London to Italy . . .

 Taking the train to Italy ...

Above:  The famous Trevi fountain, just 20 minutes walk from Rome's Stazioni Termini, where the train from Paris arrives.  This photo was taken on a short break to Italy, travelling there from the UK by train...

It couldn't be easier.  Just take an afternoon Eurostar from London to Paris in 2 hours 25 minutes, down a drink or two in a Parisian café, then take the 'Palatino' overnight sleeper train from Paris to Rome.  Enjoy a meal in the restaurant car as the sun sets over the rolling green hills and picturesque villages of the French countryside, then wake up in your sleeper or couchette to coffee and croissant and a classic Italian landscape of red-roofed houses and poplar trees.  You'll catch sight of the dome of St Peter's from the train before arriving at Rome's Stazione Termini, right in the heart of the Eternal City.  If you prefer daytime travel (though an overnight stop is required), see the options for daytime travel.

Fares start at £59 return for the Eurostar plus £66 return from Paris to Rome in a 6-berth couchette or £84 return in a more spacious 4-berth couchette.  More comfortable 1, 2 & 3-bed sleepers are also available, with morning coffee & croissant included in the fare, see the guide to onboard accommodation.

Train times London ► Rome

• Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras daily at 13:32 (13:00 on Sundays) and arriving in Paris Gare du Nord at 16:47 (16:17 on Sundays).  By all means choose an earlier Eurostar if if you'd like to stop off in Paris, or if this has cheaper tickets available.  From 30 August onwards, the Eurostar connection will leave London earlier, at 12:29 Mon-Sat, 13:00 Sundays.  Cross Paris by métro to the Gare de Bercy.

• Travel from Paris to Rome overnight on the 'Palatino' sleeper train.  The Palatino leaves Paris Gare de Bercy daily at 18:52 and arrives next morning in Rome Stazione Termini, right in the city centre, at 10:13.  The train has 1-bed, 2-bed & 3-bed sleepers, 4-berth & 6-berth couchettes & restaurant car.  Map of Rome showing the Stazione Termini.  In Paris, sleeper passengers may use the Artesia first class lounge.

Train times Rome ► London

• Travel from Rome to Paris overnight on the 'Palatino', leaving Rome Stazione Termini at 18:40 and arriving in Paris Gare de Bercy at 09:16 next morning.  The train has 1-bed, 2-bed & 3-bed sleepers, 4-berth & 6-berth couchettes & restaurant car.  Sleeper passengers may use the 'Club Eurostar' first class lounge at Rome Termini.

• Travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.  By all means choose a later Eurostar if if you'd like to stop off in Paris, or if this has cheaper tickets available.

What is the Paris-Rome Palatino like?

See the guide to on-board accommodation at the bottom of this page for an illustrated description of each type of couchette and sleeper accommodation, and for more information about this train, including the restaurant service.  It's a great trip - the scenery is excellent south of Paris as the train speeds towards Italy, with leafy valleys, small French villages and picturesque churches.  During the night, the Palatino passes through Switzerland and the Simplon Tunnel under the Alps, a total distance of about 1,442 km (896 miles) from Paris to Rome, running in places at up to 100 mph.  The Palatino can arrive late, so allow for a 50-60 minute delay in your schedule and stay relaxed.  It is run by Artesia (www.artesia.eu), a consortium of the French and Italian national railways formed to run the Paris-Italy trains.

How much does it cost?

London to Paris  by Eurostar:	From £35 one-way or £59 return 2nd class.   Child, youth & senior fares From £99 one-way or £175 return 1st class.  Advice on one-way Eurostar fares
Paris to Rome  by sleeper train (per person):	In a couchette		In a sleeper
	6-berth	4-berth	3-berth	2-berth	1-berth
Special one-way fare:	From £33	From £42	£115	£129	-
Special return fare:	From £66	From £84	£230	£258	-
Normal one-way fare:	£108	£117	£147	£161	£244
Normal return fare:	£178	£198	£248	£286	£450
Normal child fare one-way:	£51	£57	£92	£101	-
Railpass fare one-way:	£23	£42	£60	£69	-
Dogs & pets (see here):	£10 each way.  You must occupy whole compartment.  Guide dogs free
Special fares = 'Prems' or 'Depart' fares.  The price varies depending on availability, no refunds, no changes.  Book at least 14 days in advance for couchettes, 30 days for sleepers. Normal fares = Refundable & flexible.  There are no senior or youth reductions. Child fare = Child 4-11 years with own berth.  A return is twice the one-way fare. Use an adult special fare if cheaper!  Children under 4 go free if they share a bed with an adult. Railpass fare:  What you pay with a railpass (Eurail, InterRail, etc) covering Italy & France. Passholder places limited by quota. If your pass only covers one country, there's a higher supplement.

