I'll be travelling from Rome to Florence by train with major luggage. I've heard that I should definitely take the Eurostar train and go 1st class. I've also heard that I should reserve seats. <BR>How can I reserve seats in advance? The one website I found "Trenitalia" is out of service. <BR>Any help would be appreciated. <BR>Thanks.

I took the regular train (not the Eurostar) from Rome to Florence mid day this past May, and the train was very crowded. There is a spot in the front/rear of each car for luggage, and there are also racks above the seats. As far as reserved seats go, I hadn't realized it, but when I purchased my coach class ticket at the station in Rome, I was given specific seats. I realized this only after I had sat down and was then approached by the ticket collector and told where my 'seat' was. The trip is very pleasant -- and I didn't see the need for a FC ticket. Trains run between Florence & Rome very frequently, and there are lots of taxi's at both stations.

Eileen <BR> <BR>Try CIT Tours (Rail Division) you can purchase tickets over the phone. They are in NYC and have a web site CIT Tours .com. Good Luck, Also any travel agent can help you with the tickets if you prefer. <BR> <BR>

Marianna <BR> <BR>It is expressly forbidden to advertise in any way on this forum. You may go to the home page to find the policy. <BR> <BR>This is the third message about Italy that I have opened in the past five minutes that you have posted an thinly disguised ad for your business. Please stop.

Eileen: Major luggage is a problem regardless of which train you take. Had a similar problem last year on the Rome to Florence Eurostar. Unfortunately, train platforms are not even with the train and you have to carry you luggage up and down several steps when boarding and leaving the train. I took it for granted I would be able to just wheel the luggage on as is common here in the States, I guess that inovation has not yet reached Europe. Hopefully some galant gentleman will assist you.

To clarify - the high speed Italian trains are called FS trains, not Eurostar. <BR> <BR>You can reserve seats at the train station on the day of travel.