1st class or 2nd class train
 

My husband and I will be traveling via train from Rome to Florence and then from Florence to Venice this summer (peak season, I know). What is the difference between 1st and 2nd class train tickets? And is the amount of smoking in the 2nd class worse than in 1st class?

There are numerous old (and some recent) threads on this: first class has roomier, plusher seats - - option to eat in the (somewhat over-priced) white tablecloth dining car, with good food and service. There are separate smoking and non-smoking cars in 1st and 2nd class. I found 1st class smoking car still tolerable.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

topping<BR>

I traveled second class in August on a weekend from Rome to Florence and found it fine. It is only an hour and a half.<BR>The trip from Florence to Venice is longer, so maybe you might want to consider 1st class as you might be more comfortable.<BR>Basically the fare is not a great deal more expensive between the Rome and Florence trip for the two classes. <BR>I really did not notice much smoke on the trip. Maybe we were lucky.

We went 1st-class from Venice to Florence. First time I ever enjoyed a train ride! Club type seats that face each other with a table in between. They pass out newspapers, etc. Talked to all the people around us, mostly tourists on 1st class train, and even went to dinner in Florence with one couple we met on train! Don't be afraid to talk to people & enjoy your trip!

Went 1st class from Venice to Florence and Florence to Rome and found it very enjoyable. Even had a decent lunch on the Venice to Florence train. Both trips were either non-smoking or no one smoked.

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Is it still acceptable to bring your own food to eat in a first class train car?

Sure it's OK to bring your own food into the first class car. When we spread out our cheese and other things we had picked up in Verona heading to Zermatt, we offered some to the conductor. He was dismayed at our plastic cups for our wine we opened. He disappeared and brought us proper stemware wine glasses. And yes he brought five glasses although there were only four of us. He enjoyed the wine too.

These posts regarding food etc in the first class sections I believe refer to the ES trains. I travelled second class on all the routes you are planning and found the standard on the ES trains in this class exceptional. We had no smoking in our carriages, the seats very comfortable, table in between to write postcards, eat, read etc. Extraordinarily large luggage racks at the back and front of the carriage and also above our heads. Didn't feel it was unsafe to leave our luggage in the front or back racks as with it was easy to keep check on them. The bathroom facilities were clean and adequate. The dining car provided standards such as sandwiches, coffee, drinks etc at very reasonable prices and the cost of second class tickets was approximately 1/2 that of first class. AND We arrived at exactly the same time as the first class travellers believe it or not!!!<BR><BR>I would have absolutely no hesitation in travelling second class in the ES trains again. Especially on such short journeys as yours. Now if you are not planning to travel ES trains but the ordinary trains then second class is a whole different ball game and would under no circumstances travel less than 1st class.

We had great experiences with second class train travel in Italy,both from Venice to Florence and from Rome to Milan. In fact, the only marginal train travel experience we had in Italy was in traveling first class from Milan to Venice, where first class had been overbooked and many folks who had not reserved their seats had to travel most of the trip standing up in the aisles. It turns out booking first class doesn't guarantee you a seat. The more important choice appears to be reserved vs. nonreserved seats.