  How to buy tickets online...

The best way for UK residents to buy tickets for both Eurostar and the Paris-Rome sleeper train is online at www.raileurope.co.uk, using this booking form.  But please read the booking tips first!  To book by phone or in person, click here.  If you live in another European country, click here.  If you live in the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, click here.

Children under 4 go free, no ticket required. Children = children over 4 but under 12. Youth = anyone under 26.  Senior = anyone over 60. Advice on buying train tickets from other UK towns & cities

How to use this online booking form ... This booking form links to www.raileurope.co.uk. Tickets can be collected at St Pancras or stations in France free of charge, or sent to a UK address for a £1.95 fee. There's no fee for debit cards, but they charge a 2% credit card fee.  Only UK credit cards are accepted. Reservations for the Paris-Italy trains open 90 days before departure.  You can't book before reservations open, but if you ask www.raileurope.co.uk for a date more than 90 days ahead, it will offer to send an email reminder when reservations open.  A useful facility!  To get an idea of prices if your date of travel is more than 90 days away, ask it for a date within the next 90 days.  Be aware that the 90 days is often squeezed to less than 90 in the few weeks immediately after the European timetable changes in mid-June & mid-December.  Ask for a date before the timetable change to get an idea of price. Top tip:  It's best to treat London to Rome as two separate journeys, one from London to Paris, the other Paris to Rome.  This gives you more control, and allows you to mix and match (for example) 2nd class Eurostar with 2-berth sleeper or 4 berth couchette (which are both technically 1st class). Step 1, change 'London St Pancras' to 'Paris' and book from Paris to Rome & back, looking for the direct Artesia train with no changes.  On the confirmation page, if you click 'show itinerary details' it will show the exact coach number & berth or seat number that you've been given.  You might find these sleeper & couchette numbering plans useful.  Double-check the departure & arrival times before booking the Eurostar connection. Step 2, when you've booked the train from Paris to Rome & back, click 'continue shopping' and book the Eurostar from London to Paris & back as a separate journey.  Use the Eurostar times on this page as a guide, but feel free to choose an earlier Eurostar from London or a later Eurostar back from Paris, if these have cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.  Don't forget that on your return journey, your departure date from Paris to London will be the day after your departure date from Italy to Paris!  For a one-way journey on Eurostar, see this advice. Tickets are sent from Rail Europe's UK office and normally arrive in a couple of days.  If you need any help, you can call Rail Europe's UK call centre on 0844 848 5 848.

Buying connecting tickets within Italy...

• ...using Rail Europe:  You can book most (but not all) connecting trains within Italy fairly painlessly online at www.raileurope.co.uk, in one transaction along with your other tickets.  After booking your London-Paris-Rome tickets, click 'continue shopping' and book your Italian domestic trains, for example Rom-Naples.  Just be aware that the prices charged may be a pound or two more than buying direct from Trenitalia.

• ...using Trenitalia:  You can buy tickets for any train within Italy online at the Italian Railways website, www.trenitalia.com, but first see my advice on using the Trenitalia website.  They key problem is that Trenitalia.com struggles with some UK-issued credit cards (although mine works), if you get stuck you can buy Italian train tickets in the UK at either www.raileurope.co.uk (easy to use, but it can't book all Italian trains just the main routes) or buy from the Seat61 Rail Shop (provided by International Rail who are Trenitalia's UK agents, all Italian trains bookable).  In both cases, prices will be slightly higher than those charged by Trenitalia but are shown in pounds and can be posted to any UK address.

On board the Palatino... Enjoy dinner with wine in the restaurant, then settle down for the night in your sleeping-berth...  Or bring your own food and wine and picnic in your compartment.  Just 40 euros (£30) in 6-berth or 70 euros (£50) in 4-berth buys you 850 miles of travel and a bed for the night, city centre to city centre. Far more fun and much more environmentally-friendly than flying! Guide to accommodation on this train

  How to buy tickets by phone or in person

You can buy tickets from any UK European rail booking agency, including Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines open 08:00-21:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays, no longer open on Sundays, £8 booking fee applies) or Ffestiniog Travel on 01766 772050 (8% booking fee applies).  Rail Europe have a travel centre for personal callers at 1 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4XT, open 10:00-18:00 Mon-Fri, 10:00-16:00 Saturdays.  For more information about how to buy European train tickets, see the How to buy European train tickets page.

  How to buy tickets online at www.voyages-sncf.com...

www.voyages-sncf.com is French Railways' (SNCF's) own website, and like www.raileurope.co.uk it can sell tickets from London to Paris, and from Paris to Italy.

