I am a little confused and wonder if anyone can clarify this. I seem to get conflicting informatin, depending on what site I visit. We will be taking the Artesia Night Train from Paris to Milan end January next year. Does this train have a dining car? Some sites say yes, some no. Also I%26#39;m tossing up between the 6 berth couchettes or 4 berth (there will be four of us). At that time of the year, how crowded would the train be? Would you be able to have a 6 berth couchette all to yourself? Is there a big difference between comfort levels of the two types?
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Unless you want to take the night train %26quot;for the fun of it%26quot;, fly Easyjet instead, because the train, IMHO, ain%26#39;t really fun: the train stops several times, the berths are not comfortable, the heating is either full blast at 40° or scarce at 12°, Italy bound night trains are notorious for thefts occuring during the passengers%26#39; sleep. Easyjet fly Paris Orly to Milan, and if you book now for January, it%26#39;ll be dirt cheap, much cheaper than the train.
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Now you%26#39;ve got me worried. It was partly for the %26quot;Fun - experience of it.%26quot; We are actually flying Easy Jet Pisa to Paris, staying three days, then (I was planning) returning on the night train to Milan so we would have a full day in Paris, and a full day in Milan, before taking another train down south, back to where we%26#39;re based.
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EuroAdv, I am sorry if I am making you reconsider your plans, but, I do think it%26#39;ll be a lot of hassle to train to Milan, especially considering your already hectic intra European travelling schedule. Maybe if you want to absolutely take the train, a day train, though lengthy (6 hours? more?) would give you this %26quot;European train experience%26quot;, by TGV to Lausanne, then onward connection to Milan. Plus you would cross the Alps in mid winter, which can be spectacular if the weather is fine.
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The trains are usually busy and Artesia are upgraded trains but you can guarantee your coach is the one that stops underneath the loudspeaker at stations. Personally I would go for sleeping berths as opposed to the basic couchettes (really just folded up seats). You could have a compartment to youself if you are prepared to pay for all the couchettes.
Paris to Milan is not a straightforward journey and you might want to break the journey but I think you will miss seeing the Alps, so I would suggest going by day. Artesia does I believe have a %26#39;global fare%26#39; which includes a package. Trenitalia (Italian State Railways) should be able to advise you if you are keen on the night journey.
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We%26#39;ve made this journey several times and think it%26#39;s great. We%26#39;ve always reserved a first class %26quot;cabin%26quot; (2 bed berth) which has a hotel-style card key lock for security and we%26#39;ve never had any issues with temperature or noise waking us up. it%26#39;s a unique experience and worth doing.
The fact that you won%26#39;t need to rent a hotel room for the night of the journey more than offsets the additional cost of a first class ticket. If you book two cabins together, request adjoining berths so you can open the door between them.
No, there is no dining car. When you depart paris, the conductor will knock on your door with complimentary champaign but you%26#39;ll need to bring your own fois gras and baguette. They feed you a modest breakfast in the morning however.
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Thank you, all of you. I have been looking at various scenarios and still lean towards the night train. The extra hotel room cost tips the balance a little. I%26#39;ll do more research anyway. I was wondering whether the two berth sleeper would be better. Thanks again.
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metromole, I have been looking on the sncf %26amp; trenitalia sites re getting prices for double sleepers. How do you book connecting cabins? There doesn%26#39;t seem to be a facility either site to do this. Thanks
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I don%26#39;t know how to do that over the web. The first time we did it, we had our favorite travel agent at STA Travel in San Francisco set it up. The only other time we went to Venice (via that night train) with another couple, we went into a SNCF %26quot;boutique%26quot; in Paris and they set it up. The other three times we were on our own.
I suspect that you will need some human intervention from a travel agent on this. I also hope if you do it, it goes as smoothly as it has for us. Statistically, we%26#39;ve beat the odds on happy [consecutive] trips.
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Thanks Metromole. I have been trawling the Tripadvisor Site for info on couchettes vs sleepers. I understand that 2 berth cabin sleepers can be locked. Do you know if the 4 berth couchette compartments are able to be locked? I need to be mindful that my daughters are on a budget, but I%26#39;m kind of leaning towards a little more luxury - as little as it might be - on the train. I have also been testing both the sncf %26amp; trenitalia sites for different seating configurations. Looks like when I%26#39;m booking for four, they seem to automatically group them together. Although I%26#39;m not sure I%26#39;ve got the right type of Sleeper selection.
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No, the coachettes don%26#39;t have locks on the FRENCH cars (your train may be French or Italian) but I%26#39;ve never checked the Italian cars. I%26#39;d assume the answer is no to be safe.
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