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Paris to Milano / Milan / Mailand by train
How to take a train journey from Paris to Milano/Milan
The overnight train service between Paris and Milano has been sadly withdrawn so travelling by the day on a through the Alps is now the only option for a direct Paris to Milan rail journey.
However, some positive news for this route is that Italy's national rail company, Trenitalia has introduced its ultra smart Frecciarossa 1000 trains to this route.
So along with the existing and continuing TGV services, an unprecedented five daily trains are now available from the French capital to northern Italy
Though when looking up this journey on the ticket agents, you'll also likely see other daytime options with connections between trains in Basel, Geneva, Lausanne or Zurich.
If you'll be happy to change trains and the connections are easily timed (more than 30 mins ideally) and the price is competitive then these other options are definitely worth considering.
The journey from any of those Swiss cities to Milan will also be more scenic than this route.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the TGV trains
Journey Summary
7hr 6min
Daily
Travel Information
Note that these trains depart from the Gare De Lyon in Paris.
They typically leave at
- 06:39 daily
- 09:43 on Sat/Sun
- 12:39 on Mon to Fri
- 14:45 daily
Final Destination: Milano P. Garibaldi (the 'Frecce; trains arrive at a different station in Milan)
All trains also call at: Modane, Bardonecchia, Oulx-Cesana-Claviere-Sestriere, Torino Porta Susa and Novara
The 'Frecce' trains don't call at Bardonecchia, Oulx-Cesana-Claviere-Sestriere and Novara.
Arriving in Milano:
Milano Centrale is the main station in Milano used by long distance trains, but the TGVs from Paris arrive at the city's main rail commuter hub, Milano Porta Garibaldi.
This station has rail links across the greater Milano area, as well as Metro links to the city centre and Milano Centrale station.
Connections in Torino:
Though the TGV which usually departs Paris at 12:39 offers connections at Torino Porta Susa into these Frecce departures:
- 18:50 to Brescia, Verona, Vicenza, Padova, Venezia Mestre and Trieste
- 19:10 to Bologna, Firenze and Roma.
3 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date; usually (the booking window can be shorter in Oct-Nov).
If tickets aren't on sale yet for your travel date, then this is a journey for which it's worth signing up to the ticket availability notification service on Oui.SNCF.
Do that and you'll receive an email within moments of the tickets being released for sale.
It's worth making an effort as this is a journey on which the very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly fast.
When looking for tickets on Oui.SNCF tick the 'direct trains' box; on Trainline tick the 'fastest journeys' box.
The price is dictated by demand per departure, so book ahead and try and be flexible re: your departure and arrival times.
The Oui.SNCF (French national railways website) will indicate the cheapest price per day, click on this and you will be shown the departures on which this price is available.
There can be particularly big discrepancies per departure on this route.
Rail Pass Users:
If you have an InterRail or Eurail pass, these TGV France-Italy trains are at the top of the most expensive rail pass reservation fees charts.
As the rail pass reservation fees are more expensive than the discounted tickets, which will be available for this journey, you can save money by not using your rail pass on this trains and by booking tickets instead.
Definitely don't pay the reservation fee until you have checked the ticket prices on these TGVs and on the new Frecce services; and also don't leave it until the last minute before arranging reservations on this route.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trainline | from €29 | |
| SNCF Connect | from €29 | |
| Save A Train | from €29 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
The TGV heading to Milano will often be joined to another TGV heading to a different destination on departure from Paris.
So don't be surprised, when looking at the departure displays at Paris Gare De Lyon, if you see a train departing at the same time and from the same voie (track/platform) as the train heading to Milano.
This other train will also have a different Train number.
You won't have to worry about boarding the wrong part of the train - your seat will have been assigned in the train heading to Milano.
The TGVs making the journeys to Italy also spell out where they will be heading to on the exterior of the coaches.
When boarding in Paris the train heading to Milano will be the front train, so you'll have to walk some way along the voie (platform/track).
Journey Description
This is, in our humble opinion, one of the most exciting journeys you can take on European express trains.
We love the mix of high speed travel and stunning Alpine scenery
Aside from the wow factor of the speed, most high speed train journeys aren't scenically interesting, when high speed lines pass through hills and mountains, they tend to dive into tunnels.
The journey becomes a lot more scenic once the train leaves the high speed line behind - and that's what makes this journey so exceptional the alpine views from a TGV train don't get better than this!
The Paris to Milan train journey has three distinct parts.
(1) First is the high speed line out of Paris.
(2) Then comes a passage through the western Alps with great views, particularly from the left of the train (when facing the direction of travel).
(3) Finally there comes the journey between Torino and Milano, on which these trains do not take the high speed line between the two cities.
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Option 2: taking the Frecce trains
Journey Summary
6hr 42min - 7hr 4min
Daily
Travel Information
Two Frecciarossa 1000 trains per day in each direction have been added to the Paris ↔ Milano route via Lyon, Chambery, Modane and Torino/Turin.
Heading south they depart daily from the Gare de Lyon in Paris at:
- 07:25 - arrives Torino Porta Susa at 13:18 and Milano Centrale at 14:07.
- 15:12 - arrives Torino Porta Susa at 21:20 and Milano Centrale at 22:07.
Connections in Milano
The 07:25 from Paris connects with these other Frecce services on from Milano:
- 14:30 to Bologna, Roma, Salerno, Lamezia Terme, Villa S. Giovanni and Reggio di Calabria
- 14:45 to Verona, Vicenza, Padova and Venezia/Venice.
- 15:00 to Bologna and Roma
- 15:10 to Genova, Savona, Albenga and San Remo
Milano Centrale also has Regionale services to Brescia, Bergamo, Parma and Modena.
2 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months* ahead of the travel date
Frecciarossa 1000 trains on the domestic routes within Italy convey 4 classes of accommodation, but the Standard Premier service is not available on this international route.
Also 'Allegro' has been introduced as the branding for the Business Class, SMTJ isn't certain as to the reason for this, other than to make a distinction with the tickets on the domestic routes.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trenitalia | from €25 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
These Frecce trains take the same route as the TGV trains, except for;
- they leave the Paris to Lyon high speed line slightly earlier so that they can travel through Lyon
- they travel on the high speed line between Torino and Milano.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
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