3 Days 2 Nights 

2300km

3 Countries

Follow our trip from London all the way to Rome using only trains.

This itinerary shows how quickly you can cover 2300km completely flight free. Depending on your own timescale, it is even possible to do it in two days. Otherwise it could be stretched out even more to allow a leisurely tour of the France and Italy.

Our departure was on a thursday. We arrived at the Eurostar terminal in St. Pancras International station mid morning. Passing through the security and passport control was quick and easy and we were soon on the train with all bags and children accounted for. 

We departed at 11:30, in our comfortable Eurostar seats. It wasn’t long before we disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel and a while later we reappeared into sunlight and fields.  

At 13:00 we arrived into Paris and we entered into the main hall of Gare du Nord.  Milky sage columns pin up the papery ceiling that glowed under the August sun. Bunting hung over our heads in celebration of the olympics that were mid swing.

Out onto the streets that were ours for the afternoon. We planned to walk the 5 km to Gare Austelitz where we would catch our night train that evening. An adage of ours is that any estimated time taken to walk with young children should be tripled, with plenty on snack bribes – and that is exactly how we did it.  

We hoped for a late lunch and found Brasserie Dubillot on the map, it was trailed with great reviews. The kids were getting hangry and refusing to walk. We arrived on the mosaic doorstep and peered in to find a smiling waiter holding a tray of glasses. Each icy cocktail dripped in condensation against the summer and the herb garnishes balanced on top. In my broken french I asked for a table for four but they were not serving food until 19:00, 2 hours away! We had fallen into the barren time between lunch and dinner. Luckily we noticed a tiny crepe shop across the road. We refuelled there instead. I hadn’t planned a specific route to the station so we just walked in the general direction towards the river.

We passed the Para-olympics opening ceremony and Notre Dame, and crossed a split in the river at Ile-Saint Louis. We dropped down to the riverside of Rive Gauche. People sat on the steps that lined the river. Women who sat alone in the company of a book, groups sharing food and couples tangled in one another lazily walking the banks. Boats regularly passed under the bridges and the tourists exchanged waves with the people who watched on.

Along the paved banks of Quai Saint-Bernard we noticed found sunken semi-circles. Called the Arenes, an area of liberation where people come together to be together and dance.

This side of the river had the ambience of the classical bohemia of Paris.

Another few hundred meters and we found a play park where the kids fell immediately into place. No language barriers in play. We relaxed while they ran around and laughed on a spinning disk. As it span like a vinyl record they clung on with their little fingers and giggled uncontrollably.

At 18.30 arrived in Gare du Austelitz, the station was undergoing a lot of work but we managed to find a sandwich bar where I picked up hot goats cheese and sugo paninis for our dinner on the train. After using the toilets in the station, we boarded our Intercite Nuit sleeper train at 19:30.

It was dusty old train, the smell took me straight back to the village hall where I went to girl guides 28 years before. We had booked out all the beds in our 6 berth couchette in order to have some privacy after being on the go all day.

We all got a good night of sleep and the following morning my partner and I woke up well before our sleepy boys. My partner found the on board shop that sold chocolate cake and coffee. We sat and watched the fields in the morning sun speeding by.

In Nice we got off the train to walk towards a boulangerie with hopes to take a something delicious for lunch on our next train. We found some eclairs and filled baguettes. The boulangerie was full of older locals buying their bread – a fail proof measurement of quality.

We had a couple of rounds of coffees in the AB Cafe a couple of doors down. We drank Perrier water and cappuccinos dusted with cacao. The kids entertained themselves twisting the handles on a football table. My youngest could barely see over the frame.

Setting off at 13:00 on the regional train, we ate out picnic on the way to Ventimiglia, our 1.5 hour journey. The tracks took us all along the coast, we could see the fresh waters of the beach. Glistening in the sun.

Ventimiglia was just a quick stop off to change trains, there was just enough time to get a coffee in a local bar and buy some fresh focaccia Genovese.

At 15.10 we jumped on the Intercity train took us to Milan. We had a table and we could comfortably draw and colour with the kids. My littlest fell asleep on my lap and my eldest drew whales and sharks. The landscape altered outside out the window as we climbed into hills towards Milan. The kids become quickly accustomed and comfortable on trains, in fact after each break we all looked forward to sitting back down in our train seat.

My children are still children though and I will not claim that it was always easy! They are very active and excitable kids and there were moments when my husband and I had to invent games on the hop to calm the situation! But overall, the pace of the trip was perfect and we felt that we saw, experienced and tasted so many new and exciting experiences.

Our train arrived in Milan Centrale was hot despite it being late. Our eyes were drawn up to the high ceilings, the vast hall is painted with frescoes and our jaws dropped open at the grandness.

Our final night train departed from Porta Garibaldi Station which is a 20 minute walk away; nearly an hour with our kids! Passing the skateboarders in the piazza we stopped at a restaurant that for a real meal. Some hot food and a glass of red wine to prepare us for our last leg of the journey. In the morning we would be home. The meal was perfect and the waiter was friendly with the children, we felt at home to be back in Italy as the culture adjusted back to what we know, and the ease that comes with returning to your (children’s) language. 

Our final night train was with Intercity Notte. The boys were a little bit tired and they were a little bit scatty at this point, using some regulation techniques they calmed into sleep. We were relieved to be on the Intercity Notte as the coaches that we have used have been new and clean and comfortable. We were nearly home.

On the station platform in Rome we sat listening to the cicadas in the August humidity, at 6.30 in the morning. We had made it. Back at home, the children immediately gathered their toy railway to recreate our trip.