>>Wrong on all three counts - stike out!- overnight trains save time - thus are faster than flying which takes up half of a sightseeing day;<<

Not wrong on any count actually.>

Would you pleae explain why you say you are not wrong on any count actually? Read the above posts and you'll see many think you are indeed WAY off the mark on all three - awaiting your clarification.

Most every hotel in the world will allow you to check in and leave your luggage with the desk if your room isn't ready. I can't imagine it would be any different in Florence.

I've not taken the overnight train from munich to Florence so I can't offer advice, but I did take a train from New York City to Los Angeles, 5 nights in a row of sleeping in a sleeper car, and I was only awoken once by the train stopping in the station, that was more due to bright lights coming in the window than noise. So I guess my advice is bring earplugs and a sleep-mask if you decide to take the overnight train.

If you are considering flying, both Munich and Florence airports are easy to get to and from, and are efficient places.

Additional benefits to taking the train - no security to go through, no baggage claim, better chance of a good view. Plus (except for a few high speed routes) city center to city center.

Whether it is cheaper to fly, take a train or take a night train depends entirely on the route and how far ahead you are booking. It is not possible to make a general statement one way or the other. But the night train I am considering from London to Penzance will cost me 49 GBP for a single sleeper (not a shared couchette) if I book early enough, which is certainly less than a hotel night, and is not that much more than the day train.

So I guess my advice is bring earplugs and a sleep-mask if you decide to take the overnight train.>

And a bottle of local vino! those who say train noise will keep you awake have obviously never ridden a continental night train (or probably any night train anywhere) and again most folks in my couchette compartments seem to sleep just fine.

Here are sample prices for 2-months out booking - the lower price the discounted price and higher regular walk-up full-fare price - advance booking can save over $100 p.p.!

cheapest ticket 43.5 is a reclining chair I believe.


Day couch Europa-Spezial Italien
(incl. 1 Surcharge)
Normalpreis
(incl. 1 Surcharge)
1 person in compartment 43,50 EUR 146,90 EUR

Couchette
1 person in 6-berth cabin 60,00 EUR 163,40 EUR
1 person in 4-berth cabin 70,00 EUR 173,40 EUR

Sleeper
1 person in Economy Double cabin breakfast incl. 105,00 EUR 208,40 EUR

1 person in Economy Single cabin breakfast incl. 146,00 EUR 249,40 EUR

1 person in Deluxe Double cabin breakfast incl. 135,00 EUR* 288,70 EUR*

1 person in Deluxe Single cabin breakfast incl. 176,00 EUR* 329,70 EUR*

I've done this route twice. Overnight trains are not for everyone, as you can clearly see by the commentary above. I personally enjoy it, even though I'm a light sleeper and may wake up when I hear the train pull into a station or stopping for some animal that's crossed the road. Doesn't bother me, the noise on the tracks lulls me back to sleep.

I haven't been in a couchette . . . just in a recliner or a cabin. I love, love, love the cabins, as small as they are, I guess because it takes me back to when I was a little kid and we used to take trains from the west to the east coast of the United States and had a little room with little bunk beds and little lights.

I have gone past couchettes and the people in them seem to have no problems, but again, I don't know.

I am not so comfortable with recliners, since it feels more like economy coach transatlantic flight, and I cannot fall asleep in that position. At all.

So if the choice does NOT include a cabin, I'd personally opt for the couchette, but if you are like my husband who can fall asleep like a horse standing up, a recliner might work for you.

Given the prices PQ lists, I'd go for the four person couchette - definitely worth the extra over a six berth. I usually sleep with my money belt under my pillow, some folks might prefer to keep it on.

Yes a 4-person couchette is infinitely better IME than a 6-person - not only roomier but one less potential gross snorer - I always ask for the upper berth - there is a ton of room up there to store luggage in the part that sticks out over the corridor and everything is way out of any thief's reach - still I wear my money always or put it under the pillow as thrusdaysd suggests.

In a remote time when I was young, night trains were plentiful and low cost airlines were still to blossom, my employer booked me two consecutive nights on trains, Florence-Paris and Paris-Florence, in order to have a full working day in Paris. Well, I managed to sleep maybe a couple of hours during the first night. The first thing I did when arriving in Paris was to book a flight back for the late afternoon.

The travel in the Alps with the train being shunted on route proved too much to stand, but I have done in my youth several nights on internal Italian night trains and not one of those nights makes for nice memories. The birth of low cost airlines on longer stretches and fast daylight trains that make some day trips possible has meant that night trains are now reduced to a bare minimum number.

today's night trains - hotel trains - are not your grandpa's night trains asps talks about - things have changed in a half century or so since asps rode night trains - yes they used to be very loud - now they have welded tracks, more sound-proofing, etc.

Again each is different - I rode night trains back when asps did for one-month straight! And always got a good sleep - even though I was in regular seats, which no longer exist on most night trains.

Zillions of Europeans take night trains still though the number of such trains is declining due to discount airlines and high-speed day trains.

I would probably never suggest traveling on an overnight with my husband, because anytime he is not sleeping in his own bed at home, it might turn out to be a bad night's sleep -- it's too hot, it's too cold, not the right pillow, blanket is itchy -- A real princess and the pea problem! It doesn't stop him from enjoing travel, which we do a lot, but we invest time in picking out hotel rooms that we hope are optimal. An overnight train wouldn't fit that description for him.

I fall asleep on trains even during the daytime. They are like narcotics for me -- provided they are not full of noisy people. So curiously, while I wouldn't hestitate traveling alone to book an overnight train (so long as it is clean and safe), I do spend extra money, even during day trips, for "silent" cars and comfortable space.

Overnight trains are indeed not everyone's cup of tea - noise though completely tolerable for most sleepers can affect the super sensitive and things like sanra's husband experiences too. But for many they are great in many ways.

IME you will get a better night's sleep in a private compartment - no strangers who may be serial snorers or other folks getting up in the middle of the night to go to the loo, etc.