My husband and I are going to France and Italy in May. We are staying with friends in Nice and want to travel to Florence for 3 days , then onward to Venice and Rome. I have all transportation details except Nice to Florenc and Florence to Venice. My (Nice) friend says the overnight bus from Nice to Florence was the best way to go?Safer? Can't I just buy tickets when I get there or buy them before we go?For either train or bus?
Thanks for all your help!

Who wants to sit on a overnight bus? Trains is always better.

OK I see maybe train is better than bus, do I get the tickets here or there?

You should buy the tickets ahead since you're going in May. You would take the train from Nice to Genoa, then switch for another train down to Pisa. From there, yet another train into Florence. There may be a better way to get there from Genoa, but I don't know what it is.

OR

You could fly into Rome ( very short flight) on bluexpress ( discount carrier), and take the Eurorail to Florence. The train trip from Rome is only 1.5 hours.

Hi charron, I have never been to Nice but I would never consider taking a bus from there to Florence.

From Florence to Venice just take the train. You can buy your train tickets to Venice when you get to Florence. Note: If you are staying in Venice proper you want to get off at the Santa Lucia train station in Venice, not the Mestre train station. But depending on the train you may have to change trains at Mestre to continue on to the Santa Lucia Train Station (something like a 10 to 15 minute ride). Here is the Italian train website: www.trenitalia.com

Hi C,

www.viamichelin.com says that it's about 5 hr from Nice to Florence by road. Are you sure that you need the night bus?

It's over 8 hr by train, so you would want the night train at 21:13 from Nice Ville.
See www.voyages-sncf.com

You can fly from Nice to Rome FCO and take the train from Rome TE to Florence.
See www.whichbudget.com
See www.trenitalia.com

Enjoy your visit.

Go to SNCF site for tickets and prices from Nice to Florence.Also you can buy a ticket in Nice and board the train there are unreserved seats on many trains.

Train, for sure!

Ok Thanks alot , will go by train per suggestions on this website!

I'm a big fan of rail use in Europe but if that bus is direct (i.e., no changes) and only takes five hours or so I might re-think the train in this case.

I just wouldn't do the bus at night.

If you do go by rail you might want to make sure your connection to Florence stops at Santa Maria Novella as opposed to the Rifredi station.

I strongly recommend that you buy the ticket in advance. You're traveling in the beginning of the spring/summer tourist season, and it's possible that the trains will be very crowded.