Arriving or Departing by Train
Exploring Italy by train is part of the adventure! With fast connections between cities and easy access to smaller towns, it's a convenient and comfortable way to get around the country.
Exploring Italy by train is part of the adventure! With fast connections between cities and easy access to smaller towns, it's a convenient and comfortable way to get around the country.
Traveling around Italy by train is fast, convenient and economical. The Italian rail network links all of the country's big cities with mid-sized and even many tiny towns, making it the most efficient way to explore Italy for the vast majority of travelers.
Note that there are two train lines serving Italian train stations. Trenitalia is the national rail line, and Italo is a private rail line. There is some overlap in terms of which stations in which cities they serve, but make sure to check which station you need - especially if your travel plans involve using both rail lines.
Rome's main train station, Roma Termini, is also the city's biggest and busiest. Not only that, with 32 platforms, it shares the title of biggest train station in Europe with Gare du Nord in Paris and Munchen Hauptbahnhof in Munich. It's located in the Termini district of central Rome, just across from the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian that gave the neighborhood its name.
Roma Termini is a constant hive of activity with trains to and from cities and towns throughout Italy, as well as daily service with night trains to several cities elsewhere in Europe. Termini is served by both Trenitalia and Italo train lines. This is also the station that connects with Rome's Fiumicino Airport (FCO) via the Leonardo Express train.
Transportation to and from Roma Termini
The station is a transportation hub for more than just trains, too. Two of Rome's Metro lines (A and B) have stops at Termini, and the square outside the station's main entrance, Piazza dei Cinquecento, is one of Rome's largest hubs for city buses. And, of course, there's always a taxi queue outside the station. So, getting to or from Termini itself is also a breeze.
The second-biggest train station in Rome is Tiburtina, which has 20 platforms. It's situated northeast of the city center, just north of the Cimitero Monumentale. Though it's not as busy as Termini, Roma Tiburtina does offer service to some international destinations as well as regional and some high-speed trains around Italy.
Like Termini, Tiburtina is served by both Trenitalia and Italo trains. Some train routes through Rome bypass Termini altogether in favor of Tiburtina, but many stop at both stations. Transferring between Termini and Tiburtina takes about a half-hour on the Metro.
Transportation to and from Roma Tiburtina
Rome's Metro B line has a stop at Tiburtina, and there is also a nearby bus transfer hub. Taxis aren't necessarily as plentiful outside Tiburtina as they are outside Termini, but there is a taxi stand at the train station.
The main train station in Florence is Firenze Santa Maria Novella, often abbreviated to Firenze SMN. The station has 19 platforms and is located in the city center near the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella for which it is named.
The Florence railway station may be much smaller than Roma Termini, but it's an incredibly busy transportation hub for central Italy. Both Trenitalia and Italo trains use Firenze SMN, with high-speed service connecting Florence to cities like Rome, Bologna, Naples, Milan, Salerno and Verona. There are also regular regional trains to smaller cities and towns in Tuscany and elsewhere in Italy.
Florence also has a tram line, T2, that runs between Firenze SMN and the Florence Airport.
Transportation to and from Firenze SMN
Firenze SMN is a little over a half-mile from the Duomo, so, depending on where you're going in Florence (and how much luggage you have), it's a walkable distance. Just keep in mind that the sidewalks are sometimes bumpy, which isn't ideal for rolling bags. There are always taxis outside the station's entrance, if you prefer, and lots of city buses stop near the piazza in front of the station.
For most visitors to Italy's famed canal city of Venice, the train station on the islands themselves is the one to pay attention to. Venezia Santa Lucia has 23 platforms and sits at the northwestern edge of the islands, one of only two ground transport links to the mainland.
Venezia Santa Lucia has high-speed service from both Trenitalia and Italo trains, as well as regional Trenitalia lines. There are regular trains connecting Venice with points throughout Italy (like Bologna, Florence, Rome and Milan) as well as cities elsewhere in Europe, including Vienna, Geneva and Munich.
Transportation to and from Venezia Santa Lucia
The main entrance of Venezia Santa Lucia spills out onto one end of the Grand Canal, complete with a vaporetto stop just outside the station. Eight major vaporetto lines stop here, including the slow Grand Canal "grand tour" Line 1. You can also get a water taxi to or from the station for a more direct trip or, depending on where you're going, it may be a fairly easy walk. The city's cruise port is just under a mile on foot from the station.
Venice's other train station, Venezia Mestre, is located on the mainland. If you're arriving in Venice, it's the first station that bears the city's name, which can be confusing. Mestre is the station you want only if you're heading to the Venice airport or a mainland cruise port, or if you're staying on the mainland. Otherwise, you want Venezia Santa Lucia instead.
The Mestre station has 14 platforms and much less foot traffic than Santa Lucia. It's served by both Trenitalia and Italo with high-speed and regional trains that connect it with cities around Italy and across the border, including Munich, Zurich, Geneva and Vienna.
Transportation to and from Venezia Mestre
Several local bus routes stop just outside Venezia Mestre and serve destinations throughout the Veneto region, including line 15 that connects the station with Venice's airport. There's also the Mestre Express bus line running direct service between the station and the airport. You can also get a taxi outside the station if you need to get around in Mestre itself.
Naples, the Campania capital, has one central train station: Napoli Centrale. The station has 23 platforms and is among the busiest in Italy. Napoli Centrale is, as the name suggests, centrally located in the city and not far from either the historic city center or Naples's busy cruise port. It's a bit of a sprawling station, as it serves a couple types of trains that use different tracks.
There are, of course, the usual high-speed and regional trains operated by both Trenitalia and Italo connecting Naples with cities throughout Italy. There's also a station underneath Napoli Centrale, Stazione di Napoli Piazza Garibaldi, which is used by both the local Metro trains and Circumvesuviana trains that connect Naples with popular nearby destinations such as Pompeii, Sorrento and Herculaneum.
Transportation to and from Napoli Centrale
The city's Metro line 1 links the underground Napoli Piazza Garibaldi station with the historic center, and the busy square outside the main entrance to Napoli Centrale is a stop for several city Alibus lines, too - including routes that will take you right to the cruise port and the main attractions in and around the historic center. There's also an express Alibus line that runs between Napoli Centrale and the Naples airport. Taxis are plentiful outside the station.
Salerno's little train station has only five platforms, but its location in the country makes it an important transit hub for southern Italy. High-speed lines operated by both Trenitalia and Italo connect Salerno with major cities throughout Italy, with regional trains serving smaller cities and towns in Campania and other parts of southern Italy.
The station itself is located in the city center along the Salerno waterfront and opens onto the Piazza Vittorio Veneto.
Transportation to and from Salerno
Salerno has a one-line Metro that runs between the train station and the city's soccer stadium to the southeast, with four stops in between. (An extension from the stadium to the Salerno airport is in the planning stages.) Several city bus lines stop around Piazza Vittorio Veneto, too, and there's also a nearby taxi queue.
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