25. Accommodation in Venice

Well being on a budget, I'm somewhat limited as to my choice of accommodation places, but I've narrowed it down to a few. I can't help think had I started looking for accommodation earlier, there would have been a greater variety of cheaper places available. A friend who is going to Europe around the same time said she started looking in October but by the time December came, the prices had increased.

Venice is "divided" into different areas and I think the San Marco area is the one I'll go for. It's the most touristed area from what I've read, but it's the closest to the "sights".


Domus Ciliota
The first on the list is Domus Ciliota at Calle delle Muneghe, San Marco, 2976. A single room (with breakfast) is 126 euro. It has a lift and an outdoor garden.

 

Above: Domus Ciliota single room

 

Above: Outdoor garden

 

Above: Map showing water taxi stops

Features air conditioning, a small fridge and satellite TV. The private bathroom has a shower, toiletries and hairdryer.
Room Facilities: Air Conditioning, Desk, Heating, Tiled / Marble floor, Shower, Hairdryer, Free toiletries, Toilet, Bathroom, Telephone, Satellite Channels, Refrigerator, Wake Up Service/Alarm Clock
Room Size: 14 m²
Bed Size(s): 1 single bed


Locanda Silva
Then there's Locanda Silva in the Castello district - they have a terrace but no lift and it's four storeys high. A single room with shared bathroom is 120 euro, single room with own bathroom is 150 euro. If I could be guaranteed a room on the first floor, it maybe in the running, otherwise...

 

Above: Interior

 

Above: Exterior

The shared bathroom is located on the same floor. The room is air conditioned.
Room Facilities: Air Conditioning, Desk, Heating, Shared Bathroom, Free toiletries, Shared Toilet, Telephone, Wake Up Service/Alarm Clock
Room Facilities: 14 m²
Bed Size(s): 1 single bed


Hotel Malibran
This one is in the Cannaregio area, is 160 euro and as far as I can tell doesn't have a lift either, although on the hotel website it says "Lift" in the description for single room.

 

Above: Hotel Malibran single rooms

 

Above: Hotel Malibran exteriors

With satellite TV, minibar and private bathroom.
Room Facilities: Safety Deposit Box, Air Conditioning, Wooden / Parquet floor, Shower, Hairdryer, Free toiletries, Toilet, Bathroom, Telephone, Satellite Channels, Minibar, Wake Up Service/Alarm Clock
Room Size: 10 m²
Bed Size(s): 1 single bed

The reviews of this place aren't very good and I'm wary of hotels which supply photos which bear little resemblance to the real thing as the photo below shows. As you can see, the single room is a far cry from that which is advertised.

 

The above photo of Hotel Malibran is courtesy of TripAdvisor


Hotel Commercio & Pellegrino
The last one in the Castello district, I like mainly for the position near the water taxi stop, there are no steps to climb, therefor making it a lot easier when you're dragging a heavy suitcase. Even if you pack light, you're still going to be pulling at least 12 kgs! Downside is at 200 euro, the price is almost 80 euro higher and they don't have any outside area.

 

Above: Hotel Commercio & Pellegrino


This air-conditioned room comes with satellite TV, a minibar and private bathroom.
Room Facilities: Safety Deposit Box, Air Conditioning, Heating, Shower, Hairdryer, Toilet, Bathroom, TV, Telephone, Satellite Channels, Minibar
Room Size: 11 m²
Bed Size(s): 1 single bed

24. Train Ieper to Cologne

Pre-booking international trains online

When pre-booking international trains online, I found the transfer time was 5 minutes. Now 5 minutes isn't enough time to get your luggage, get off the train, race down the platform, find the platform you need for your connecting train and get on that platform in time for your next train.
So - what to do? Well...at first I thought i'd have to make two separate bookings (this bumped the price up), then I found the little "Adjust the transfer time". I put in 25 minutes and the timetable page refreshes itself. I now would have just over an hour between trains (65 minutes actually). Below is an example of the journey. Trains can be booked up to around 92 days before date of travel.


Ieper to Coclogne
I put in the date Tuesday 25 February as I will be making this trip on a Tuesday.
Depart Ieper 07:38 from Platform 1 Train IC 2307, Intercity
Arrive Bruxelles-Nord 09:28 Platform 1
Transfer time 1:05 h
Depart Bruxelles-Nord 10:33 Platform Train 3 ICE 15, Intercity-Express
Arrive Köln Hbf 12:15 Platform 5 (Bordbistro?)

Fare: 19,00 EUR (Savings fare) Standard fare 57,30 EUR

23. Paris to Florence

The itinerary has changed yet again. Forget Milan, forget Venice, forget Rome - Florence or Firenze as it is called in Italian is the place I'll be going to if I do the train journeys thing. Having spoken with some Italian friends, one said "Roma!", one said, "Venice" and another said, "Florence!. Forget Milan, forget Venice, Rome? go to Florence". Having done a bit of research, Florence seems like my kind of place. And I've seen Venice anyway - well sort of. When I was in Macao last year, I went to Cotai primarily to go to the Hard Rock Hotel and get a pin (I collect the pins, you can see where I wrote about them in this blog) and saw this wonderful hotel the Venetian and the surrounding areas with canals and gondolas and I thought gee it looks like Venice. When I got back after my trip, I set about finding out and yes there's St. Mark's Campanile, the Rialto Bridge, Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Square complete with gondolas and all. You can see what it looks like HERE. Even the street lamps are the same! (Well almost)

With this in mind, I've written down the different ways of doing this, including fare costs, always bearing in min that the fares are "from" prices! Gotta do some serious thinking about this, weigh up cost and justification.


Option 1: Eurostar & TGV daytime train...
Day 1: London to Turin
Depart London 09:17 arrive Paris Gare du Nord 12:47 Eurostar £39 ($70.10)
Depart Paris Gare de Lyon 14:41 arrive Turin Porta Susa 20:18 (high-speed TGV train) £25 ($45)
Overnight in Turin.

Day 2: Turin to Florence €29 ($44)
Depart Turin Porta Susa at 08:14 arrive Florence SMN at 10:55 (Frecciarossa high-speed train)
Day 3: Florence
Fare cost: $159.10

Option 2 Thello sleeper
Day 1: London to Paris. £39 ($70.10)
Depart Paris 19:59 to Milan (Thello sleeper) €35 ($53)

Day 2: Milan to Florence
Milan Centrale arrive 6:00
Depart Milan Centrale 07:15 (Frecciarossa) €19.00 ($29)
Arrive Florence SMN 08:55

Day 3: Florence
Fare cost: $153.10

Option 3 via the Swiss Alps...
Day 1: London to Zurich.
Depart London 13:31 arrive Paris 16:47 £39 ($70.10)
Paris to Zurich. Depart Paris 18:23 arrive Zurich Hauptbahnhof 22:26 TGV-Lyria From £21 ($38)

OR
Day 1: Depart London St Pancras 07:55, arrive Paris Nord 11:17
Paris Gare de Lyon depart 12:22, arrive Zurich Hauptbahnhof 16:26

Day 2: Zurich to Florence
Depart Zurich 07:09 arrive Milan Centrale 10:50. CHF 40.00 ($49)
Depart Milan Centrale 12:15 arrive Florence SMN 13:55 (Frecciarossa) €19.00 ($29)

Day 3: Florence
Day 4: Florence to Paris
Fare cost: $186.10


Option 4 via Munich
Day 1: London to Paris to Munich
Depart London St Pancras 15:31 arrive Paris Gare du Nord 18:47 £39 ($70.10)
Depart Paris Gare de l'Est 20:05 (City Night Line sleeper train) 4 berth couchette 69.00 EUR ($103) 6 berth €59.00

Day 2: Munich to Florence
Arrive Munich 07:10.
Depart Munich 09:38 arrive Bologna Centrale at 16:20. (Austrian EuroCity train) 39.00 EUR ($59)
Depart Bologna Centrale 17:20 arrive Florence 17:55 €15.00 ($23)

Day 3: Florence
Fare cost: $255.10


Option 5, the super-scenic Bernina Express

Step 1, London & Paris to Zurich
• Day 1: London to Paris by Eurostar, depart London at 13:31 (14:01 on Saturdays) arriving Paris at 16:47 (17:17 on Saturdays). Cross Paris by metro to the Gare de Lyon.

• Day 1, travel from Paris to Zurich by TGV-Lyria train, leaving Paris Gare de Lyon at 18:23 and arriving Zurich at 22:26. (double-deck TGV-Duplex, book upper deck)

• Or catch an earlier service from London to Zurich to arrive in Zurich in time for dinner.
Depart London 07:55 ( 08:01 or 09:22 Saturdays, 09:22 Sundays) arrive Paris 11:17 (12:47 Sunday)
Depart Paris 12:22 arrive Zurich 16:26 (Depart Paris 14:23 and arrive 18:35 Sundays)

• Overnight in Zurich

Step 2, Zurich to Milan via the Bernina Express
• Day 2, travel from Zurich to Chur by Swiss InterCity train. In summer when the Bernina Express leaves Chur at 08:32, you'll need to leave Zurich by InterCity train at 06:37, arriving Chur at 07:52. This is a scenic trip in itself, along the Zürichsee & Walensee lakes and into the mountains. In Chur, you'll find the Bernina Express waiting for you on the other side of the platform, a quick and easy interchange.

• Day 2: travel from Chur to Tirano on the famous Bernina Express.
In summer from 10 May to 26 Oct 2014, the Bernina Express consists exclusively of panoramic sightseeing cars, seat reservation is obligatory, departing Chur every day at 08:32 and arriving at Tirano in northern Italy at 12:36.
You should check times at the official Rhätische Bahn website Rhätische Bahn as it varies on certain dates. A refreshment trolley comes down the train selling hot and cold drinks, snacks and souvenirs.

Tip 1: Going South, the best views are on the right hand side of the train, including the best views of the Landwasser Viaduct the Ospizio Bernina area and Brusio spiral, although unfortunately you cannot reserve a seat on a specific side.

Tip 2: The Bernina Express panoramic carriages have a small luggage vestibule at the opposite end to the entrance door, this has a small opening window, ideal for taking photographs without reflections.

• Day 2, travel from Tirano to Milan by regional train. In summer when the Bernina arrives at 12:38, you can leave Tirano at 13:10 and arrive in Milan Centrale at 15:40. In Tirano, the Trenitalia and Rhätische Bahn stations are right next door to each other, and there are plenty of bars and restaurants near the stations. You may have time for a beer at Margy's bar across the road, or you could catch a later train to Milan and have lunch. You can use Trenord to find schedules, but pick a date within the next 7 days to see prices. Bring your own food and drink if you want any, as there is no catering on board the train. No reservation necessary or even possible for Tirano-Milan trains, just buy a ticket at the station and hop on, remembering to validate your ticket in the little yellow machine at the platform entrance. This is a pretty run, through more mountains and along the shores of Lake Como via Lecco.

• Day 2, change in Milan for inter-city trains to Florence, Rome, Verona & Venice - use Trenitalia to find trains departing Milan any time after 16:20 (summer) or 18:20 (winter), to allow time for any delay to the train from Tirano.

How much does it cost?
• London to Paris by Eurostar starts at £39 one-way ($70.10)
• Paris to Zurich by TGV-Lyria starts at £23 (€25) each way if booked in advance. Book early for the cheapest fare ($43)
• Zurich to Chur costs CHF 38 (about £28) each way in 2nd class. Fixed price, no reservation necessary, can be bought at the station. ($46.10)
• Chur to Tirano by Bernina Express costs CHF 58 (£43) ($70.25) in 2nd class for the basic ticket, plus a reservation fee for the Bernina Express of CHF 12 (£9) ($14.55) in summer. Reservation is required for the Bernina Express itself, although other trains on the same route do not require reservations. ($70.25) plus ($14.55)
• Tirano to Milan by Trenord regional train costs €10.75 (£9) in 2nd class or €16.15 (£14) in 1st class. Fixed price, no reservation necessary, can easily be bought at the station. Check times at ($16.10) (First class $24.10)
• Milan to Florence €19.00 ($29)

Fare cost: $289.10

Information from The Man in Seat Sixty One

22. London to Italy via Munich through the scenic Brenner Pass.

The other way of getting from London to Italy is via Munich and the Brenner Pass.

There are two ways to do this route:
(1) Depart London by Eurostar in mid-afternoon and use German-run City Night Line sleeper train to Munich then a day train next morning through the scenic Brenner Pass to Verona.

(2) Depart London by mid-morning Eurostar and afternoon TGV to Munich, stay overnight in Munich, then take a morning train to Italy through the scenic Brenner Pass next day.

Option 1: Using the Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper train...

1. London St Pancras depart 15:31 arrive Paris Gare du Nord at 18:47.
2. Walk from Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est - 10 minutes. (Instructions given below.)

3. Travel from Paris to Munich overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train Cassiopeia.
Departs Paris Gare de l'Est 20:05 and arriving in Munich at 07:10 next morning.

4. Travel from Munich to Verona or Bologna on air-conditioned Austrian EuroCity train.
Departing Munich at 09:38 and arriving in Verona at 14:58 or Bologna at 16:20. For the best views find an unreserved seat on the right hand side of the train

5. Change in Verona for Venice, change in Bologna for Florence or Rome. Use Trenitalia to find am onward connection. Allow at least 45 minutes for connections in Verona or Bologna.


Option 2: Using daytime trains with overnight hotel in Munich.

Day 1: Travel from London to Munich by Eurostar to Paris and TGV to Munich, leaving London St Pancras at 10:25 (11:01 on Saturdays), changing trains and stations in Paris and arriving Munich at 21:36.
Depart London St Pancras at 10:25 (11:01 on Saturdays) arrive Paris Gare du Nord 13:47
Walk to Gare de l'Est.
Depart Gare de l'Est 15:25 arrive Munich 21:36.

Day 2: Depart Munich 09:38 arrive Verona at 14:58 and Bologna at 16:20.
Change in Verona for Venice, change in Bologna for Florence or Rome

Alternatively, have a look round Munich, then take a direct EuroCity train from Munich at 11:38 to Venice arriving 18:10, also travelling via the scenic Brenner Pass - this direct train may be cheaper, too, as one ticket gets you all the way from Munich to Venice from as little as €39. This train also features a full-service restaurant car


NOTE: Travel from Verona to Milan either on a fast train or a regional train. (Takes about 1 hr 25 mins and costs from 19 euro)


Gare du Nord ▶ Gare de l'Est
a) Walk out of the Gare du Nord onto the street in front of the station.
b) Turn left along the front of the station, and keep going straight ahead of you up the Rue de Dunkerque until the tracks leading into the Gare de l'Est stop you going any further.
c) Turn right into the Rue d'Alsace along the tracks, descending the long flight of pedestrian steps to the side entrance of the Gare de l'Est.

Note: This is the quickest and shortest route, but to avoid the long flight of steps, walk out of the Gare du Nord and across the road into the Boulevard de Denain straight ahead of you, turn left into the Boulevard de Magenta, then left again into the Rue du 8 Mai 1945. This route is a bit longer, but gives level access from one station to the other.

21. London to Italy via the Gotthard Pass through the Swiss Alps...

I am thinking of doing this trip instead of the seven nights in Paris. There is a map further down showing the different routes and also in the "Maps" tab. There's also the Brenner Pass which I'm considering. At the moment, I'm running through them seeing how it could work, how many day's I'd need. I've already determined for the Gotthard Pass, I'd have to get the early train from London so as to reach Zurich at a reasonable time which will give me a few hours to stroll around and see something of the place.

1. Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar

2. Travel from Paris to Zurich by 198mph Lyria TGV, departing Paris Gare de Lyon and arriving in Zurich Hauptbahnhof.

3. Spend the night in Zurich.

4. Travel from Zurich Hauptbahnhof to Como and Milan by air-conditioned EuroCity train,



London St Pancras depart 13:31, arrive Paris Gare du Nord 16:47

How to Cross Paris by metro from Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon,
a) At Paris Nord, walk to the end of platform
b) Turn left. Look for the steps down to RER (Express Metro and Metro)
c) Follow the signs to RER Line 'D'
d) Buy a metro ticket from the machines
e) They have a touch screen and English button...Cash and cards are accepted
f) Enter the ticket gates to RER D
g) Head for Platform 44 (Trains run every 3 to 6 minutes) All southbound RER D stop at Gare de Lyon but always check screens. It's two stops, only six minutes.
h) Follow the sign to 'SNCF - Grandes Lignes'...
i) Exit the RER and head upstairs to the SNCF main line concourse.
j) The Gare de Lyon has two concourses - Hall 1 (Platfomrs A to N) and Hall 2 (platforms 5 to 23)

Travel from Paris to Zurich by 198mph Lyria TGV,
Depart Paris Gare de Lyon 18:23 arrive Zurich Hauptbahnhof 22:26. (Book an upper deck seat for the best views.) (catch an earlier service from London to Zurich if you want to reach Zurich earlier in the evening)

Day 1: London St Pancras depart 07:55, arrive Paris Nord 11:17
Cross Paris by metro to the Gare de Lyon for the TGV-Lyria train to Switzerland..
Paris Gare de Lyon depart 12:22, arrive Zurich 16:26

Day 2: Depart Zurich 11:09 arrive Milan (MILANO CENTRALE) 14:50

What does it cost?
London to Paris by Eurostar: (From) £39 approx $69
Paris to Zurich by TGV-Lyria: train: From £21 (Book-ahead fare) approx $37
Zurich to Milan by EuroCity: From €32 approx $47
All up around $153. Not including Eurostar, $84.

Eurostar and Europe train map

 

Reservations for Paris-Switzerland trains open 90 days before departure. Eurostar reservations open 120 days ahead. The Man in Seat 61 "strongly recommend waiting so you can book all your trains together and double-check the Paris arrival/departure times before booking a non-refundable non-changeable Eurostar ticket."

How to buy tickets in Australia
If you live in Australia or NZ, Asia or Africa, you can buy tickets for Eurostar, the Paris-Zurich TGV Lyria and the Zurich-Milan train online at RAIL EUROPE. They sell print-at-home tickets in many cases or they will send tickets to any country worldwide except the USA for a small fee.

Finally, the absolute cheapest way to book is direct with the relevant train operators, though this means splitting the journey and booking in two stages. First use capitainetrain to book from Paris to Switzerland or the Swiss Railways site SBB to book from anywhere in Switzerland to Paris. Then use Eurostar to book a London-Paris Eurostar connection, allowing at least 60 minutes southbound or 90 minutes northbound to change trains & stations in Paris. (Information from The Man in Seat Sixty-One.

20. When Something Isn't Working - Change It

It's all been a bit mundane working out this trip. While I am pleased to be going to Europe, (I was so excited when my son gave as a mother's day present two Lonely Planet books, Great Britain and Discover Ireland, (he said I know you've always wanted to go there (meaning Ireland) and a hand drawn voucher with "Exchange for return trip to London" on it; I find the planning isn't the same as my previous trips. It's different, I really enjoyed working out all the places I wanted to go (my last trip was to Viet Nam, China, Hong Kong and Macau) and trying to fit in all the places I wanted to see, shopping and changing, adding a day here, dropping a day there so it fitted within the time frame - I knew had had a certain number of nights and it took a lot of work and effort to be able to see the things I wanted to see and stay in the places I wanted to stay in. It was exciting doing all that, and then comes the part where you have to check and re-check transport times so they link up, work out travel distance and time, checking fares, cost of accommodation, cost of tours etc.

I've done this before for all my other trips, but this time ...it wasn't the same. Something was missing. It was not exactly boring but rather like a glass of lemonade that had lost its fizz. It was flat. Yes, I'll be in London and yes, I'll get the Eurostar to Paris and yes, I'll fly to Dublin and go around Ireland but it was just frankly dull and boring. There's really very little planning involved - the only "planning" at all, was working out the Ireland bit, but even that wasn't really exciting. Perhaps because I've been to "exotic" places experienced cultures very different from my own, the sights, sounds and smells are far removed from suburban Melbourne.

On Remembrance Day this year, I started thinking about WWI and realised I'd be in a part of the world where those battles took place - I decided I'd like to see the WWI batlefields. It was quite pleasing researching that, tours, where to stay. I had to be in Paris on the 10th so had to work it all in with that. But ..... I found I was really only going through the motions. I thought right - go London to Lille, then Lille to Ypres for two nights, Amiens for two nights then on to Paris. But, it meant I had to leave London on the Sunday - I realised I didn't want to leave London on Sunday, I wanted to spend first full the weekend with family. I suddenly realised cutting down the number of nights in Paris wasn't such a big deal. When I was only going to be seeing Paris when in France, a week seemed like a good idea at the time, but if I'm going to be seeing other places, I don't need seven nights there.

And then I couldn't get the dates to gel, the two cheaper accommodation places in Ypres didn't have the dates I wanted. I went through different ways of doing it, like having three nights there and doing both the Ieper and Somme tours from Ypres and not staying in Amiens at all. I've wasted so much time on trying to get it to fit and found myself wasting so much time on it yet I wasn't really enjoying it. I toyed with the idea of going instead to Nice and the French Riviera and popping over to Monaco and Italy. That didn't last long I can tell you - after a day and a half, I knew I didn't rally want to do that. Not really interested in seeing the Riviera - it doesn't call to me or tug at the heart strings.

I think I've found something I really would enjoy and I'm currently working on it. I can do a train journey. I was looking at the Man in Seat 61 for something (forget what it was now), but found something I think would be great and I'm sure I'll enjoy it a heck of a lot more than seven nights in Paris or looking at battlefields. Don;t get me wrong, I would really enjoy seeing the battlefields, but when I weigh it up, I think I will enjoy the now, more so than the before. I could go to Italy by train from London via the Gotthard Pass through the Swiss Alps. Spend a night in Zurich and well I haven't worked the rest out yet. But I like trains and holidays and experiences aren't just about being in a place, it's all about the journey. I forgot one of the most important things - it is not the stars, or the moon, the towns or many roads you travel...the journey is the destination. This was what was missing - the journey.

19. Great War Battlefield sites - Ypres, Flanders and the Somme

With tomorrow being Remembrance Day, I would like to see the WWI Battlefields of the Somme and Flanders Fields in Belgium and being in Paris next year gives me the opportunity to do this. With this in mind, I have been searching for day tours from Paris. I found one company that does this but they aren't cheap.

Cityrama have day tours to both the Somme and Flanders departing from Paris. The one to Flanders is (from) $292.13 and only runs on Thursdays. Although Cityrama offer two tours to the Somme, only this tour would be suitable because it includes the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux whereas the other one doesn't. It runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and costs (from) $257.01. They aren't cheap and adding them together, I'd be looking at $549.14 at least. I have an idea the price quoted is US dollars which equates to $585.37 Australian. A lot of money, plus I'd have to alter my accommodation and stay extra nights in Paris. Add an extra 65 euro per night with two nights extra, that's 130 euro - $185.25 plus the tours is $734.19. Way too much for someone on a budget.

The alternative is to either skip one of the tours and do just one, or get the Eurostar to Amiens, stay two nights and do a local tour. Alternatively I could go from London to Bruges, stay two nights and do a local Flanders tour. I found a tour company based in Bruges which offer a Flanders tour and a tour of the Somme as well. I'll have to find that website again and look into it.

Tours to WWI Battlefields
Some of the websites I found do tours from Flanders and Lille. I am putting them here for future reference as it's easier to just click on the links than go searching again.

Flanders Fields Tours
In Flanders Fields - The battlefields of the Great War
Flanders Fields Battlefield Daytours
Salient Tours
Travel advice on visiting the battlefields - Battlefield Guide Books
True Blue Digger Tours
Battlefield Tours - Visit Ypres, Somme and Flanders (expensive 810 euro, around $1100)
Battlefield Tours From Paris | Paris Insiders Guide
Flanders Battlefield Tour
Visit Flanders