Overnight train from Paris to Venice?
 

Hello. My husband and I will be traveling from Paris to Venice and are wondering if there is a direct train that goes between the two cities. If not, does anyone know of the best possible route(transfer)? Since it is such a long train ride, I was hoping that we could sleep on the train. Thanks in advance.

Hi:

This should be no problem. There is a high probability that there is a direct overnight train. The worst case (which is not bad) is to take the overnight from Paris to Milan (I did this years ago) and then change for the Venice train. A travel agent should have the timetables. Or, if you are proficient with the web, go either to the SNCF (French national railway) or the Deutsche Bundesbahn (German national railway) web sites and you will find European timetables buried in there somewhere. The Bundesbahn site is more user friendly, in my opinion, Sorry that I don't know the web addresses -- use a search engine to find them. I think the SNCF is www.sncf.com, but I'm not sure.

There are night trains between Paris and Venice. It just takes a long, long time and this line used to be known as the "pickpocket" line. There could also be some noisy people at night on the train (this was a friend's experience) preventing you from sleeping. I have also done it during the day which is nice to have a look at the various landscapes, but it is long! The website for SNCF (French Railways) should be http://www.sncf.fr but as they recently launched it, I cannot guarantee you will find the requested information.

I took an overnight train from Paris to Venice this past October and it was great. The train left at about 9:00 pm and we arrived in Venice at about 8:00 am. Since we were two women travelling together we booked a compartment for safety and privacy. We had no problems and had a very good night sleep.
Enjoy

My husband and I (50-somethings) did the overnight train, Paris to Florence and Venice to Paris. Had a couchette, thinking it would give us a good night's sleep. Not true. Was a nightmare.
Why? assigned top bunk of six, incredibly hot, terrified of heights, elderly couple below us snored heavily for nine hours.. My husband ended sitting up all night in another part of the train, therefore extra money for couchette was a waste. Another problem: saw nothing of the beautiful countryside since it was dark. Recommendation: overnight trains are for younger people who can get along with little sleep. Stop along the way and find a small hotel.

My husband and I (50-somethings) did the overnight train, Paris to Florence and Venice to Paris. Had a couchette, thinking it would give us a good night's sleep. Not true. Was a nightmare.
Why? assigned top bunk of six, incredibly hot, terrified of heights, elderly couple below us snored heavily for nine hours.. My husband ended sitting up all night in another part of the train, therefore extra money for couchette was a waste. Another problem: saw nothing of the beautiful countryside since it was dark. Recommendation: overnight trains are for younger people who can get along with little sleep. Stop along the way and find a small hotel.

The DB is a great source for train info. It gives you everything you need and is very accurate. The web address is www.bahn.hafas.de/bin/db.w97/query.exe/en

This brings you directly to the search section. Just type in the two cities you are travelling between and the time, click on search connection and there it is!

Trying the overnight train is a true experience. If it goes well you'll have a good nights sleep. If it goes badly you'll have a great dinner topic that will entertain many!

I'm sorry to hear about Jean's horrible experience, but remember that a couchette is not the only way to go! I would never get a couchette, not only because of the cramped quarters and proximity to others...but mostly because I'm a little unsettled by locking myself INTO a room with strangers who are not necessarily any safer or more honest than the people I'm locking OUT!! However it is possible to get a private two or three person sleeper which is a GREAT deal better than a couchette. Granted, it is more expensive, but sleeping on a train is not a money-saver, it's a time-saver. Paris to Venice will cost you about $80 per person for a private sleeper (in addition to your train ticket), but you'll have a private room (tiny but private) with a sink, electrical outlet and small storage area. Best of all, you'll probably also have a night's sleep!!

We travelled overnight from Paris to Rome and then from Venice to Paris. Enjoyed the first trip, but not the second. With couchettes you're taking a bit of a gamble. If you end up on the bottom bunk, with reasonable people then you'll probably be fine. End up on the top bunk, have the airconditioning fail (hint: find out where the conductor's cabin is and be prepared to wake him at 3 in the morning to give you air you can breathe!) and you'll wish you spent the extra on a first class sleeper. If I had to do the trip again, I'd spend the extra, but would rather break the journey into a few day trips.

Something to remember is that when you leave Paris you will have checked out your hotel at about 12 and have spent the rest of the day as a 'homeless' person which I found a bit tiring.