Taking a train from London to Venice

[rwsaunders]

Has anybody here gone on such an excursion? It looks like a 20 hour trip and we are not in any particular hurry to get from one place to another so pros, cons and other advice is welcome. Thanks

[caleb]

Do they still smoke in EuroRail cars?

[Saab2000]

I haven't along this route but I have some train experience in Europe, but mostly not as a tourist.

You should visit the websites of the various nations' railways in advance. Also, because I go to Switzerland, I downloaded their train system app: SBB Mobile. It's really good. Europeans are probably far more advanced with this stuff than we are in the states.

Also, go first class. Don't fool around with the other classes if this is a vacation. Trains can be crowded otherwise.

My experience with Swiss and German trains is very, very good. The Dutch trains were fine but had big delays the day I used them. Know nothing of British trains but what I have heard hasn't all been flattering.

Do they still smoke in EuroRail cars?

AFAIK, mostly not. There may still be the occasional smoking section but it's not nearly as ubiquitous as it once was. Additionally, Europeans have become almost as draconian, if not more so, about smoking in a lot of enclosed places. Your image of the 1980s and 1990s is no longer the way it is WRT smoking in Europe. At least that is my experience.

[Paul Jacobs]

Know nothing of British trains but what I have heard hasn't all been flattering.

I would not argue with that but if the journey is from London to Venice there will be not much time spent on British trains.

I have never gone from London to Venice by train but I enjoy travelling on French and Swiss trains. I have often travelled to and through both countries by train because I enjoy the experience even when bus and/or airplane may be quicker and cheaper.

[Saab2000]

I would not argue with that but if the journey is from London to Venice there will be not much time spent on British trains.

I have never gone from London to Venice by train but I enjoy travelling on French and Swiss trains. I have often travelled to and through both countries by train because I enjoy the experience even when bus and/or airplane may be quicker and cheaper.

I have a soft spot in my heart for rail travel. It can be quite civilized and I watch a lot of travel reviews on YouTube because one day I'd like to travel more by train. I lived in Europe at the time Eurostar became a thing and also when a lot of British rail lines were being privatized and remember seeing news stories about this.

Not everything benefits from being totally privatized it would seem and if a society or nation values trains they need to be more like utilities than private companies like airlines. That's just my opinion.

I'd enjoy traveling from southern California to Seattle by train I think, in a private room, which Amtrak offers. The travel reviews I see aren't all hateful in spite of Amtrak's reputation.

I also want to cross the ocean on a ship someday - let someone else do the driving for a change. That's what I like about trains. I get on and get off and don't have a care in the world in the middle.

[cash]

I spent a month in central Europe over the holidays and took several trains. I don't recall seeing anyone smoking on the trains. At the train stations, sure; all over. But not in the actual cars themselves. Train service can very significantly from country to country and rail to rail. Everything in Austria and Germany was top notch. Hungary and Slovakia ... not so much. Serviceable, but not nearly as comfortable or modern. All of the German and Austrian trains were very comfortable and had WiFi etc. 20 hours on a train is a long time ... if sightseeing is the aim, have at it and have fun. Otherwise, the commuter airlines are so cheap ... I flew from London to Barcelona for (I think) 60 euros.

[j44ke]

No smoking on trains.

What route are you taking? Might be overnight stops that would be worth it.

[jclay]

Do it. Period.

[72gmc]

+1 on do it -- i haven't but I can see the allure. First class is probably a good idea. We used the britrail flexpass in August and on two occasions our reserved seats were nullified by a technical problem in ticketing. I don't believe first class passengers were affected. Caused us to be crammed into a car with a bunch of beer swilling Reading fans at one point. Didn't sour me on rail travel, though.

[slwrnu]

there is no smoking. The Eurostar from London is becoming quite tired. But it still works fine. It is quite easy to cross Paris on the RER. There is a lot of humanity out there, it is like London or NY, you just need to concentrate. My 16 y/o daughter did it on her own. If you google the man in seat 61 you will find very good info.to choose your route.

[vertical_doug]

Fly. It's cheaper, faster and more enjoyable.
If you are coming from US anyway, just tacking it onto your international ticket will be much cheaper.

I also think you need to change trains somewhere between 2 to 5 times.

If you can ride a 54 or 55, bring your kit and I'll take you out in southern England for a tour.

[j44ke]

I remember friends coming to visit us in Prague. The Schengen agreement had made border crossings in Western Europe no issue, but the train went through Switzerland. A lot of the train routes still reflected the presence of the Iron Curtain then, so there were some seemingly unnecessary loops because well, there weren't very many direct entries and exits from Eastern Europe. So their train went through Switzerland and then Austria and then up into CR I think. Anyway about 1AM they crossed into Switzerland and the Swiss border control got on the train and checked everyone's papers cabin to cabin, waking everyone up. And then a couple hours later, Austrian border control got on and did it all over again.

[Gern]

I think St. Pancras to Gare du Nord through the channel tunnel is a great rail trip. 2h20, and you see, or rather don't see, an engineering marvel. It's a great way to get from London to Paris. My preference would be to fly the rest of the way. Actually, the drive would be cool (very nice topography on your proposed route), given a reasonable rental car -- Sixt is usually very reliable for this, or, if your needs, budget and planning allow, euro delivery with MB, BMW or Porsche. We did a 4000km road trip through France a few years ago, though, and it was a great deal of fun.

[GonaSovereign]

If it's a vacay and I was feeling flush:

https://www.seat61.com/Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express.htm

[Apollo]

I lived in Italy from 1987 to 2015 when I was building frames there.

I flew to London two times and took the train through the Chunnel, both ways, once.

On the train, it was 2002, I took regular trains from Milan to Brussels, only because I was formerly a student in Belgium and knew the Brussels train station.

From Brussels I took the Eurostar train to the first stop in the UK after the Chunnel, which is Ashford-Kent.

The train wasn't high speed in UK at the time and might have only been high speed in France.

The train stopped right before the Chunnel.

Then as soon as it started moving, migrants started climbing over the double rows of chain link fences along the tracks, towards the train.

I met a friend in Ashford-Kent and took a bus (coach as they say in UK) the rest of the way to London.

I did the same on the return and took a bus from London to Ashford-Kent and boarded the train there.

In Ashford-Kent I was trying to use a pay phone and I wasn't familiar with British coins, so I was looking at them closely.

An attractive British woman, driving a convertible Aston-Martin, approached me and said, "I see you're struggling with the money. Would you like to use my mobile?"

I think she was flirting with me.

Despite the car, she was wearing a uniform that looked like she might have worked somewhere in the train station.

[Gattonero]

Resurrecting this old thread: if hasn't happened yet, hurry up before Brexit! ;-)

[colker]

If i could i would travel everywhere by train.. Does anyone like airports? Does anyone like arriving at airports? It feels like cattle.

[sk_tle]

The good things about trains is you usually end up in the city center.

That said, anything more than a couple of hours becomes boring at some point. I'd rather make it a multi day trip with stops at Paris, Lyon, Lausanne, Milano and Venezia than a quicky one.

[colker]

The good things about trains is you usually end up in the city center.

Yes. Much better.

[Scott G.]

Resurrecting this old thread: if hasn't happened yet, hurry up before Brexit! ;-)

London to Venice, what about Edinburgh to London or Cardiff to London?

Sexit and Wexit are up next.....