Hi, <BR> I intend to take the fast train (90 minutes) from rome to florence on a Tuesday. <BR>Is there a chance of getting a ticket when I get there, or is it a better idea to reserve a ticket (reserving a ticket DOUBLES the price).

If you are arriving in Italy and intend to go directly to Florence, buy the ticket at the ticket window for the train in FCO. There are many trains from the Rome Termini to Florence (even high speed ones) each day.

You may be confusing two things. (If I'm wrong, just ignore this post.) There are tickets and there are reservations, two separate items. Tickets give you the "right" to ride. Reservations give you a seat to sit in. If you want to make sure you have a seat for the 90 minute ride, you need to have (and pay for) both. Having said that, you may not need the reservation. Tuesdays are not "heavy travel" days and if you don't have a reservation, you can sit in any unreserved, empty seat. But if the seats are all reserved, you may stand for the entire journey. How adventurous are you?

Hi, <BR> If you are taking the Eurostar.They only sell tickets for reserved seats.The direct trains and much slower IC trains have no reserved seat requirement. They will sell tickets long past all the seats are gone. So the answer is...you can always get a ticket...albeit on a slower train. When do you arrive in Florence??? You may also purchase advance Eurostar tickets at the American Express Office in downtown Florence...Does this help?Maggie

It is a better idea to get your ticket now, if you know when you want to travel to Florence. <BR>Of course, this is just my opinion but I had the last seat on the Eurostar for the day I had wanted to go and this was booked well in advance of my leaving (months). Of course, it depends on exactly when you will be there but I found it very convenient to have my travel agent book this when she booked the plane. <BR>It's something to consider. <BR>Something else to consider was the surprisingly lovely lunch served on the Eurostar...wine and all. <BR>Have a great trip!

Don't reserve a spot on the train until you get there. It takes almost no time at all -you can go to a ticket window OR use a vending machine (select English). I would wait until you got to the train station so you could buy the train leaving the soonest. Also, I think the biggest advantage of the Eurostar is that it IS airconditioned. By the way, I would make reservations in advance for the Ufizi (tons of art) and the Acadamia (david). I think there is a website where you can do both, but I forget the name.