• The advantage over www.raileurope.co.uk for UK residents is that www.voyages-sncf.com sells fares in euro so is a bit cheaper because you'll get a better exchange rate from your own bank.  And unlike www.raileurope.co.uk there's no credit card fee or postage fee (so ironically SNCF will send tickets from France to the UK for free, whilst it's own UK subsidiary now charges £1.95 to send them from an office in Kent!).  For non-UK residents, a key advantage is that It accepts all credit cards, so residents of any country may use it.

• The disadvantage over www.raileurope.co.uk is that it isn't as easy to use and if anything goes wrong you'll be dealing with a French call centre in France, not a UK company.  If you live in the UK you may prefer dealing with www.raileurope.co.uk which is backed by a UK call centre.  If you want to use www.voyages-sncf.com, please read these step-by-step instructions.

• Tickets can be sent to any address in Europe including the UK, or (for journeys starting in France) collected from any main French station.  Remember that bookings open 90 days before departure, you cannot book before bookings open!

• To buy tickets using www.voyages-sncf.com, make sure you read these step-by-step instructions first.

• You must treat London to Rome as two separate journeys, one from London to Paris, the other Paris to Rome.

         How to buy tickets if you live in the USA, Canada, Australia, etc...

• If you live outside Europe, you can buy tickets online at www.raileurope.com (USA), www.raileurope.ca (Canada), www.raileurope.com.au (Australia & NZ), or www.raileurope.co.za (South Africa).  Rail Europe is North America's biggest European rail agency, and it's a subsidiary of French Railways.  Tickets can be sent to any address in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or worldwide.  Find agencies in other countries.

• However, the cheapest way to buy Paris-Italy tickets is direct with French Railways using www.voyages-sncf.com, following this step-by-step advice.  If you follow that advice, you can pay the cheap European prices shown on this page and collect tickets at the station in Paris or any main station in France (or have them sent to any European address, for example a hotel in Italy).

• For trips starting in Italy, you can also book Italy-Paris trains at www.trenitalia.com (look for 'smart price' when the fares appear, here's more advice on using the Trenitalia website).  Tickets bought through www.trenitalia.com can be picked up from the ticket counter at any main station in Italy simply by quoting your booking reference.  London-Paris Eurostar tickets can of course be bought direct from Eurostar at www.eurostar.com and picked up at the station in either London or Paris depending where you're starting.

• Remember that you will enter and then leave Switzerland on this train, even though you'll be asleep, if that makes any difference to you visa-wise.

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London to Rome or Naples by daytime trains...

London to Rome (let alone Naples!) is simply too far to go in one day, so the overnight service recommended above is the easiest, most time-effective, comfortable and romantic way to go.  However, it is perfectly possible to travel by daytime trains if you stop somewhere for the night in a hotel and don't mind an extra change of trains. As each train is ticketed separately anyway, it costs no more to spend more time in Paris or Milan on the way.

London ► Rome, Naples (daytime trains)

• Option 1, with overnight stop in Paris:  Travel from London to Paris Gare du Nord on any suitable evening Eurostar, then stay in a hotel in Paris.  Next morning, travel from Paris to Milan by direct TGV high-speed train leaving Paris Gare de Lyon at 07:42 arriving Milan Centrale at 14:50.  Then travel from Milan to Rome or Naples by any suitable connecting train, for example the 16:00 Eurostar Italia from Milan arriving Rome Termini at 20:30 & Naples Centrale at 22:12.

• Option 2, with overnight stop in Milan:  Travel from London to Milan using a morning Eurostar to Paris and afternoon TGV from Paris to Milan, see the London to Milan section below.  Spend the night in a hotel in Milan.  Next morning, travel from Milan to Rome or Naples on any suitable train, Milan-Rome takes just 4½ hours.

• For fares & how to buy Eurostar & TGV tickets London-Milan, see the London to Milan section below.  Then use www.trenitalia.com to find train times and fares Milan-Rome (see the advice on using the Trenitalia website).

• Option 3, with overnight stop in Geneva:  See the London to Switzerland page for times, fares & how to book trains London-Geneva by Eurostar & direct Paris-Geneva high-speed TGV, quite a scenic trip.  Spend the night in a hotel in Geneva.  Next day, take the 07:07 or 09:07 trains to Milan, then an afternoon/evening train from Milan to Rome or Naples.  You can book the Geneva-Milan & Milan-Rome trains using www.raileurope.co.uk (book Geneva-Milan & Milan-Rome as two separate tickets).

Naples, Rome ► London (daytime trains)

• Option 1, overnight stop in Milan:  Take any suitable train from Rome or Naples to Milan.  Spend the night in Milan.  Then travel from Milan to London using a morning TGV to Paris and afternoon/evening Eurostar to London, see the London to Milan section below for times, fares & information.

