Hey Guys:

I was thinking of going to Barcelona and taking a train to Venice, perhaps stopping in France along the way. From Venice, I might want to go to Greece. Is such a trip convenient by train? Would air travel be better or comparably priced? Boat travel?

The train is right along the water through a large part of the Côte d'Azur. It is a lovely ride in that part.

I think it depends on how much time you have for this trip and how much time you really want to spend on a train. Distances are much greater than you might think. I would check out some of the discount air carriers and see what they offer between cities. In many cases, you can save yourself a lot of time and money. One of the best websites to check out for low-budget air carriers is whichbudget.com

From Barcelona, you can go by sea to Genova (www.gnv.it), or Livorno or Civitavecchia (www.grimaldi-ferries.com).
By train, the number of options is almost infinite. The quickest would be the overnight train to Milano (www.elipsos.com). For checking train schedules almost anywhere in Europe, use www.bahn.de or for pictures and descriptions, www.seat61.com.
From Venezia to Greece, the only civilised route is by sea (www.minoan.gr or www.anek.gr).

THANKS! All good stuff.

Re the Elipsos services...that route follows the coast as far as Sete and then turns northward toward Lyon.

Budget air travel would probably be much cheaper for the trip BCN to either Milan or to VCE

Not to forget that cheaper is necessarily better, or that faster is better than slower.

Prioritize your desires!

cheaper is NOT necessarily better is what I meant to say

As a follow-on..I would definitely agree that in this case, cheaper is not necessarily "better" but if you ARE going to do the Elipsos trip keep in mind that it runs in the evening/overnight.

You will see nothing of the coast IF your compartment/seat is on the left-hand side of the train (facing forward).