Trains in Italy

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Trains in Italy are generally excellent but I would not recommend this sort of holiday if you are focusing on visiting Piedmont, le Marche or Sardinia. In fact train travel is not an ideal option if you intend to stay in one region and really get to know that region.

The type of holiday where you base yourself in one town or village, rent a place to stay and explore with your own car or hire car is the best way to discover Italy. The small villages, markets and traditions of this ancient land can only really be discovered in this way - not by train.

In Italy trains are perfect for visiting the major cities and towns. Many years ago, when I was younger, I first visited Italy by train on a Eurail Pass It was a great first introduction to Italy and I saw all the main cities - the typical tourist cities of Rome, Florence and Venice, but I never really understood Italy or saw the real Italy.

The following year I bought myself a Trenitalia Pass, it was great value, I made lots of friends on the trains and I saw more big towns and cities but I only saw the countryside from an Italian train window.

Arriving in Piedmont by train though is great. Whichever way you arrive the trip is scenically spectacular with the exception of the train journey in from Milan. My three favorite ways of arriving in Turin by train are:

1) From France through the Val di Susa. There are plans for a high speed train connection through this area linking Turin with Lyon but it is facing a lot of opposition and the slow train that exists at present is perfect for enjoying the view.

2) The train to Turin from Nice through the mountains and the French and Piedmont countryside. The scenery and little villages en route are lovely.

3) The train up from Savona through the Maritime Alps offers spectacular scenery through thickly forested mountains.