• Option 2, overnight stop in Paris:  Travel from Naples or Rome to Milan by high-speed Eurostar Italia, leaving Naples Centrale at 08:48 or Rome Termini at 10:30 arriving Milan Centrale at 15:00.  Then travel from Milan to Paris by high-speed TGV leaving Milan Centrale at 16:10 arriving Paris Gare de Lyon at 23:19.  Spend the night in a hotel in Paris.  Next morning, take any Eurostar you like to London.

• Option 3, overnight stop in Geneva:  Take a morning train from Naples or Rome to Milan.  Allow at least 1 hour in Milan to change trains, then take a Cisalpino train from Milan to Geneva.  Spend the night in a hotel in Geneva.  Then see the London to Switzerland page for train times, fares & how to buy tickets Geneva-London.  You can find train times and fares from Rome or Naples to Milan then from Milan to Geneva using www.raileurope.co.uk.

Above:  The best view of Florence is from the top of the dome of the famous Duomo.  6 euros, 463 steps, no lift.  This photo was taken on a short break in Tuscany, travelling from the UK by train...

It couldn't be easier.  Just take an afternoon Eurostar from London to Paris in 2 hours 25 minutes, down a drink or two in a Parisian café, then take the overnight sleeper from Paris to Florence.  Enjoy a meal in the restaurant car as the sun sets over the rolling green hills and picturesque villages of the French countryside, then wake up in your sleeper or couchette to coffee and croissant and a classic Italian landscape with red-roofed houses and poplar trees.  Fares start at just £59 return for the Eurostar plus £66 return from Paris to Florence in a basic 6-bunk couchette or £84 return in a more spacious 4-bunk couchette.  More comfortable 1, 2 & 3-bed sleeping-cars are also available, with breakfast included in the fare, see the guide to onboard accommodation.  If you'd prefer daytime travel (although an overnight stop is necessary on the way), see the options for daytime travel.

Train times London ► Bologna, Florence

• Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 13:32 (13:00 on Sundays) and arriving in Paris Gare du Nord at 16:47 (16:17 on Sundays).  By all means choose an earlier Eurostar if if you'd like to stop off in Paris, or if this has cheaper tickets available.  From 30 August onwards, the Eurostar connection will leave London earlier, at 12:29 Mon-Sat, 13:00 Sundays.  Cross Paris by métro to the Gare de Bercy.

• Travel from Paris to Florence overnight on the 'Palatino', leaving Paris Gare de Bercy at 18:52 and arriving at Piacenza at 04:44, Parma at 05:12, Bologna at 05:58 and Florence ('Firenze' in Italian) at 07:13 next morning.  The train now arrives at Florence's main SMN (Santa Maria Novella) station right in the city centre.  The train has 1-bed, 2-bed & 3-bed sleepers, 4-berth & 6-berth couchettes & restaurant car.  In Paris, sleeper passengers may use the Artesia first class lounge.

Train times Florence, Bologna ► London

• The 'Palatino' leaves Florence SMN station in the city centre at 21:09, Bologna at 22:31, Parma at 23:14, Piacenza 23:45, arriving in Paris Gare de Bercy at 09:16 next morning.  The Palatino has 1-bed, 2-bed & 3-bed sleepers, 4-berth & 6-berth couchettes & restaurant car.  In Florence, sleeper passengers may use the 'Club Eurostar' first class lounge.

• Travel from Paris to London by Eurostar, leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.  By all means choose a later Eurostar if if you'd like to stop off in Paris, or if this has cheaper tickets available.

What is the Paris-Florence Palatino like?

See the guide to on-board accommodation at the bottom of this page for an illustrated description of each type of couchette and sleeper accommodation, and for more information about this train, including the restaurant service.  The scenery is excellent south of Paris as the train speeds towards Italy, with leafy valleys, small French villages and picturesque churches.  During the night, the Palatino passes through Switzerland and the Simplon Tunnel under the Alps, a total distance of about 1,126 km (699 miles) from Paris to Florence, running at up to 100 mph.  The Palatino can arrive late, so allow for a 50-60 minute delay in your schedule and stay relaxed.  It is run by Artesia (www.artesia.eu), a consortium of the French and Italian national railways formed to run the Paris-Italy trains.

How much does it cost?

London to Paris by Eurostar:	From £35 one-way or £59 return 2nd class.   Child, youth & senior fares From £99 one-way or £175 return 1st class.  Advice on one-way Eurostar fares
Paris to Florence or Bologna  by sleeper train (per person):	In a couchette		In a sleeper
	6-berth	4-berth	3-berth	2-berth	1-berth
Special one-way fare:	From £33	From £42	£115	£129	-
Special return fare:	From £66	From £84