First, there are no Eurorail trains. Eurorail sells passes that can be used on the various national train systems. It is often cheaper just to get point-to-point tickets directly from the rail systems unless you're doing a lot of traveling using the slower regional trains. If you use the faster trains (eg, Intercity, Eurostar or Alta Velocit脿 here in Italy) or the night trains, there are additional supplements/reservations for each train that you have to buy before you get on the train. There are often discounted fares available from the national sites. There's a "Smart" fare from Paris to Rome for 35 euro for a berth on the night train. The places are limited at this price, there are also some at 50 euro. The regular fare is 100 or 115 euro.
The German train site is one of the best resources for checking train schedules and connections throughout Europe. http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.e鈥?/a> The Austrian site is also very good for this. You'll need to check the individual country train sites for prices and booking. Italy:http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/cms/v/i鈥?/a>
The reason you're only finding the night train is because it's the only direct train from Paris to Rome. The advantage of the night train is that you're using the night to travel when you'd normally be asleep anyway. This maximizes your sightseeing time and saves the cost of a hotel for the night. It also puts you in the center of the city when you leave/arrive eliminating the need for airport transfers and security lines. As you note, the tradeoff is not being able to see the countryside. I take this train from Bologna to get to Paris and back sometimes; there's also a similar option from Verona. It's an easy trip, especially since I just go for the weekend.
If you want to travel during the day, you need to go from Paris to Milan or Lausaunne and change to another train to Rome.
I haven't used Eurail before, but I'm also looking into the passes they offer. I think that that train ride is only offered at night because it's so long. They're probably thinking "Who wants to sit on a train all day, when they could just sleep through it?" I know that doesn't help your situation, but maybe it helps explain it to you? Have fun in France/Italy! That's where I want to go as well!Has anyone used Eurorail to travel to Rome from Paris?
If you have the time break your trip up. Go to Nice stay overnight then
Florence or Pisa and then down to Rome. Do it all in the day time.
With Eurorail its simple to do.
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