If you are planning to explore Italy here are our recommendations on cities to visit that are easily accessible by train. We will be more than happy to suggest additional ones if you have already been to those suggested below. We are including a link for each city to better give you an idea of some attractiveness. Below you can find also high-speed trains suggestions to move around Italy.

Lake of Como and Lecco (https://lakecomotravel.com/lecco/)

Boat trips on the lake are the perfect daily trip if you are looking for something chill and relaxing. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/en/tickets-and-timetables-lake-como/.

Milan



Due to long waiting lists or lines at local tickets offices, advanced booking is recommended to visit: The Cathedral entrance and rooftop access (https://ticket.duomomilano.it/en/biglietti/)

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (https://cenacolovinciano.vivaticket.it/en)

Venice and the Laguna Islands

Arrive at the train station “Venezia Santa Lucia”. We highly recommend doing the traditional Gondola ride and visiting the islands in the Venice Laguna (Murano and Burano are the most famous). We suggest booking them in advance. Here the links we used a few years ago.

Gondola ride: https://www.venetoinside.com/en/venice/tours-experiences/venice-shared-gondola-ride

Laguna islands: https://www.venetoinside.com/en/venice/tours-experiences/full-day-excursion-murano-burano-and-torcello-from-st-marks-square or https://www.venetoinside.com/en/venice/tours-experiences/half-day-excursion-murano-burano or https://www.venetoinside.com/en/venice/tours-experiences/half-day-afternoon-tour-murano-burano-from-st-marks-area

Verona (https://www.viator.com/Verona/d945)

Arrive at the train station “Verona Porta Nuova” which is about 15 minutes walking from the city center. Verona is a beautiful city and easily accessible on foot on a one-day tour.

Florence (https://florencetips.com/tourist-attractions.html)

Florence is an amazing city to enjoy by walk where there is one of the finest leather productions in Italy. The Duomo Plaza is a must see! To climb the Giotto’s Bell Tower with its 414 steps tickets in advance at https://operaduomofirenze.skiperformance.com/en/store#/en/buy.

The Cathedral entrance in Florence is ALWAYS FREE and no reservation needed. Tickets are only required to visit the Dome (no elevator).

The Uffizi Gallery is the most famous museum in Florence. Advanced tickets at https://www.uffizi.it/en/tickets.

From Florence you can reach nearby cities like Pisa and Siene by the local train connections.

Rome (https://www.viator.com/Rome/d511)

Arrive at the train station “Roma Termini”. Rome is breathtaking and an experience worth at least 2-3 days to get a glimpse of its majesty. Besides the well-known plazas and fountains (all free access!), we recommend visiting the Colosseum and the Roman Forum (ticket to avoid the line at https://www.coopculture.it/en/products/ticket-colosseum-roman-forum-palatine_24h/) and the Vatican City. You can reach the Vatican City through the metro line: take the RED metro line from Rome heading to “Battistini” and get off at “Ottaviano” stop to visit the Cathedral and at “Cipro” stop to visit the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel.

The entrance to the St. Peter Cathedral in the Vatican City is FREE and no ticket is needed, however you will need to purchase a ticket if you decide to visit the Dome (in Italian only https://www.basilicasanpietro.va/it/vivi-la-basilica/visite/visita-libera.html).

The Dome has a total of 551 steps, but you can purchase a ticket with an elevator ride that will leave you 320 steps to do.

Tickets to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapels at https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en.html.

Although walking is an option, Rome is huge! And you might want to consider using the metro to move around. Here is the link to the Italian website for the metro where you will find the metro maps, hours and also ticket options (i.e., single tickets, bundle of 10 tickets, 24-48-72h passes). Remember to keep your ticket till the end of the travel on the metro as you might need to validate it again at the exit.

Cinque Terre (https://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/ or https://www.lecinqueterre.org/eng/)

The Cinque Terre (Five lands or towns) are five small old fishing villages on the coast of Liguria. They offer a variety of breathtaking landscapes with wonderful colorful houses. Checkout some online pictures to see what we are talking about, and you won’t be disappointed!

The best way to visit the Cinque Terre is by train: all the five villages are very efficiently connected by local trains to make your journey smooth. It is possible to purchase a multi-day ticket valid on all the local trains connecting the villages as well as the major train station close by (called “La Spezia”). Those tickets are available at https://www.parconazionale5terre.it/page.php?id=158, just remember to validate the tickets at the first ride. From “Milano Centrale” train station you can get to “La Spezia Centrale” train station with a non-stop train in about 3 hours (https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html). Then from “La Spezia Centrale” you can catch a train to all the five villages according to your preference.

When we visited, we booked an hotel in La Spezia and travelled each day to a different village so that we got to explore everything without carrying luggage around all the time.

Naples and the Amalfi coast

You can reach Naples via high-speed trains and use local trains to get to Pompei and Sorrento. To Visit the Amalfi coast we highly recommend the boat connections as buses are often late and overcrowded.

There is plenty of things to see around the area, visiting the grottos is a must as well as Capri and Ischia.