After I finish Italy, i want to take a train to Spain. I'm very familiar with the train system in Italy, but i've never left the border for another country. Does anyone know if there is a website like the trenitalia site that can give me information about schedules and prices? Is advance purchase necessary? I never buy 1st class tickets in italy, because i don't think there is much difference between 1st and 2nd, but is this true elsewhere?I am going to fly home from spain, so a eurail pass wouldn'r be a good option for me, I don't think. can anyone help? Thanks!!

try this one:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm

I think the fare is cheaper if you buy them from the US (I know that's true with Eurostar), perhaps someone can confirm?

Or try this: Euro Railways.

"Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza..."

"I sing to life, to its beauty, to each of its wounds and each of its caresses..."

I've travelled by train from near the border of Spain (from St-Bertrand-de-Comminges in the central Pyrénées) to Orvieto, and can't say I recommend it. Should you decide on it, though, do reserve a berth or a cabin; at which point, 1st or 2d class doesn't make that much difference, especially if you sleep well on trains, as I do. First class your berth will be wider and more comfortable.

Mind you if you're not stopping in France, the confining trip and the circuitous route are not necessary. You might consider boat, say from Civitavecchia to Barcelona or Valencia. This'll require a bit more research on your part, but it would be a nice break instead of sitting in a train compartment for 2-3 days.

Bill

Gazetteer of Italy

Now, there is but one reason for which one would want to travel from italy to Spain by train, and that's because he/she wants the travel to be really PLUSH. There is one extremely plush train from Milano/Turin to Barcelona, "Trenhotel Salvador Dalì" run by Elypsos. It departs every three times per week from Milano at 8 pm and it arrives in the late morning in Barcelona. I have been drooling over a trip to Barcelona in Gran Classe (Trenhotels have four different classes) with my Luca (anyone here knows that old Gianna Nannini song "WagonLits"? Something like that, but classier and with private bathroom H_H). But that train is costly. Even the cheapest seat is more costly than flying to Barcelona (actually Girona) with a low price company, and many low price companies fly departing from several italian airports will take to severl places in Spain.

Alice Twain
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ItinIt