I NEED TO FIND OUT THE PRICE ON TRAIN OF ONE WAY TICKET FROM MILAN TO PARIS. DO THEY HAVE DIFFERENT FARES? WHICH ONE WOULD BE THE LESS EXPENSIVE?

I need to find out the price on train of one way ticket from Milan to Paris. Do they have different fares? Which one would be the less expensive? <BR> <BR>This is how you are supposed to ask this question. <BR>

From www.sncf.com - - <BR> <BR>1st class 921 FF <BR>2nd class 612 FF <BR> <BR>These are during the day on the TGV (6 hrs 56 mins); night options also exist with surcharge depending on your choice of sleeping accommodation. <BR> <BR>Use www.xe.net to convert to any other currency you require. <BR> <BR>An alternative website to use is www.fs-on-line.com - - but it will not give a price, at least not today. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

Rex is right, except for one minor aspect. According to my info, you can make the trip on a weekend for 520 ff, second class seat. <BR>The 612ff fare seems to be the normal work day fare for a second class seat. The trip is on the TGV once you get into France and a reservation is absolutely mandatory. I would want a seat reservation on that trip anyhow. <BR>Using an exchange rate of 7 francs to the dollar, 612 converts to about $87 US; 520 to about $75. <BR>You want to make SURE THAT you take the train that leaves Milan at 9:15. Some of the other connections go through the Simplon Tunnel to Switzerland. That route is somewhat slower. It winds along the Valley of the Rhone to Lausanne. <BR>For the record, Rail Europe will be happy to sell you the same ticket for $147. I think I would buy my seat in Europe, unless you wish for some reason to contribute to the financial welfare of the Rail Europe executives. <BR>

Thanks for adding those details, Bob. <BR>

You will of course be paying in Italy. <BR>The prices listed by the SNCF web site is <BR>181,066 lira and 153,847 lira. <BR>And these fares are for the premium TGV train. (SEE BELOW !!) <BR>That comes to about same figures in US $$ I mentioned earlier. Of course the exchange rate fluctuates. <BR> <BR>NOTE!!!!!!!!! <BR> <BR>You can leave Milan Central at 8:00 AM on the train for Lausanne Switzerland. <BR>In Lausanne, you change to the TGV. <BR>Transfer time is tight, 14 minutes. <BR>But the Lausanne station is not very large, so there should be no problem. <BR>The price of the ticket is less. <BR>This route costs you $56, normal adult second class fare. The trip takes 1 hour longer. You arrive in Paris at Gare de Lyon at 17:10. On a week day, Paris will be working alive with traffic about that time, but the arrival times of the two trains are not that different. <BR>

One final follow-up - - I never closed the sncf window - - and i went back to close it and i noticed that the weekend discount s rather remarkable for first class - - from 921 FF to 599 FF - - such a deal if you want to see what the diffrence is like at a better price! <BR>

Boy. Give an answer and you get answers you did not know existed!! <BR>Rex added a nice detail about the first class fare on weekends.

Rex or Bob or both or anyone- I have posted on this question - train from Milan to Paris- before myself and had comments from others esp Paulo who has been very helpful. <BR>However - I still have one question. If, as suggested, we purchase our tickets in Italy around two weeks before travelling time (when we arrive in the country), can we purchase them for the service via Lausanne including the TGV from Lausanne as well as the Italian leg? <BR>Would it be easier to keep it simple and get the Artesia Milan to Paris? In other words do the Italian agents sell tickets for the TGV Lausanne to Paris part of the trip? <BR>The Lausanne trip sounds nice and the fs website shows several daytime options from Milan. <BR>We are not buying the tickets from agents here as they want $AU600+ 2nd class one way for two. Even with our deplorable $ that's steep! <BR>Hoping you can help. Thanks....

I don't know the answer to your (last) specific question. For the record, I am not actually a fan of taking the train for this route. Not once in my life have I ever taken a train more than 4 hours. <BR> <BR>I believe in airplanes for such distances. This doesn't mean that I can't give SOME helpful information about trains. And I absolutely do NOT regard as stupid anyone who would prefer trains to get from one side of the Alps to the other (especially for this - - one of the shorter trans-alpine train routes in existence). <BR> <BR> <BR>

Has anyone mentioned taking the train overnight? I did that once from Milan to Paris and it was great! We had a 2nd class sleeper car for 2. I don't remember the price (it was several years ago) but it wasn't too steep. We bought our tickets in Florence, a couple of days in advance. Seems like we had to change the date because the train was booked on our first choice.

In response to Wendy's question about purchasing the ticket all at once. <BR>As far as I know, you should be able to purchase the entire ticket with one transaction. The TGV was not involved the only time I went through Lausanne to Paris. But I was able to buy the whole ticket in Milan. <BR>Last summer, we went from Interlaken to Vienna, and I was able to make the whole purchase, including seat reservations, at the train station in Lauterbrunnen. <BR>The station in Lauterbrunnen is run by a private line in Switzerland, but the agent there was still able to sell me the whole thing. <BR>If you had to buy the TGV section in Lausanne, it would be next to impossible to make the transfer on one of the connections because you only have 14 minutes between trains. <BR>

I did Venice&gt;Paris via Milan and Lausanne last fall; I bought the ticket through my travel agent because I did not want to take the time to buy it in Venice (we had a VERY short time in the city), but I know that you can buy a ticket in one country that goes through other countries (think European countries via the rail are the same as U.S. states via Amtrak) as I've done it at other times. <BR> <BR>I usually travel 2nd class, but my travel agent felt 1st class would be better for a long daytime trip (10 hours from Venice); she was right. Larger seats, fewer people in each compartment (a six-seater with 3 or 4 people, as an example); definitely worth the extra $$/LL/FF (somewhere around $150, but don't forget I paid fees; it was on a Monday morning). <BR>Keep your camera at the ready; the train stops several times and you can get some great quick shots of Switzerland and Italy while the train is in the station (even the ones taken while the train's moving are pretty cool - sort of arty).

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply. <BR>I'll post on return and let others know how it goes. <BR>One for certain, Rex. If the train thing doesn't work out I WILL be flying