Edj

My wife and I want to go by train as in the subject. It's overnight. I've
been around the web in circles for hours now, and can't seem to get a
handle on it. It looks like something called an "Excelsior" train on a
France-Italy pass, or something. But there are so many choices, and so
little explanation! We'd like a compartment with a toilet, a sink and a
locking door. Don't care about a dining car as long as we can grab a
sandwich or something.

Anyone with a suggestion? Necessary to purchase in the US before departure
to Italy? Can be purchased in Italy? A well-designed web-site someplace?
Thanks.
--

Mark Fagan

You could try calling the SNCF phone line...they offer service in English.
They should be able to give you any info you need, and perhaps book the
ticket too. If so, they will mail it to you if there is enough time. The
number is 33.8.92.35.35.39 (outside of France, 33.08... inside).

"edj" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > My wife and I want to go by train as in the subject. It's overnight.
I've
    > been around the web in circles for hours now, and can't seem to get a
    > handle on it. It looks like something called an "Excelsior" train on a
    > France-Italy pass, or something. But there are so many choices, and so
    > little explanation! We'd like a compartment with a toilet, a sink and a
    > locking door. Don't care about a dining car as long as we can grab a
    > sandwich or something.
    > Anyone with a suggestion? Necessary to purchase in the US before
departure
    > to Italy? Can be purchased in Italy? A well-designed web-site someplace?
    > Thanks.
    > --

Tony Day

"edj" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > My wife and I want to go by train as in the subject. It's overnight.
I've
    > been around the web in circles for hours now, and can't seem to get a
    > handle on it. It looks like something called an "Excelsior" train on a
    > France-Italy pass, or something. But there are so many choices, and so
    > little explanation! We'd like a compartment with a toilet, a sink and a
    > locking door. Don't care about a dining car as long as we can grab a
    > sandwich or something.
    > Anyone with a suggestion? Necessary to purchase in the US before
departure
    > to Italy? Can be purchased in Italy? A well-designed web-site someplace?
    > Thanks.
    > --

Two direct trains tonight, for example, one departing Florence 19.51
arriving Paris 10.07, the other (which has no scheduled stops between the
two) departing Florence 21.38, arriving Paris 10.13.

Both have a restaurant (rather good when I tried it). Bedrooms lock (from
the inside) and have a sink, but I don't think there are any availabe with
their own toilet - shared facilities at the end of the carriage.

The advice always given on here is not to purchase in the US (you'll pay
much more). Should be no problem in Italy, especially if you can purchase
say a week in advance.

Hope this helps.

Tony

Giovanni Drogo

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003, Tony Day wrote:

    > Two direct trains tonight, for example, one departing Florence 19.51
    > arriving Paris 10.07, the other (which has no scheduled stops between the
    > two) departing Florence 21.38, arriving Paris 10.13.

I got these

EN226 Florence SMN (central station)19:51, Paris Bercy 08:38,
EN224 Florence Rifredi (NOT central station, comes from Rome) arriving
Paris Bercy 10:13

from the alternate site of the German rail which is the best one for all
european railways :
http://home.arcor.de/e.lauterbach/au...fplanx.html.en

Show also a lot of other connections with change at Milan or in
Switzerland (could be an idea for eating if you leave early).

Do not forget to click on "details" and read the "comment" codes. What
you'd need is a "SW: Sleeping-car", not a "LW: Couchettes"

EN means Euro Night and refers to trains with only sleepers and
couchettes.

    > Both have a restaurant (rather good when I tried it). Bedrooms lock (from

I did not travel on those two trains, which are actually marked to have
a restaurant car. Sleeper trains I usually take from Milan do not have a
restaurant car, but that's because I tend to depart in the late evening
(after 10 pm).

    > the inside) and have a sink, but I don't think there are any availabe with
    > their own toilet - shared facilities at the end of the carriage.

A "sleeper car" comes in essentially two flavours. A train may mix both
flavours or have only one.

In one case you have bigger compartments, which may be arranged with 1,
2 or 3 beds on top of each other (single, double and T3). The price of
the bed supplement depends on how many beds are in use (let's say that
the price of a full compartment is more or less fixed, one person pays
the compartment, two persons pay half, three persons pay one third
each), but you must have a 1st class ticket to travel single and double,
and a 2nd class one to travel T3.

The other flavour has smaller compartments which can be arranged with 1
or 2 beds (special and T2). Special (costs a bit less than single)
requires 1st class ticket, T2 requires 2nd class ticket.

Sleeper compartments have lock, and sink ... and real bed linens. No
private toilet, usually there is a couple at the end of the car,
sometimes even a shower, depends on car model.

If you are two and want to travel together I'd advise for a T2, unless
you want to spend for a double. Otherwise you could book in separate
compartments (male and female travelling alone have to do this). I often
booked a T3 and travelled alone anyhow (but that was Milan-Frankfurt),
may depend on stretch and season

Couchettes have no locks, two rows of berths (4 or 6) , no real linen
and are shared between male and female. Won't advise it.

