to Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Vienna via Graz (Austria) 
  • Reservations are optional.

Railjet

  • Connects Venice / Bolzano to Vienna (Austria) 
  • Seat reservations are optional. 
  • Mandatory supplement if you are traveling to/from/within Italy. 
    • 1st class: €15 
    • 2nd class: €10 
    • A supplement can be bought on board for an additional fee, costing €5

TGV

  • Connects Turin / Milan to several cities in France
  • Reservations are mandatory

Intercity and Regional train to Nice

  • Connects Milan and Genoa to Nice and Côte d’Azur (France) 
  • Step 1: IC Milan – Genoa – Ventimiglia / RE Genoa - Ventimiglia 
  • Step 2: RE Ventimiglia – Monaco – Nice – Cannes (France) 
  • Transfer in Ventimiglia

Domestic night trains:

Travel between the north and south of Italy by night, saving you precious travel time while you sleep. These are the domestic night trains operating in Italy:

 

InterCity Notte (ICN) to Sicily

This is a unique journey as the train is transported by boat across the Strait of Messina.

  • Milan – Bologna – Firenze – Messina – Catania - Syracusa
  • Milan – Bologna – Firenze – Messina – Palermo
  • Rome – Napoli – Salerno – Messina – Catania – Syracusa
  • Rome – Napoli – Salerno – Messina – Palermo
  • Rome - Messina – Catania – Syracusa
  • Rome – Messina – Palermo

InterCity Notte (ICN) between the rest of Italy

  • Milan – Bari – Taranto – Brinsidi – Lecce 
  • Milan – Parma – Bari – Brinsidi – Lecce
  • Torino – Alessandria – Bari – Brinsidi – Lecce
  • Torino – Milan – Roma – Napoli – Salerno
  • Torino – Genoa – Roma – Napoli – Salerno
  • Torino – Genoa – Pisa – Livorno – Reggio di Calabria
  • Trieste – Venice – Padova – Rome
  • Bolzano – Trento – Verona – Rome

 

International night trains:

Night trains connect Italy with Austria, Germany and Spain, saving you travel time and money. These night trains operate to and from Italy:

 

ÖBB Nightjet (EN) has many trains connecting to and from several destinations in Italy:

  • Rome – Florence – Salzburg – Munich (Not between 10 June – 9 September)
  • Ancona – Bologna – Salzburg – Munich – Stuttgart (10 June – 9 September)
  • Rome - Florence - Bologna – Vienna
  • Ancona – Bologna – Vienna (10 June – 9 September)
  • Livorno - Pisa - Florence - Bologna – Vienna (Not between 10 June – 9 September)
  • La Spezia – Genoa – Milan - Verona - Vienna
  • La Spezia – Genoa – Milan - Verona - Salzburg – Munich – Stuttgart
  • Venice - Udine - Salzburg - Vienna
  • Venice - Udine - Salzburg – Munich – Stuttgart
  • Reservations for sleeping accommodation are required.

Scenic train routes in Italy

There are 2 scenic train routes that cross into Italy:

Bernina Express Chur – Lugano (Switzerland) via Tirano (Italy
Centovalli Railway Locarno (Switzerland) – Domodossola (Italy)

 

Popular connections

Italy has an extensive high-speed train network, which will get you where you want to go a lot faster compared to the regional train system. However, for the high-speed trains you'll need to book a seat reservation. We'll explain you more about reservations a bit further down on this page.

 

How long does it take to travel by train between Italy's top cities? Check out approximate times for both regional and high-speed Italian trains:

 

Route Regional High-speed
Rome to Florence 3h 30m 1h 30m
Rome to Milan 9h (1 stop) 3h
Rome to Venice 9h (3 stops) 3h 30m
Florence to Milan 5h 30m (1 stop) 1h 30m
Florence to Venice 4h (2 stops) 2h
Pisa to Florence 1h 1h
Venice to Milan 3h 30m (1 stop) 2h 30m
Milan to Naples 14h 4h 35m
Rome to Turin 10h 20m 4h 10m
Milan to Palermo - 20h 45m (overnight)
Route Which train? Travel time Reservations
Genova (via Ventimiglia) to Nice (France) IC + Regional trains 3h 15m Required
Milan to Bern / Geneva / Zurich (Switzerland) EuroCity 3h / 4h 15m / 3h 15m Required
Milan to Vienna (Austria) ÖBB Nightjet 11h 30m (overnight) Required
Rome to Munich (German) EuroCity Brenner / ÖBB Nightjet 6h 20m / 13h (overnight) Required
Venice to Innsbruck (Austria) EuroCity Brenner 4h 30m Required
Venice to Vienna (Austria) RailJet 8h (overnight) Required
Venice to Vienna (Austria) EuroNight 7h 30m (overnight) Required
Trieste to Ljubljana (Slovenia)   EuroCity 3h Optional

 

 

Spain-Italy
  • Travel by ferry from Barcelona in Spain to Civitavecchia and Porto Torres (Sardinia) in Italy with Grimaldi Lines. Get a 20% discount with Eurail Italy Pass.

