“Anything is possible on a train: a great meal, a binge, a visit from card players, an intrigue, a good night’s sleep, and strangers’ monologues framed like Russian short stories.”
– Paul Theroux,
The Great Railway Bazaar
What a way to get to know a country. Theroux is so right – riding the rails presents experiences and interactions like no other form of travel. Plus, if you’re going to Italy anyway, why not look around a little? Italy’s rail system is marvelous. Dozens of lines crisscross the country with high-speed as well as regional take-your-sweet-time trains.
Rome to Milan in Three Hours
It’s not hard to cover 300 miles in a hurry if you’re barreling through the Italian countryside at 220+ mph. Trenitalia high-speed trains connect cities and towns across Italy but the run from Italy’s political capital to its fashion capital offers bonus stops along the way at Florence and Bologna.
Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa (Red Arrow) 1000 are some of the world’s most efficient, quietest and most luxurious with leather seats and cafe-bars. The 1000 is also used on the Milan to Naples and the Bologna to Florence routes.
Frecciargento (Silver Arrow) high-speed trains, slightly slower than the Frecciarossa (only 155 mph), connect Rome to Venice and Verona in the north to the baroque city of Lecce in the south.
The wonderful art and architecture of the two cities of Florence and Venice is separated only by a two-hour high-speed train ride and the Tuscan countryside that links them is lovely. High speed trains also run between Milan and Venice and from Turin along Italy’s northwestern coast to Pisa and from Pisa to Rome.
Take a Train Ferry to Sicily
At the other end of the speed spectrum is the 11-hour Rome to Sicily run that traces the Tyrrhenian Sea coast along the southwestern edge of Italy, through Naples, past Mount Vesuvius and the Amalfi Coast and then onto a train ferry. Yes, entire rail coaches (with you inside) are loaded onto a large boat and borne across the Straits of Messina for a final run to Palermo, Sicily.
On the Italian Riviera, Cinque Terre is a quintet of charming fishing villages known for their focaccia, fresh seafood, pastel-colored homes and slow, relaxed lifestyle. A fast regional train connects all five.
The delightful Tirano to St. Moritz train originates in northern Italy and runs into the Heidi-like Swiss Alps by way of Bernina Pass. (See the Destinations piece in April 2024 of Oklahoma Magazine for more info.)
In the far northwest, what they call the “Railway of Marvels” starts in Cuneo, climbs through the Maritime Alps by way of spiral tunnels and high viaducts, meanders between France and Italy for a while and then descends 3,280 feet to Ventimiglia on the Italian Riviera. Along the way are all-star views of the alps, the coast and even the French Riviera as the train makes its way over to Nice.
For the utmost in rolling romantic elegance, it’s the Venice Simplon Orient Express from Venice to Paris. Lots of 1920s floral marquetry, Lalique glass panels, impeccable service and world-class cuisine. The stuff of legends.
Also running trains on the Paris to Venice route is Thello, cheaper with fewer frills than the Orient Express and it’s an overnighter. Your arrival the next morning in your new city is accompanied by a continental breakfast and your favorite newspaper.
Coming soon is the hotly-anticipated luxury train Orient Express La Dolce Vita, no relation to the other Orient Express but equally opulent. The bones for this new train are actually original Orient Express passenger cars found abandoned ten years ago in Poland and refurbished to include spacious suites featuring double beds, large picture windows and private bathrooms. The plan is for the reimagined train to make two-and three-night runs randomly across Italy starting in the spring of 2025.
