We will be arriving after a VERY LONG flight at 9am in Milan on Thursday, Oct.3. We are planning to take the 11:50am EuroStar to Venice.<BR>1. Will we have enough time to get to the train station by bus? (2 adults, 2 children (5 & 9), 2 bags with rollers)<BR>2. Can we purchase our train tickets at the Milan Airport?(I saw something to this effect on one of the chat posts.)<BR>3. If "no" to question 2, do we stand a good chance of getting 1st class tickets on that EuroStar or maybe an IC train?<BR>4. How can I reserve/buy a EuroStar train ticket here in the US? (Tranitalia site doesn't allow me to purchase tickets.)<BR><BR>Any and all feedback appreciated.

I am going to Italy next week and will be coming home through Milan. This is what I have learned. The airport is about 45 min. out of town, you take the express train into the main terminal in Milan and can get to Venice from there. Go onto raileurope.com and book your tickets now so don't have to do there. There are many trains to Venice so just pick the best for you and get a reserved seat. Good Luck

CORRECTION: you must take the airporter BUS from Milan Malpensa to Milan Central Train Station. Departures every 10-15 minutes. 60 minutes average travel time. The airport train goes to Cadorna Station, which is far from the Central Station. Allow three hours from scheduled arrival time to scheduled departure time.

You should be able to get to the station in time for buying the tickets, but not for booking seats (seat booking are possible until 3 hours prior the train's departure), therefore buying a ticket for the aboe Eurostar will be almost impossible, since Eurostar trains require seat booking. you will have better chances to buy Intercity tickets, wich require no booking, although booking is allowed. Yet, this way you will not be sure that you will have a seat on the train, you may be forced to travel standing in the corridor if the train is packed or all seats are booked. You should be able to buy your tickets from the Us through a travel agency (make sure they do not just buy you the tickets, but also book the seats!). Also, you can buy a family ticket that will allow one of your children to travel for free, make sure they are aware of this offer. If you get to book the seats, you can as well chose to travel in second class, which is almost as comfortable as first class bust costs 30% less. If you do not get to book seats, than you may consider buying first class tickets at the railway station as you arrive in Milano. First class is not much more comfortalbe then second class, but it is far more costly, therefore most Italians prefer second class, therefore 8again) it is easier to find empty seats in first class than in second class.

If there are still free seats on the Eurostar, they will sell you the seat simultaneous with the seat assigment, even at the last moment. This process is completely computerized (no paper reservations slips posted on the train seat itself)

Thank you, Alice. I have read your other posts on this board and always find them informative and to the point.<BR>A nice train information fellow in Italy is going to try and get me a real "registration id", so that I can book and make seat reservations from the US. I am probably stressing over this, but we do all need seats and preferably together.

Igk:<BR><BR>If you can't book on-line you may still try to locate a travel agency that may book the seats for you. I just invite you not to buy first class tickets if you have booked seats: if is 30% more costly and the level of comfort is just slightly highier than in second class, in particular on the Eurostar.

Hi<BR>You should have enough time to get your train as long as your plane is relatively on time. It once took me 90 minutes to go from the airport to Milan Centrale in morning rush hour traffic.<BR><BR>In the US I have used CIT tours to book and pay for train tickets and seat reservations in advance. I paid a supplement of course, but at the time I wanted peace of mind, and I was just managing myself. They have a toll free phone number. The tickets came in the mail very quickly and all was well.<BR><BR>At the Centrale train station, you look at the large information board which will tell you which Binario (track) your train will depart from. When you go to the train, be sure you know which car your seats are reserved in, so you can board the correct car. Otherwise you have to drag your luggage through the long narrow train aisles looking for the correct car and seats.<BR><BR>There is a large luggage rack at the end of each car; sometimes it is full, always the bottom seems to be full so you may have to hoist your luggage to the top rack. There are smaller luggage racks over the individual seats sized for small bags only, and they are quite high up so again hoisting is required.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip.

At Centrale train station do NOT stop at the large desk you can see in front of you. This is the main ticket selling desk, it is often crowded and the ueues are slow moving. On the other hand, look at the large board you can see as you climb the escalators under "Partenze" and look for the Venice-bound train with the right departure time. Before boarding the train also ask to the conductor that you can see near the first car of the train, he will help you locate your car and seats and redidrect you to the right train if you hare near the wrong one (this can happen, Centrale station has some 28 tracks, and sometimes there are two different trains headed to the same destination). If you are realy and want to sit comfortably down in a smaller hall than the main waiting room, move to the extreme right of the station: there is a smalle and nicer waiting room and, right beside it, a small shop selling sweets and drinks if you or your kids want a snack (I think that kids deserve a little extra sweetness than they are usually allowed to ^_^). Also, this shop has better food than whatever you will be able to find on the train. If you are on a Eurostar and feel like having a cofee, go to the snack-bar where you will be ale to drink a better coffee than the horrible stuff you will be sold at your sitting place.

For Eurostar trains in Italy, seat reservations are compulsory, so the seats are not marked with "reserved" labels. You can therefore book seats until a few minutes before the train leaves. There is no need to worry about seat reservations. Last Friday, I caught a Eurostar train from Bari to Bologna; I arrived at Bari Centrale station and found the next train only had 2nd-class smoking seats or 1st-class seats, so I got a seat on the following train leaving two hours later. I still got to Bologna in the early evening, and had lunch in the restaurant car.

Wow! This is great information.<BR>Thank you all for being so kind in providing DETAILED descriptions. It is MUCH, MUCH appreciated. <BR>I have been able to get to the "Milano Centrale" web site and can actually see the map of the station. I see they have "automatic ticket machines". Can I just use my VISA and buy tickets for the next available train without having to stand in the long "manual ticket line"? Or is this "automatic ticket machine" just for stamping already purchased tickets?<BR>

Igk:<BR><BR>I usually buy all my tickets at the selling machines (also called, by me, the yellow machines) with a MasterCard. This reminds, me: I have to buy the ticket for my next Tuscany trip, today it is tessday and I want to book seats. I will have to be at the station tomorrow evening!!! Yet, I do not have to take a plane, I just have to walk for ten minutes ^_^