Greece-Italy
  • Sail with Minoan Lines from Igoumenitsa or Patras in Greece to Ancona on Italy's Adriatic coast. Get free and discounted travel with a Eurail Italy Pass.

ÖBB Nightjet appears as "EN" in the timetable. InterCity Notte appears on the Eurail timetable as "ICN". On the Trenitalia timetable it is simply listed as "InterCityNotte". You are required to book sleeping accommodation in advance.
The Eurail timetable shows Frecciarossa trains as "FR", Frecciargento as "FA" and Frecciabianca as "FB". The Trenitalia timetable lists the specific Italian name, e.g. "Frecciarossa". These trains always require a seat reservation.
On the Eurail timetable InterCity trains are listed as "IC", and Trenitalia regional trains as "R". Trenord regional trains are only shown on the Trenitalia timetable and not on the Eurail timetable. They are named "Regionale". Regional trains do not require seat reservations. Reservations are however mandatory for InterCity trains during high season (May - September) and public holidays.

 

Reservations

Eurail reservation self-service system

  • Eurail
  • IC, EC, Frecce (domestic), TGV, RailJet, Nightjet

Administration costs when booking through Eurail self-service

  • € 2,- p.p.per train
  • Additional € 9,- per order (for paper tickets)

With railway carriers

Other platforms

  • Rail Europe:
    • Frecciarossa, Intercity, Intercity Notte
    • TGV to Paris, Eurocity to Switzerland, Bernina Express
  • Italiarail

An explanation of how each booking platform works can be found here: How do I book my reservations

 

Locally at the train station in Italy

 

By Phone 

Reservations can be booked through the Trenitalia call centre

 

Good to know

 

Which trains in Italy require reservations?

  • No reservations: Trenitalia regional trains.
  • Compulsory: Frecciarossa, Frecciagento, Frecciabianca, Intercity, and Intercity Notte trains

Reservations for the TGV (Paris to Milan)

  • Seats are limited for Eurail Pass Holders.
  • It's not possible to buy tickets or reservations for this route at Italian train stations.

Freccialink

  • Freccialink bus reservations can only be made at train stations in Italy and by phone
  • They can only be booked in combination with Le Frecce trains. See here for more information.

Travelling to France or Italy with a Eurail Pass?

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Get your Pass for Italy

Italy Pass

 

Spend your whole vacation exploring Italy by rail.

 

Standard prices from $ 158

Global Pass

 

Be free to visit Italy along with the other 32 Eurail countries.


Standard prices from $ 233

 

Pass benefits in Italy


    Ferry, Italy
Ferry, Italy

Ferry travel

Free and discounted ferry travel is an extra benefit of the Eurail Italy Pass. Get free and discounted ferry travel from mainland Italy to:

  • Sardinia and Sicily (Italy)

  • Spain

  • Greece

 

Bus travel

Eurail Pass holders also travel for free on this international bus route:

  • Venice  (Venezia) – Villach – Klagenfurt in Austria


See all Pass benefits for Italy

Tips and tricks for Italy

Quick facts

  • Capital: Rome

  • Population: 60 million

  • Language: Italian

  • Currency: Euro (EUR)

  • Dialing code: +39

 

Italian cities on timetables

On Italian train timetables and at train stations you'll usually find the local spelling of Italian cities and stations.

 

Here is the local spelling of some popular Italian cities:

  • Florence = Firenze

  • Genoa = Genova

  • Milan = Milano

  • Naples = Napoli

  • Padua = Padova

  • Pompeii = Pompei

  • Rome = Roma

  • Sicily (island) = Sicilia

  • Turin = Torino

  • Venice = Venezia

Italian hub stations

Italy's 2 main hub stations are Rome's: Roma Termini and Milan's: Milano Centrale. From these train stations it's possible to connect to trains to most of Italy's main cities.

 

Station facilities

Stations in Italy usually have excellent facilities, often including:

  • Luggage lockers

  • Foreign exchange desks

  • Restaurants and cafés

  • Tourist information offices

  • ATM cash machines

  • Elevators and escalators

  • Access for disabled passengers

 

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