Can I use France Switzerland Eurail pass for Paris to Interlaken TGV train?

London to Paris by Train and then France Italy Benelux Eurail pass for 7 or 9 days days.?

• We (I and my husband) are planning to visit Paris, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice & Amsterdam (if possible). We are thinking of taking morning train from London to Paris and have a small 5 hour tour to Eiffel tower in Paris then catch overnight train to Rome -reach Rome in the morning . Spend 2 nights in Rome - Catch train to Florence and stay 1 or 2 night and visit Pisa too. Then go to Venice from Florence. Do not want to stay in Venice. Is the above itinerary ok? Please suggest. Is there any overnight train from Venice to Amsterdam or Brussels? or Do I have to return back to Rome or Florence to catch overnight train to AMsterdam or Brussels.? From Brussels or Amsterdam catch the train back to Paris and then back to London. We would be taking first class Eurail pass. What is the extra amount we have to spend on reservations etc. Can you give some approximate idea? Would you change the itinerary and do Amsterdam first? In which order would you do cities in Italy so as to spend less time in traveling to and fro? Thanks.

• Answer:

  There is no night train from Italy to either Amsterdam or Brussels. There have been trains from Milan in the past, but it's a very long ride. I live in northern Italy and fly when going that far north. There are budget airlines. One good option is Transavia who fly from Treviso (the alternative airport for Venice) to Amsterdam, but you can also check for other flights at: http://www.skyscanner.net/ If you want to take the train from Italy to Amsterdam or Brussels, the best option is to take the night train from Rome, Florence or Venice to Paris and change trains there for the rest of the trip. Note that you will also use the metro to change train stations in Paris. You may be better off without a rail pass - particularly for the portion of your trip here in Italy. Even with a rail pass you need to make a reservation for the night train between Paris and Rome. The reservation costs 45 euro for a berth in a 4 bed compartment. The standard price for the same berth is 130 euro without the pass, but there are discounts for early purchase of tickets. The cheapest fare for a berth in a 4 bed compartment (called the smart fare) is 45 euro - the same as what you would pay on top of the cost of the Eurail pass. There are a limited number of places at this rate and you have to do additional work to get one, but there are also other discounted fares. Another thing is that the trip from Paris to Rome uses two travel days off your pass because the train leaves Paris before 7 pm. http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD Going in the other direction uses one travel day since the night trains leave Italian stations after 7 pm. It is almost always cheaper here in Italy to buy individual tickets rather than a rail pass even if you do not buy tickets in advance. The supplement for a reservation on the high speed trains is 10 euro here in Italy when you use a rail pass. There is an excellent site for rail travel in Europe that can help you determine whether a rail pass is worth it to you: http://www.seat61.com/Railpass-and-Eurail-pass-guide.htm . In particular, read the section called "Common railpass mistakes: Italy..." about 20% of the way down the page. The site also has links to the various national train websites where you can find schedules and prices.