European Railroad Discussion > London to Florence by train?

Is there an efficient way to do this in a comforable compartment? 

Thank you!
 

Yes and no - there is no direct train, You have to change 3 times the train:

London - Paris: Eurostar high-sped train, takes about 2h
Change train and station (!) in Paris (Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, take a taxi or uber)
Paris - Basel: TGV, takes 3:15h, change in Basel
Basel - Milan: 5h tilt train through the longest tunnel of the world, change in Milan
Milan - Florence: Freccia Rossa (high speed train), 2h

Doing it in one day should be possible but is quite an endevaour... and takes a long day...

 

Google "man in seat 61" for excellent advice on train routings from the UK to just about anywhere.

I second the advice of using "Man in Seat 61" and will also add that transiting Brussels over Paris saves the need to change stations.

rosenth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes and no - there is no direct train, You have to
> change 3 times the train:
>
> London - Paris: Eurostar high-sped train, takes
> about 2h
> Change train and station (!) in Paris (Gare du
> Nord to Gare de Lyon, take a taxi or uber)
> Paris - Basel: TGV, takes 3:15h, change in Basel
> Basel - Milan: 5h tilt train through the longest
> tunnel of the world, change in Milan
> Milan - Florence: Freccia Rossa (high speed
> train), 2h
>
> Doing it in one day should be possible but is
> quite an endevaour... and takes a long day...
>
>  

I would also recommend going via Brussels and Cologne.One option would be to take a night train from Cologne to Basel or Zurich, for onward connections to Italy. The bahn.de/en website is very handy for checking timings

Posted from Android



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/18 12:34 by SD70M.

This is an all-day trip. Options for overnight trains in Europe are increasingly scarce; from Cologne there are only overnight trains to Innsbruck and Vienna in Austria, run as part of the Austrian Railways "Nightjet" system.

I do agree with the concept of going via Brussels and Cologne.

There is usually a Munich-Rome overnight train that stops in Florence; although on the day I want to take it (Oct. 6) it will not be running due to construction work somewhere in Austria, even though the timetable says "trains run daily" and the Man in Seat 61 emailed me and told me not to worry. I will be able to use the Munich-Venice overnight train and transfer to a Rome train in Venice.

The night trains appear to be a bit of a stepchild, with incomplete and sometimes incorrect information being available, particularly for those of us who like to plan far in advance. Inquires to both OBB and DB typically resulted in bureaucratic, nonhelpful responses. Things improve closer to departure time.

Booking on trainline.eu is a good option, as that site tends to be more user-friendly.

Do the overnight option if possible. You will save a night in an expensive hotel and get a good night's sleep in the process. Single rooms en suite are available. Just make sure as the other poster said it isn't suspended do to construction. Otherwise, the Munich-Rome train runs daily. A scenic run if daylight allows as well. 

Just google seat61.com it is the "best" website going !!! :):):)

In 2016 I did a one-day dash by train from Rome to London on 4 trains - see TO trip report on link below.  I changed in Milan, Basel and Paris.  It was certianly do-able and I enjoyed the day very much.  Nice dining car on the Swiss train.  The Man in Seat 61 website helped me a lot. 

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?17,3994845,3996307#msg-3996307
 

The  Man in Seat 61 allowed me to effortlessly travel through 12 European countries on 38 trains for 37 days last April-May.

thanks.

Mexrail

Thank you for the recommendations!
I think the easiest way is London to Paris, Paris to Venice and then Venice to Firenze?

I definitely want an overnight train.

But will I need to change stations in Paris? If so I may just overnight there... never been.

Thanks.

Posted from Android

coaststarlight99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you for the recommendations!
> I think the easiest way is London to Paris, Paris
> to Venice and then Venice to Firenze?
>
> I definitely want an overnight train.
>
> But will I need to change stations in Paris? If so
> I may just overnight there... never been.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Posted from Android


Overnight trains in Europe are increasingly scarce, and mostly can be described as utilitarian, and not luxurious.

You would appear to have two options:

(1) The Paris-Milan Thello, run by the Italians. You would need to change in Milan for a Florence train.
(2) The Munich-Rome overnight, run by the Austrians. That would stop in Florence.

There is a change of stations in Paris.

Otherwise, you could go London-Brussels on Eurostar, continue to Cologne and then Munich. No change of stations required.

Your initial question suggested you wanted to travel through without stopovers, but now it looks like you might want a stopover.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/18 12:26 by reindeerflame.

If you can afford it and want to travel on a day when it's running there's always Orient Express from London to Venice.   Pullman to Dover/Folkestone, luxury bus across the channel using Eurotunnel then train to Venice.   Alternatively Eurostar London to Paris, find your own way across the city and Orient Express to Venice.   After which a FS train to Florence might be a bit of a let down!

Hartington Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you can afford it and want to travel on a day
> when it's running there's always Orient
> Express from London to Venice.   Pullman to
> Dover/Folkestone, luxury bus across the channel
> using Eurotunnel then train to Venice. 
>  Alternatively Eurostar London to Paris, find
> your own way across the city and Orient Express to
> Venice.   After which a FS train to Florence
> might be a bit of a let down!


No showers on the Orient Express, due to an attempt to replicate actual travel conditions from the 1920s.

It's now Frecciarossa (red arrow) and the like rather than the old conventional FS: sleek HSR.