Can anyone shed some light on the the pros/cons of the following variations:<BR><BR>Paris-Rome-Milan-Alps-&gt;Paris<BR>vs<BR>Paris-Alps - Milan-Rome-&gt;Paris<BR><BR>I ask this because I am having a hard time finding a good fare from Paris to Rome on major airlines ( discount airlines dont seem to fly this route )and the train journey is too long<BR><BR>Thanks!

though question...Perphas the best route is Paris-Rome-Alps&gt;milan-Paris...Milan-Paris is only 7:20 hours with the TGV..I believe that there is a train that leave milan around around 9 in the morning and arrive in Paris at 4:20..You can take the night train Artesia from Paris to Rome...Good Luck

A fairly affordable option is Thalys to Brussels from Paris and fly virgin-express.com to Rome.<BR><BR>And the thread http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34396689 has a reference to a cheaper way to buy Thalys tickets on www.telesales.b-rail.be<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

There is a train that leaves the Frankfurt airport station at 12:02. You change once in Nurnberg for Prague, arriving 19:34.<BR><BR>There is also a train at 8:02, but that may be too early for you. There is another one at 9:02 that takes over an hour longer and requires 3 changes.<BR>And another leaves at 13:03 involving 2 chantes. <BR><BR>You can check the schedule yourself at this web page:<BR>http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/d<BR>Click on English if you need to.<BR>The price is not given; international prices rarely are listed. You will need to ask as indicated above.<BR><BR>I think you can buy your ticket once you get there without difficulty I have never had any trouble except on the Zuerich - Munich route when I could not get a seat in 2nd class non smoking and I opted to ride first class non smoking rather than second class smoking.<BR><BR>If you try to buy a ticket through Die Bahn web site, you will need German language skills because that service is not available in English.<BR><BR>I haven't tried to do it, but I do know you must first register and supply pesonal information.<BR>

Sorry that information above was intended for another inquiry. Somehow, it got posted to the wrong place. I cannot explain it. I am as surprised as you are!!<BR>

Have you considered flying into Paris and out of Rome? Other posters claim open jaw tickets are often not that more expensive.

A couple of days ago I bought an open jaw ticket with AA via London.. It was a great bargain, considering that in these days the airfares are up. Anyway I paid only $771.00, taxes included.From SAT (texas) to Rome and Paris to SAT.. I always buy open jaw, expecially if I go to a different country...<BR>kismet

thanks for replying..looks like I will take the ovenight train from Paris to Rome and then head up North to the Alps.<BR><BR>If I cant get the reservation to Rome, I will fly into Milan and make that as a base for Rome/Venice and Alps<BR><BR>