|
|
Trains in Italy
Italy is a small, compact country. It is long and narrow, but for the most part very densely populated. This means that the most convenient mean of public transportation is not air transport, it's the trains. And Italy actually has an efficient railway system that connects all main cities and towns.
Taking the train is the best way to know Italy, the Trenitalia network covers 16,000 km (10,000 miles) with 1,000 trains running daily, linking big cities and small towns inside Italy and with all other European countries. Whatever your destination is, the train will take you there quickly and comfortably.
All the beautiful landscapes of Italy, the precious hills of Tuscany, covered with vineyards, the majestic Dolomiti mountains, the blues and the greens of the sea shores, the quiet garden, the busy towns, all framed by the train's window will pass you by.
Boarding the train when you are already friendly with the station and the system takes no more than a few seconds, but when you are new to a country the situation always get more difficult. Even if you don't have to buy the tickets it is always better that you are at the station at least 20 or 30 minutes before the train's scheduled departure. This will give you enough time to get familiar with the station, to locate the platform from which the train will depart, to buy some food and drinks to eat on the train (remember that Espresso, Interregionale, Regionale, and Diretto trains usually don't have bar or a cart from which you can buy food and drinks).
Evidently, when the station is larger it is more difficult to do everything, so if you are going to depart from a really small station, you will not need to be there that long in advance, 10 minutes will be enough. Yet, for the most part you will probably be traveling between large cities with large stations like Rome, Florence or Venice. Therefore you will need to be there in advance. If you have to also get tickets, add at least 20 minutes. Just to be extra sure you will not be late.
Back to:
« Getting Around Italy
|
|
|
|
|
