viking

Is there still supposed to be a rule that you must buy Italian fast train tickets 3 hours ahead in order for them to put your name over the seat? Reports in the past suggested this occasionally is waived, but how does it work in practise now?

Take the case when you can't buy ahead of time, but just arrive at a station and want to go somewhere quickly. Do you really have to give up on the fast trains and take a slow one due to this rule? Sometimes it is hard to tell what you can do at the scene, with wonky ticket machines and language barrier - Thanks!

For extra credit: what is the difference between sorbetto, granita, and Sicilian granita, and which is your favorite (how do you pronounce?)..

J62

All high speed trains in Italy now require a seat reservation, so one can't just hop on a train and grab any seat. No name tags on any of the ES trains I took last trip to Italy.

You can buy tickets up until the time of departure - no need to buy 3hrs in advance.

Io fragola, e tu?

greg

I think they do it electronically on ES trains. The fare inspector carries a hand held device which seems to be loaded with the up-to-date info.

ellenem

A few years ago, Trenitalia stopped the practice of placing name cards to designate reserved seats. All train tickets, except those for Regionale (R) trains, are now for a specific seat on a specific train at a specific time.

Sorbetto and Granita

http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/c...er/granita.htm

ira

Hi V,

If you register, you can buy seats with your cell phone up to 5 min before the train leaves.