City breaks are back – according to Abta’s latest Holiday Habits survey, their popularity has grown significantly in the past year. They are now Britons’ favourite type of break, ahead of beach holidays.
But a pre-dawn start to get to the airport followed by a bleary-eyed arrival in a busy city isn’t necessarily the stuff of holiday dreams. However, as a railway renaissance takes shape on the Continent – from new sleeper train services to a Eurostar rival on the horizon – more travellers are opting to take the train over plane. And none more so than Gen Z who, according to research by flight-free travel provider Byway, are three times more likely than average to try a flight-free trip for the first time this year. So, I decided to go along for the ride.
Picture this. You check in for your journey 30 minutes, not two hours, before your departure. You breeze through security with full-sized toiletries packed in your luggage and no weighing your bags on the scales. There are no airport transfers – your journey is city centre to city centre. And, you can relax and take in the journey from the comfort of your carriage, usually with far more legroom than a plane.
Travelling Europe by train is of course nothing new – the Interrail pass celebrated its 50th year in 2022. But interrailing need not be the budget rite of passage it once was. I set my sights on Italy, a trip that would take me through France and onto a grand tour of Italy’s big-hitting cities.
Stage one: London to Paris
My trip began on the Eurostar from London St Pancras, followed by a 20-hour pitstop in Paris. It was the perfect appetiser for my 10-day multi-city break, to ease myself into the departure boards, platforms and street navigation ahead.
Using Hôtel Sainte Beuve, near the Jardin du Luxembourg and Montparnasse station in the 6th arrondissement as my base, I headed straight for some culture at the Musée d’Orsay. The Beaux-Arts former railway station is stuffed with French art, from Manet to Monet and Cezanne to Seurat.
From there, it was a short walk along and over the Seine to check on the renovations at Notre Dame – due to be completed next December – and rummage for literary treasures at Shakespeare and Company bookstore back on the left bank.
I had time enough to savour dinner at Le Grenier de Notre Dame, one of the first vegetarian restaurants in France, then take in the evening buzz around the Luxembourg Gardens, and watch the lights switch on at the Eiffel Tower.
Stage two: Paris to Florence
It was an early start the next morning, as I headed over to the Gare de Lyon before sunrise for my next train journey. Over four hours on a TGV Lyria train, the expansive fields of Burgundy eased into the snow-capped mountains and glittering lakes of the Alps from my window.
Changing trains in Zurich, the scenery only improved, and the pretty perfection of the Swiss landscape rolled by like a dream as we sliced south. Quaint chalets and herds of bell-adorned cows were scattered beneath towering peaks and above rugged gorges. As we passed into Italy, the view was punctuated by the azure waters of Lakes Como and Lugano.
One more change in Milan, and less than two hours later I was navigating the cobbled evening streets of Florence to find Casa Howard, my home for the next two nights. I received a warm welcome from the concierge, who booked me a table at La Martinicca, a local favourite for a quiet dinner of Tuscan fare – bruschetta, truffle tagliolini and panna cotta for dessert.
After a long journey, I was pleased to catch my breath. For three days, my hours were filled admiring Botecelli’s Primavera at the Uffizi, coveting gold trinkets on the Ponte Vecchio, scoffing slab-sized focaccia sandwiches from
All’Antico Vinaio and sipping Aperol spritzes in the shadow of the Duomo.
I was also in for a special treat: September’s Festa della Rificolona, the festival of paper lanterns, was taking place. In celebration of the birth of the Virgin Mary, Florentines parade the streets carrying lanterns which, when the festivities are finished, are gleefully destroyed by schoolchildren with spit wads in a tradition that spans centuries.
Stage three: Florence to Rome
On my final morning, I took in Michaelangelo’s David outside the Palazzo Vecchio one last time before a quick 90-minute train south to Rome. With a walking tour guide from Hotel Modigliani, a skip away from the Spanish Steps, I headed off to explore. Every corner I turned down seemed to produce another stunning church with a Caravaggio or Raphael in the transept.
One warm, sunny day, I explored the Borghese Gardens by e-scooter, although most other tourists seemed to be pedaling the quaint four-person cars to explore the expansive park. I then ducked inside to enjoy the elegant rooms and breathtaking Bernini sculptures at the Borghese Gallery.
Another day was dedicated to must-see sights, the Colosseum and Roman Forum, and marvelling at the millennia-old dome of the Pantheon.
Chatting to an American couple over dinner at Osteria Barberini – a restaurant famed for its truffle dishes – I learned that they too had chosen to swap planes for trains on what was their third trip to Italy. We pondered how pleasant our respective trips had been so far without the stress and hassle of flying.
On a bright Sunday morning, I heard Pope Francis give mass in the Vatican, took in the grandeur of St Paul’s Basilica and marvelled at the Sistine Chapel within a few short hours. Every moment not spent taking in the beauty of the Eternal City was spent sipping espressos in shady cafes and people-watching until sunset.
Stage four: Rome to Venice
Then it was time for another train to take me up the country to Venice, winding through sun-soaked Tuscan vineyards and medieval hilltop towns.
On arrival, I swapped my train for a vaporetto – the water buses that crisscross the Venetian canals – which took me straight to the Hotel La Calcina in Zattere, which looks across the Giudecca Canal.
There never was a more perfect city to get lost in than Venice. With no agenda, I wandered past gondola-strewn canals and tapering alleyways. Eventually, I found myself standing atop the Rialto Bridge, breathing the sea air as sparkling night lights reflected off the Grand Canal.
As I daisy-chained my way back to London, with a night in Zurich, the calmness of my 1,800-mile round-trip struck me. The connections between each city felt like a seamless part of my trip, rather than a disruption to it. Taking in the Italian landscapes from the train windows gave breadth and context in a way a plane journey never could.
And the real bonus was that the approximate CO2 emissions were 16 per less than the equivalent journey by plane. Taking the greener option wasn’t a compromise, but an enriching part of the story.
The writer travelled to Italy by train with Sawday’s & Byway. A similar 10-day trip costs from £1,641pp departing from London, including accommodation at Hôtel Sainte Beuve in Paris, Hôtel Windsor in Nice, Hotel Modigliani in Rome, Casa Howard in Florence and La Calcina in Venice, and all travel tickets.
