Deb

Any ideas from anyone on the best way to get from Paris to Venice if the night train is booked? We don't really have the time to do a day train and I am not finding an inexpensive flight like you have from some cities. Advice appreciated.

Liz

Are you traveling more than 60 days from now? I ask because the French train site may SEEM to be booked, but acually , you can't buy unless it's less than 2 months away.

Janice

Sometimes you can't get private sleepers, but can walk into a SNCF offie in Paris and get the "gang of 6" sleepers. And they always seem to have tickets available for in-person purchasing, even when the website tells you there's nothing left.<BR>Don't despair yet!<BR>

StCirq

Deb:<BR><BR>Have you tried www.europebyair.com ? I know they fly between Paris and Venice, but I don't know how the cost would compare with the train.

elvira

Be creative with the routing; try routing yourself through Lyon or Avignon. There are two train stations in Paris that send trains to Italy - Bercy and Lyon - so check both for trains. Also, Venice has 2 stations - Mestre and Santa Lucia. <BR><BR>Are you using the French train site?<BR>www.sncf.com

Deb

Thanks for your responses, scnf shows it booked and I called for a europass and they show it booked too. I think europe by air was more expensive than airfrance but I will check it again. It was not one of their favored routes.

Greg

Deb,<BR><BR>Just curious, what date do you want to travel from Paris to Venice?<BR><BR>Greg

BTilke

Have you looked into taking a night train from Brussels? It leaves the Brussels around 6:30 pm and arrives in Venice around 11 am. Check the Belgian web site, www.b-rail.be. Of course, that would mean taking a train up to Brussels from Paris. <BR>It's a long ride and I wouldn't take it unless I had a private sleeping compartment--which is not cheap. In the last year, I've done overnight train trips with private sleeping compartments from Brussels to Vienna, Lugano, Luzern and Basel (and back). I could have flown for less, even with a regular airline. But I enjoy seeing at least some of the scenery (until it gets dark) and the ride.<BR>Also, have you looked into finding an inexpensive flight to another Italian city and then taking a train from there?<BR>

Abby

When are you leaving Paris? I am going to Venice on 4/22, and don't have reservation yet, since most people I have consulted told me to wait until I get to Paris to get the tickets, which <BR>is this Wednesday. <BR><BR>You got me worried, and I checked on SNCF. It did show that no tickets available. What should I do????

Deb

We were trying to travel on June 3rd and get a private sleeper. At this point I have found a flight that is $250 so that is not too bad. I think that will be preferable to going too far out of our way but the people at Eurail were checking on some other options for me.

Liz

I just checked the SNCF site for June 3. Yes, the direct Paris-Venice train is not available, but it gave me a choice, unprompted, for a Paris-Lyon-Venice route that had sleepers available.

Greg

Deb and Liz,<BR><BR>I just went onto SNCF and went throught the process to reserve a place on the direct train from Paris to Venice on June 3 and it had a spot for me. Train number 223 (the direct train) leaving at 20:01 for 124.60 Euros. This seemd a bit strange? Having said that, I like the airline idea.<BR><BR>Greg

Deb

After all that it turns out that none of the computers were talking to each other yesterday. Raileurope called me back today and said that even though it was showing full this train is available. Such alot of trouble over a computer glitch. Thanks for all your suggestions.

Liz

Deb, I hope you aren't buying it through Raileurope. They charge quite a bit extra.

Abby

Hey, I called SNCF last night for tickets on 4/22. We are all fulled by the website! I got my first class sleepers rightway!<BR><BR>Anyways, thanks to you fellows for the valuable information.