Tours of Italy by Train: efficient and soon glamour with “Italo”
There is no better way to organize a tour of Italy than by train. Italian trains are fast, efficient, comfortable and comparatively cheap. This is especially true for high speed trains (“Eurostar” or according to new names “Frecciarossa” – “Frecciargento” – “Frecciabianca”) connecting Italian major art cities, like Naples – Rome – Florence – Bologna – Venice – Verona – Milan. Regional, trains are also reliable – but seats can be hard to find and many of them have only second class seats. Foreign travellers will also note a type of trains called “Intercity” – these are speed trains (not as fast as the eurostars or the “Frecce” but faster than the regional ones) offering a level of comfort similar to regional trains.
High speed trains offer, compared to regional trains, an high level of comfort, with air conditioning and legroom seats, which is most of the time superior that the one usually offered by many airline companies. High speed trains offer first class and second class seats – although second class is a good and cheap way of travelling, first class is a really a comfortable way of moving around the Bel Paese (i.e. Italy – as Italians sometimes call their country).
A major concern among foreign people organizing their Italy tours is whether Italian trains are reliable and on time since people don’t want to have to waste their vacation time on a platform waiting for a delayed train. We can assure you: Italian trains are usually on time. Additionally Treniitalia (i.e. Italian train company) terms of use offer refund in case of delay (respectively 25% or 50% for delays up to 119 minutes or longer than 120 minutes).
A tour of Italy by train is also one way of enjoying the beautiful countryside scenic destinations of the Bel Paese: Chianti vineyards, green Tuscan hills, roman “campagna”, Alpin peaks and lakes, are just a bit of the amazing views that an Italy tour by train has to offer.
Finally, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Ferrari and former Italy Confindustria president, will launch on April 28 his new creature: Italo, an high speed luxury train. This train is managed by NTV, Montezemolo’s company, thanks to railway liberalization in Italy. NTV press releases says that Italo will be “the most modern train in Europe”. Italians and Italy lovers are waiting to see whether Italo will resemble the incomparable level of a Ferrari car, from a technological as well as from a stylist point of view. NTC press release informs us that Italo “will initially start with services on the Napoli – Roma – Firenze – Bologna – Milano corridor and the network will be later extended to Salerno, Torino and Venezia by the end of the year, when the entire fleet of 25 Alstom AGV trainsets will be available. Fares will be announced on April 12 and on April 15 tickets for the first services will go on sale”.
If so, a tour of Italy by train, beyond efficiency and comfort, is also going to be a glamour experience. Your next Italy tour will then be by Italo.
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