Travel To Italy

Italy is a small country with a big appetite and can be found in Southern Europe. Italy has a very distinct flavour, with its flare for design and architecture, interesting heritage, rural landscapes, cafe culture and nightlife and its food and drink.

Its heart is worn on its long and narrow sleeve from Lombardia down to Calabria with its shape making it easy to navigate for the inquisitive traveller but its dense population making the ground and air traffic heavy. This means that train is probably the most relaxing way to travel in this compact country, as Italy provides a very efficient railway system, connecting all the main towns and cities, allowing you to sit back, chill out and take it all in.

The Eurostar from the UK to Paris means getting to Italy is easy, with direct trains running from Paris into the major cities.  The main services available are Eurostar, Intercity, IntercityPlus, CIS Cisalpino, Eurocity and Espresso which can be pre- booked online.  The Trenitalia Eurostar Italia trains (ES AV or ES) operate the very modern high speed Frecciarossa & the tilting Frecciargento, which are the main trains to service Italy. You can walk straight from a city centre with all its main attractions onto a train if you have pre-booked your tickets.  The main hub can be found at Rome’s central Stazione Termini to destinations such as Bologna Tutte le Stazione and Florence Firenze Santa Maria Novella (SMN) in the centre of the country which takes a little more than an hour and a half.  You can head to the North via Turin’s Porta Nuova and Porta Susa, the Milan Centrale or the Venezia Mestre on the outskirts of Venice in less than 4 hours, and also down to the city centres of Naples Centrale or Salerno in the South in just over an hour. There are two services, managed by Trenitalia, which must be pre-booked - EC Eurocity, the international service, and InterCity IC express trains which are a domestic service.  The CIS Cisalpino covers central and Northern Italy while the EXPR Espresso trains mainly operate a sleeper service.

You can hop from city to city while taking in some of the picturesque Italian countryside and for some of its other gems; you can change to the Circumvesuviana Railway to visit Sorrento or Pompeii, catch a Moby Lines train to Piombino Marittima in Elba, jump on a ferry at Naples to reach the Ischia or the island of Capri, or pick up a bus from Salerno to take you along the dramatic scenery of the Amalfi coast and its charming towns of Praiano and Positano.

Getting a rail pass for sleeper trains is a great idea for those on a budget, as it will save you money on accommodation as well as allowing you to add more to your itinerary. It is also worth mentioning that, for your convenience and comfort, most of the long-distance train services have facilities including snack trolleys, restaurants or bars - but you are also welcome to bring your own food and drink on board.  Also, unlike air travel, you won’t be penalised for the weight of your baggage, meaning you can pick up plenty of souvenirs along the way.

If you're thinking of getting away from it all, you can find great travel deals with hotels.com voucher codes.

Tags: Italy, travel