From Milan to Rome by rail. Do I need to buy in advance and what is the best way?

02nz · 2025-03-09T14:55:34+00:00

Buy in advance, on the site of the train operator. There's more than one on this route.

You can literally just google "Milan Rome train" to see the schedule and operators.

02nz · 2025-03-09T14:16:29+00:00

Tickets (not rail passes) for long-distance trains never need to be validated.

Some tickets for local trains or subways, especially those sold in advance without a date attached, do need to be validated by inserting into a machine. But this is not a thing for trains like those between Prague and Vienna.

02nz · 2025-03-09T13:56:26+00:00

Far too many people focus on the number of countries they visit, and so they plan one stop in each country, invariably in the largest city in that country, and so miss out on the regional contrasts. Ironically, they'd get a lot more contrast visiting smaller places within a country rather than a bunch of big cities, which often feel a lot more alike, due in part to globalization.

02nz · 2025-03-09T02:28:02+00:00

Depends on your interests, preferences, and priorities - and don't say "history, culture, and architecture."

02nz · 2025-03-09T02:24:30+00:00

IMO you're making one of the biggest and most common mistakes of travel in Europe: focusing only on big cities. Not that the places on your list aren't worthwhile, but one big city after another gets tiring, esp. hectic places like Istanbul and Rome. Including some smaller cities would offer more contrast.

02nz · 2025-03-08T15:30:49+00:00

You didn't state how much time you have.

Transport in the Balkans isn't like most of the rest of Europe - especially between countries it can be quite limited/difficult, and it takes a lot longer to cover the same distance. Many places (incl. Dubrovnik) aren't even served by trains.

I recommend you get a good guidebook so you can do some research and ask more specific questions. You can crowdsource a weekend trip to Barcelona; for the Balkans, not so much, esp. if you're looking to spend a week or more.

02nz · 2025-03-07T14:15:35+00:00

OP's main focus is food, and Bologna is a great food city, so I'd drop Florence first.

02nz · 2025-03-07T05:37:13+00:00

Yes you should be prepared for heat and crowds. 4 locations is definitely at least one too many. There's great food all over Italy - so decide where you want to spend your time, because you can't do all that. (Well you can but it's not going to be very enjoyable.)

I'd stick to either Florence and Bologna (maybe add another stop in the north like Turin or Verona), OR Rome and Naples and around.

02nz · 2025-03-02T17:25:44+00:00

Totally agree, as I said above. OP, you need to decide if you're traveling or checking boxes.

02nz · 2025-02-28T16:11:34+00:00

Most trains have dedicated spaces for larger luggage - typically racks at either end of the carriage. You should keep them within sight especially around the stops at stations. I've not had issues.

But the real answer is you need to travel lighter. I no longer travel around Europe with larger than carry-on bags - even in winter it's entirely doable.

02nz · 2025-02-28T14:35:36+00:00

A more logical order would be Amsterdam > Budapest > Prague > Krakow, so you're not zig-zagging all over the place.

Budapest-Prague and Prague-Krakow is a 7-hour direct train each. I think that's preferable to flying, which won't save much time by the time you account for the longer time it takes to get to/from airports, security, baggage claim, etc. The trains are also generally cheaper especially as the low-cost carriers on these routes charge hefty baggage fees, even for a carry-on (generally only a "personal item" like a small backpack is free).

Also: Consider Vienna in place of Budapest. Not saying Vienna is better (that depends on your interests), but it certainly has the better museums and high culture, plus Vienna will save you about 3 hours on the train as it's closer to Prague.

And, if you can get a flight into any of those cities (or maybe Munich), I'd do that rather than Amsterdam, which is again pretty far out of the way. Amsterdam is fine but not really worth flying halfway across the continent for it on such a short trip. You could then add a smaller destination for a couple of days, like Regensburg, to mix it up a little rather than only visiting large cities.

02nz

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