One month from today, a college friend and I plan to go by overnight train from Aix-en-Provence to Florence. It was my idea -- both to save on hotel costs and to gain a full day in Florence. We will spend the previous week in Provence with a third college friend who is a travel agent & has made most of our arrangements. HOWEVER, the price she is quoting for the train is an additional $300 for a double sleeper and $200 for a couchette. The train tickets alone are $100 each. I'm ashamed to admit how many hours I've spent on the internet trying all the websites I've read about in several hundred references on this forum. I found a regular ticket price on railsavers of $59, but most sites either tell me the trip is not possible or that we would have to make four or five train changes during the night. I have also used Marseille as the departure point. This will be the first Sunday in May. I'd like the peace of mind of having a reservation in advance -- but, since we'll be in Provence the previous week, would we have better luck making these plans after we arrive? Thanks so much for any help you can provide!

I've checked on the Trenitalia site for the Italian part of your journey - Ventimiglia-Florence - and the only overnight option it comes up with is:<BR><BR>Dep. 21.51 Ventimiglia<BR>Arr. 05.25 Florence<BR><BR>This requires a change at Pisa during the night.<BR><BR>I would advise you to book when you're in France, not before, for lowest fares.<BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve<BR><BR>

Carter,<BR><BR>First of all, don't know if an overnight train trip from Aix to Florence is such a good idea, as there don't seem to be any night trains along the coast - you actually have to go North all the way to Lyon on a TGV, then to Chambery just to get on the Euronight train to Florence. We're talking a 14 hour expedition here!<BR><BR>Best schedules are at www.bahn.de<BR><BR>If you really want to do the night train thing, try calling the SNCF directly at 011-33836353539. Forget about the SNCF web site, schedules are terrible for complex international itineraries and they don't allow bookings on night trains.<BR><BR>Alternatively, check www.eurolines.com for bus service. They don't run every day, but there are overnight buses for EUR 43 on this route - departure at 21:00, arrival at 6:30.<BR><BR>Their tel. nr in Aix is 011 33 4 91 50 57 55. Hope they speak english!<BR><BR>Hope this helps<BR>Andre

21.51 from Ventimiglia looks like a night train to me. Why go via Lyon??

Well, Steve the connection you refer to is NOT direct and NOT a night train (which for me means it has beds or at least couchettes).<BR><BR>It involves a change at Pisa - arrival at 3:07, departure at 4h13! This is not my idea of an attractive option (and you still have to get from Aix to Ventimiglia)...<BR><BR>Andre

Sometimes it just doesn't work out. I have tried to find a train connection from Lake Como to Aix and they are much longer than driving with train changes. For a day trip, you can go Aix to Nice via Marseille for $34, 2nd class, reservations are extra, and then Nice to Florence for $49, 2nd class. Other posters often say you can get the ticket cheaper in Europe, and the bus was a good, low cost option or maybe you should try to find a hostel in Nice or Florence instead of a night train. Good luck.