Has anyone taken the Artesia train from Paris to Milan? We will be taking this trip in September and having never traveled on a night train I%26#39;m curious as what to expect. What type of food is served in the dining car/%26quot;bar%26quot; car? Would a %26quot;T4%26quot; cabin be comfortable enough for 4 adults to actually sleep? Any advice is welcomed! Thank you.
|||
Hi there. We took this train last summer from Paris to Venice. I%26#39;m not sure of the type of food available in the dining car, but we instead found a Monoprix near the train station, and picked up wine, bread, cheese, pate and fruit and had a lovely picnic. The dining car is quite busy, and can be pricey as well.
Are you 4 adults travelling together? I assume if you%26#39;re all friends then the 4 person cabin might be okay. You won%26#39;t get a great sleep, but the beds are reasonably comfortable. We were in a 2 person berth, and it is quite small.
Here%26#39;s a link to a great website for train travel called seat61.com. I have included the link for train travel to Italy and it has within it several more links so that you can see what the cabin set up looks like, and you can also check out the menu and price list on the Artesia website.
http://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm#Milan
If you decide to take the overnight train, do take precautions with your valuables. If you all go to the dining car, there is no way to lock your cabin when you leave. There have also been reports of theft in the middle of the night, but I%26#39;m not sure how overblown these accounts are. We slept with our passports and money in a moneybelt on us, and the door was locked. I had read too many horror stories about cabins being opened in the middle of the night, so I think I spent most of the night sleeping with one eye open. It was my own silly paranoia though, and we travelled without incident. We took the overnight train back to Paris, and I was much more relaxed that time around.
Although I was glad for the experience and wouldn%26#39;t mind taking an overnight train again, my husband said he wouldn%26#39;t like to. It can sometimes be more expensive to take the train than to fly, particularly in light of the many budget airlines available in Europe. But on a positive note, you will save 1 night%26#39;s hotel accommodation.
Have a nice trip.
|||
I%26#39;ve taken this train twice (once to Venice and once to Rome).
It was a bit of a nightmare to book, but eventually booked through the French train website SCNF at a good rate - much much better than Rail Europe. When I arrived in Paris I picked up the tickets from a ticket office at a train station (Gare du Nord I think) just had to show my credit card that I used to book and the confirmation email. Sorry side tracking here and not answering your questions but thought you might be interested.
We never ate in the %26quot;bar car%26quot; because I%26#39;d heard some bad reports about the food. We also bought a picnic (bread/cheese/wine etc) at the supermarket before we left and ate in our cabin, was heaps of fun.
We were 2 females and felt very safe, although had door locked at all times and one of the big suitcases against the door when we went to sleep.
We were in a 2 and wasn%26#39;t exactly big, but we didn%26#39;t expect it so weren%26#39;t disappointed. Weird sleeping in a train, but great experience. Nothing better than waking up in the morning and watching the scenery roll by. (Especially great going into Venice for the first time)
|||
My family love night trains and we have done several trips throughout the world.
I prefer not to eat in the dining car. I always pick up a picnic from the closest supermarket to the train station. Something simple bread cheese and the essential bottle of wine will do but you can be as extravigant as you wish. In my experience the food in the dining cars is quite expensive for what you get and as pmmc pointed out - there is no way to lock your compartment if you are all in the dining car. You can only lock the cabin when you are INSIDE it. Often there is a ladder to access the top bunks which can also be place across the door to prevent anyone from entering if you don%26#39;t trust the lock.
The T4 cabin will be a squeeze with 4 adults - hope you are all good friends!! But they are infact the same size as the 6 berth couchette.
You should ensure everyone has only 1 suitcase (24 inch or smaller is the best size.) There are racks and also room under the beds to fit normal sized suitcases but if all 4 of you have 2 big suitcases it will be difficult!
As to whether you will sleep or not that is very personal. I always sleep reasonably well. Woken once or twice during the night but I think it%26#39;s fun to peek out the window and see where I am! If you are a light sleeper you may have more difficulty and I would suggest ear plugs.
It%26#39;s an adventure - have fun!
|||
Thank you! Sounds like a parisian picnic will be the way to go as far as food goes! I think this particular train leaves at 8 pm so a late dinner will be just fine. Am I clear in the understanding that we can bring our own wine aboard the train? We are 4 close friends and have actually lived in close quarters together before so the close quarters should be fine.
|||
Yes, you can bring your own wine aboard the train. Just make sure that you bring a corkscrew and glasses!
One other thing to take note of, and I was glad I knew this beforehand - when you board the train, the conductor will take your passports and your tickets. He will return the passports to you the next morning with your coffee. I was not too keen on handing them over, but this is apparently how it is done since they would have had to give them over at the various countries%26#39; checkpoints. Since the Schengen arrangement, I don%26#39;t think they have to pass through passport control in each country, but for some reason they still retain your passport until the next morning. I%26#39;m not sure if they will return it earlier if you ask.
Oops, that reminds me that I was incorrect in my previous post that we had our passports on us during the night - it was just our money and credit cards since the conductor had the passports.
|||
I think the Artesia train passes through Switzerland (Geneva to the Simplon tunnel), so passports had to be available as Switzerland was not part of the Schengen group. As far as I know, they joined at the end of last year, so presumably passports aren%26#39;t handed over any more. Has anyone any recent info?
|||
Hi, my husband and I are doing the same train trip in early october. We have a eurail pass but no idea how to book the night trin to Milan before leaving for Europe. Any ideas anyone? I haven%26#39;t used a travel agent, bought our eurail passes online from the official eurail website. I understand that sleepers can fill up quickly so don%26#39;t want to risk waiting till we arrive in Paris. Thanks
|||
Hi, my husband and I are doing the same train trip Paris to Milan in early october. We have eurail passes but no idea how to book the night trin to Milan before leaving for Europe, we are in NZ. Any ideas anyone? We haven%26#39;t used a travel agent, we bought our eurail passes online from the official eurail website. I understand that sleepers can fill up quickly on the overnight trains so don%26#39;t want to risk waiting till we arrive in Paris to make the bookings. Thanks
|||
We bought our tickets on www.raileurope.com and although we only bought tickets and reservations (no Eurorail Passes), I am pretty sure you can buy your reservation from this site too. Good Luck!
|||
koolkiwi - Yes you can use RailEurope. You%26#39;ll see a specific option for buying reservation/sleeper accommodation for those with a Eurailpass. The web site is pretty clear and easy to navigate. For regular tickets, RailEurope does not sell the discounted advance purchase (90 days ahead of departure) fares, so there%26#39;s a big difference between RailEurope and buying on the French Railway site. For just the add on to your Railpass, the difference may not be so great. If you have the time and inclination, you might comparison shop. You should look at seat61.com for help in navigating the French railway site. Good luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment