Near-Venice
Trieste by Train: A Car-Free Guide to Italy's Habsburg Port City
Trieste is reachable by direct train from Venice in 2 hours, a former Habsburg free port on the Adriatic with grand literary cafés, a seafront square, and a history that swings between Vienna, Trieste and Ljubljana.
Venice
Venice by Train: A Car-Free Guide to the Floating City
Venice is the one Italian city where car-free travel isn't a choice - it's the only option. Here's how to arrive by train, get around by foot and vaporetto, and see the city beyond St Mark's Square.
Near-Venice
How to Get to Padua by Train: Giotto’s Frescoes, a Basilica and Europe’s Oldest University
Under half an hour by train from Venezia Santa Lucia, with no booking needed - here’s how to get to Padua, which ticket to buy and what to see when you arrive.
Bologna
Bologna by Train: The Complete Guide to Italy's Greatest Food City
Bologna has three nicknames - La Rossa for the terracotta rooftops, La Dotta for Europe's oldest university, La Grassa for the food. Thirty-eight minutes from Florence by train and almost entirely absent from the standard Italy itinerary. The best food city in Italy, and one of the least visited.
Near-Milan
Verona by Train: Day Trip Guide from Milan, Venice and Bologna
Verona is up to an hour and fifteen minutes from Milan, Bologna, and Venice by fast train — a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre still hosting opera under the stars, medieval piazzas, Shakespeare's balcony and some of the best wine in Italy. One of the most rewarding day trips in northern Italy.