2OnRway

Please share any advice and experience taking train from London to Brussels and from Venice to Florence. What train line and what station is the best? How much time do you need in advance of your departure time? Will there be room to stow 1, 24" suitcase per person? Thanks for your help.

nytraveler

You don't get to pick random train stations. The trains to a particular place typically all leave from the same station.

Taking the Eurostar from London to Brussels is more similar to taking a flight one must bet to the station a significant time in advance and go through security and immigration - so getting to the station an hour or so in advance is a good idea. Also like airlines fares differ tremendsouly by date and train - with the cheapest fares available about 90 days in advance. I fyuo wati until the last minute you may pay a fare that is double of more higher and even be shut out of specific trains.

Going from Venice (Santa Lucia station - the only one there) to Florence is easy - there are numerous trains every day - some high speed and some local. This is like a regular train trip - if you have tickets you just need to get there in time to board. Again, though there are discount fares if you buy in advance.

There is plenty of room for a 24" case on either - but you have to deal with your own luggage both in the station and on the trains.

For detailed schedules go to bahn.de - it lists train schedules for all of europe. There is an english language version in the drop down menu on the top right.

nytraveler

Sorry -

Eurostar leaves form St Pancras in London. And do look carefully are fare options and buy as early as possible.

lavandula

Eurostar arrives at Bruxelles-Midi (Brussel-Zuid, or Brussels South). This is the main long distance railway station in Brussels and from here you can transfer to trains to other destinations (such as, but not limited to, Bruges, Ghent, Paris), or to a train to Bruxelles-Central, if you have a hotel in the centre of Brussels, near the Grand' Place.

Lavandula

kybourbon

Venice to Florence you can either use Trenitalia (the Italian national rail company) or Italo. For Venice and Florence, they use the same stations (Italo uses a different station in Rome and Milan).

In Italy, the faster trains are reservation only so assigned seats come with your tickets. You would be buying specific seats on a specific train. The fast trains are usually in the station 10-15 minutes. It can be quite a trek from the head of the tracks if your seats are at the far end of the train.

For the slow regional trains in Italy, you can buy tickets for a specific route and just hop on any train designated regional (validate your ticket before boarding)on that route. It would take 2-3 times as long to travel Venice/Florence on regional trains (fast trains take 2 hours).

lavandula

I should probably clarify with you- when you say best, best for what? I've given you some generic advice but maybe it isn't best fit for your plans. What are you doing when you get to Belgium? Have you got that far in your planning yet?

Lavandula

2OnRway

We will only be in Brussels for 2 days and haven't made any plans yet.

lavandula

OK - then I might add that most tourists stay near Grand' Place - Bruxelles-Central is the closest to that area. The areas immediately surrounding Midi and Bruxelles-Nord, the two other big stations in Brussels, are a bit unsafe and seedy at night (esp. Nord).

Lavandula

WeisserTee

Over the years, DH has made more than 100 trips between London and Brussels on Eurostar and I've made several dozen. IMO, the trains and service have gotten shabbier but they're still ok.

Note: in standard class, try to avoid seats numbered 22 or 52. Those window seats are actually against the train wall and don't have a window. Annoying, esp if you've bought online well in advance. You can ask to change your seat assignment, but if the train is really full, you may not have much luck.

As for hotels, even with two days, I would not stay in the GP area. Way too crowded. I would stay near the Place Louise. Much quieter but still with plenty to do and it's very easy to get to the Sablon or the GP from there. It's also really easy to get to the Midi train station.

Some good, not expensive hotels (esp on week-ends) in the Place Louise are the NH Stephanie (ask for a room on a higher floor) or The Hotel, which used to be the Hilton but has now been wonderfully transformed. The old Conrad is now a Steigenberger and has a great bar with excellent -- albeit expensive -- cocktails.

One caution about the Louise area (where we used to live). Strongly recommend against using the Hôtel des Monnaies/Munthof metro stop at night. It's a deep underground stop, doesn't connect with anything and can be isolated and creepy at night. Use the Louise metro stop instead.

2OnRway

When looking at the seat map on Eurostar (going from London to Brussels), Italo and Trenitalia, (going from Venice to Florence) How can you tell which seats are forward facing?

fmpden

You really cannot determine which seats are forward facing. In Italy (don't remember about the Eurostar) all the seats face the middle. The cars are designed to run both ways so half the seats will always be facing forward and half will not. Which half is anyone's guess.