How is the train ride from Rome to Venice? Is it scenic? We are planning to book a train that will travel into Santa Lucia via trenitalia. The next question may seem very stupid, but here goes...as I have never traveled by train, if a train stops is it possible to sightsee? To do this would I need to book two trains (one to stop near Bologna and the other to stop in Venice)?

If you travel with a fast Eurostar train (which you probably will), a seat reservation is part of your ticket.

So if you want to sightsee in Bologna, you have to buy two tickets: Rome-Bologna and Bologna-Venice.

What do you mean by "near Bologna"? The Eurostars only make a very limited number of stops, so check at www.trenitalia.com whether the train stops where you want it to.

When you get your choices 1. to x. of trains, click on the number (e.g., 1.), then click on the number of the train (first item, as I recall); you will get a list of the stops the train makes.

It is scenic at points along the way--rolling hills of Tuscany, some more mountainous regions, a good number of tunnels between Florence and Bologna. The trains stop for a very brief time at the different stations. If you want to break your trip to sightsee, you may need two tickets.

Since an ES train has all-reserved seating, you would need to buy separate tickets for two different trains.

If traveling by IC train without reserving a seat, I believe you could make a stop of up to six hours and then continue on another IC trains on the same ticket. However, you would not be guaranteed a seat.

You can reserve a seat on the two IC trains, which might require two separate tickets.

I'm planning to do this myself in a few months: leave Venice in the morning, stop for lunch with a friend in Bologna, continue on to Rome in the late afternoon. I will buy two ES tickets, one for Venice-Bologna, one for Bologna-Rome.

Ferrara would be another scenic option for a Eurostar stop.

Thank you for your advice! Could anyone suggest an area that we could stop in to see for about 3 or 4 hours? Thia is our first trip to Italy and we are spending the first half in Rome and the last half in Venice. On the day that we travel between the two cities, I would like to see some scenery that would be very different from the city of Rome. Any suggested areas of the countryside on the way?

Why not take a night away from Rome or Venice, and spend a night somewhere enroute to Venice? I would suggest train to Siena, spend the night there, then the next day take the bus to Florence, cross the street and train to Venice.

Hi ER,

I suggest that you stop off either in Florence or Bologna.

An overnight would be even better.

I have an associated question..what is the major difference between 2nd and 1st class on the trains? We've always done the 2nd class but were wondering if there is a big advantage?

We are renting a car in Florence and returning it in Chiusi and then taking the train to Rome. Do we need to make reservations through trenitalia or just buy tickets at the station in Chiusi?

Tazzer - If you're not traveling on a major holiday or at the very height of the season, you can just buy the ticket in Chiusi.

Hi cmeyer54
>..what is the major difference between 2nd and 1st class on the trains? <

For people over 40 and trips over 4 hr, I recommend 1 cl.

Hi Tazzer
>...returning it in Chiusi and then taking the train to Rome. Do we need to make reservations ...<

Almost all of the trains are R (regional) and don't take reservations.

There are Intercity (IC) and Intercity Plus (ICplus) trains betweeen Chiusi and Rome.

Tickets for ICplus trains include seat reservations, possible until departure of train; seat reservations on IC trains, possible until departure of train, cost 3 Euro.