Need help with picking a place to stay between Paris and Bari
 

I know everyone will tell me to fly, but we love taking trains and we have 2 nights to get into Italy before we pick up a car in Bari. I have been googling Verona, Ravenna as possibilities to stay. We would take an early TGV from Paris to Milan and then proceed to smaller town for 2 nights. Any suggestions? We were in Bologna last year and have seen Venice. We will be going onto Matera and Ostuni for the next 7 nights. Thank you!

Both Verona and Ravenna are very nice, but I think Verona is a better choice. It's a much shorter trip from Milan, where you'll be arriving late in the day. Even Verona is more than an hour by train from Milan.

If you like to leave your bed before 5am, you may take the TGV Paris dp 6.41 - Milan ar 13.51. Otherwise you will arrive at Milan at 17.51.
For a charming smaller town, you may check Perugia (ar 18.23, resp. 23.16)
For a bigger town, Florence could be another choice (arrival at 16.25 resp 20.55).
Verona (not quite a small town) or Desenzano resp Peschiera del Garda (in Summer) would be a good solution too (Verona ar 16.27 resp 20.27)

BTW: I suppose you know that there is a direct night train from Paris to Verona.

Train schedules here:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?

There is an overnight from Paris to Venice, leaving at 8PM and arriving at 9:30AM.

We would probably take the early TGV to Milan that leaves at 6:41. So getting to a place in late afternoon/early evening is fine. Looking for something relaxing and small with good food. I don't really know the towns along the coast on that side of Italy. We will start sightseeing again in Puglia.

The German train site is fine for international trips, although in this case, since it's a French train, I'd use www.sncf.fr instead. However, for trips within Italy, you should use the Italian train site, which has more trains and will show you the prices, including available discounts.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...005817f90aRCRD

No problem with the train part of trip, just wondering if anyone has a suggestion about a good town/village to stay in south of Milan. :-)

Have you thought about the Bernina route? It's arguably the best train ride in Europe, certainly the best ride you can get through the Swiss Alps.

TGV Paris-Zurich in 4h05, Swiss train on to Chur. Stay Chur.

Next day, take the fabulous Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano and two-hourly local train along the shores of Lake Como to Milan. Stay Milan, or you could reach Verona or Ancona.

Next day on to Bari.

http://www.seat61.com/BerninaExpress.htm has the info.

If you don't like Milan, Desenzano, Peschiera, Verona, Ravenna, Florence and Perugia, you may check
Genova, Mantova, Parma, Lucca, Pisa, Siena.

Turin (not a small place at all) could be a good choice too. As you will take the early morning train from Paris anyway, Turin is the only place where you arrive around noon and have the whole afternoon for exploring.
You could then go on for example with Italo and Marinobus, Turin dp 7.47 - Bari ar 16.30 or with the direct Frecciabianca of Trenitalia Turin dp 8.32 - Bari ar 17.21

As you have "no problem with the train part of trip" you certainly know that it's usually easier to change trains at Torino PS than at Milano Porta Garibaldi and that not only Trenitalia, but also Italo has trains from both stations.

If you are interested in Siena, don't forget the direct Senabus from Milano Rogoredo.

Seat61 I love your idea of going into Switzerland and staying one night. The assorted train rides sound wonderful. Any recomendations for a place to stay in Chur? I also noticed on your site you talk about staying in San Moritz-do you prefer Chur over San Moritz?

Thanks neckervd, good suggestions on getting to Bari!

Bernina Express: which are your dates? BEX trains don't run 365/365. From June until September, the most scenic solution would be BEX to Tirano, standard train to Bellano, Lake Como boat to Como, standard train to Milano.

The St. Moritz area is a much nicer place than Chur. But once again, all depends on the season.

BTW: the TGV itinerary Paris - Frasne - Lausanne/Neuchatel is much more scenic than the routes to Basle and Geneva.