Originally Posted by
benjai
We are going tomorrow for a week and hopefully using it as a base to do a few day trips by train.
We will be staying near the station, is it easier to just take a taxi from the airport for 3 of us?
We are thinking maybe a day in Venice, and maybe a day or two in a couple of other nearby cities, maybe Florence. Can we buy train tickets on the spot or do we have to book in advance? Are tickets reasonably priced? Thank you!
Oh, also any recommendations for good trattoria/casual eating places for good pasta? Not fancy but nice!
It’s cheaper to prepay for train tickets. There’s two operators of high speed trains. Trenitalia has the Frecce high speed trains with Frecciarossa being the fastest and the only one that offers the four class service I mentioned. Private open access operator Italo offers a good service but less frequent, prices are often lower.
One thing I did notice in 2020 was Italo sometimes mentioned promotions on their Italian site that weren’t on their English site.
If you can afford it I really recommend Executive class on the Frecciarossa.
Also have a look at Interrail passes for Italy. They can be quite cheap. They’re for people who are not resident in the country they’re travelling in. So as I now live in Italy I got a UK Interrail pass for 8 days first class for around £350 which is great for me on my next trip to the UK. Note: Interrail isn’t valid in executive class. The first class Interrail maps to business class on the Frecciarossa.
I can’t think of specific recommendations in Bologna as I don’t live in the centre but when I have eaten in the centre I’ve not been disappointed. The hotel will probably be able to point out some places nearby. I’ve yet to encounter places that try and rip tourists off.