--
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Alan \

In the message : [email protected]...
"edj" <[email protected]> wrote>

    > My wife and I want to go by train as in the subject. It's overnight.
I've
    > been around the web in circles for hours now, and can't seem to get a
    > handle on it. It looks like something called an "Excelsior" train on a
    > France-Italy pass, or something. But there are so many choices, and so
    > little explanation! We'd like a compartment with a toilet, a sink and a
    > locking door. Don't care about a dining car as long as we can grab a
    > sandwich or something.
    > Anyone with a suggestion? Necessary to purchase in the US before
departure
    > to Italy? Can be purchased in Italy? A well-designed web-site someplace?
    > Thanks.

For an illustrated guide in English to rail travel between the UK and key
cities in
continental Europe, including fares and schedules (generally involving
changing
trains in Brussels or Paris, and thus providing details for international
journeys
to/from these cities), visit: http://www.seat61.com

Regards,

- Alan (in Brussels)

parts,

Helmut Uttenthaler

"edj" <[email protected]> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:[email protected]...
    > My wife and I want to go by train as in the subject. It's overnight.
I've
    > been around the web in circles for hours now, and can't seem to get a
    > handle on it. It looks like something called an "Excelsior" train on a
    > France-Italy pass, or something. But there are so many choices, and so
    > little explanation! We'd like a compartment with a toilet, a sink and a
    > locking door. Don't care about a dining car as long as we can grab a
    > sandwich or something.


BTW, the night trains Paris - Roma (2 daily trains) consist of 15 cars:

1 Excelsior sleeping-car
2 sleeping-cars (type MU)
2 sleeping-cars (type T2)
1 dining-car
9 couchette-cars

(http://www.wagonslits.de/forum/messages/851.html)


--
Regards,

Helmut Uttenthaler,
Graz

Jenn

In article <[email protected]>,
edj <[email protected]> wrote:

    > My wife and I want to go by train as in the subject. It's overnight. I've
    > been around the web in circles for hours now, and can't seem to get a
    > handle on it. It looks like something called an "Excelsior" train on a
    > France-Italy pass, or something. But there are so many choices, and so
    > little explanation! We'd like a compartment with a toilet, a sink and a
    > locking door. Don't care about a dining car as long as we can grab a
    > sandwich or something.
    >
    > Anyone with a suggestion? Necessary to purchase in the US before departure
    > to Italy? Can be purchased in Italy? A well-designed web-site someplace?
    > Thanks.



Did this in July -- we booked a T2 -- which is a second class double
compartment with two bunk beds, sink and luggage storage. There is a
pot to pee in and empty onto the tracks but no toilet. Don't know if
they have cars with toilets -- but given train toilet hygiene, I
wouldn't want one in my cabin anyway. They are conveniently in each car.
There is a first class cabin for two -- it might have a toilet -- it is
significantly more expensive and it wasn't worth it for us. We paid
about 170Euro for two for our cabin which was about 60 Euro more than
sharing in a six bunk room -- we are too old and too rich for that.

Loved it -- nice trip and nice length for a night trip - got a full
night's sleep. They didn't wake us until about 10 minutes before we
arrived [with coffee and a roll] so if you want more warning, you need
to ask the porter to wake you earlier.

Joy Brunetti

edj <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > My wife and I want to go by train as in the subject. It's overnight. I've
    > been around the web in circles for hours now, and can't seem to get a
    > handle on it. It looks like something called an "Excelsior" train on a
    > France-Italy pass, or something. But there are so many choices, and so
    > little explanation! We'd like a compartment with a toilet, a sink and a
    > locking door. Don't care about a dining car as long as we can grab a
    > sandwich or something.
    >
    > Anyone with a suggestion? Necessary to purchase in the US before departure
    > to Italy? Can be purchased in Italy? A well-designed web-site someplace?
    > Thanks.

I did the reverse of this route in May in a T2 berth compartment.
There's a train that runs from Paris --> Florence (Rome really, but it
stops in Florence first) and then another train that does the exact
journey from the opposite station nightly.

In your case, you will want to depart from Florence's Santa Maria
Novella station (SNM) and arrive at the Paris-Bercy station and then
use the metro right outside of that to get into town. The train from
Florence departs at 7:51 PM and arrives the next morning at roughly
8:00 AM. If you pick a second class T2 berth compartment for your
wife and yourself, then the tickets will run you roughly 300 euros
total (roughly $340 USD right now).

The T2 berth is comfortable but small. It's basically a bench seat
that the attendant will come and fix for you into upper and lower
beds. There's a dining car with dinner selections, and if you want,
you can chose to purchase a breakfast in your compartment for the next
morning when you board (like 7 euros each I believe). Mainly packaged
items but there's a pastry or two, some orange juice, and what I was
able to eat of it (with the train rocking back and forth) was decent.

Your compartment is locked and stepping out of it leads down a narrow
hallway to your cabin's toilet/sink area. I washed my face and
brushed my teeth in that area but that was about it.

Go to the SNCF web site at http://www.sncf.com/indexe.html for an
english interface for booking your tickets on line. I purchased my
tickets in advance before going, since it's a popular route and I
didn't want to run the risk of it being full when I arrived at the
train station the day of. Just book your tickets on a credit card and
then have that same credit card with you when you are at the station
to depart.

Let me know if you need any help navigating the site or purchasing the
tickets in general. I went through this myself so I'd be happy to
help!

Joy