Travelling in Italia is a fascinating experience. Every corner turned reveals a medieval castle, a Renaissance palazzo, a dramatic alpine vista, a stone-built town clinging to a mountainside or picturesque country house amidst the rolling foothills of the Apennine Mountains. These mountains form the spine of Italy, and include Mt Vesuvius continuing into the Mediterranean to give Sicily its Mt Etna, and the Aeolian islands, their Mt Stromboli.
Most of you will see Italy from a train or bus. There are over 7000 trains running each day and, in addition, every city and town has a network of local buses and long distance coaches. Ferries, large and small, will take you to islands such as Capri and Elba as well as the island regions of Sicily and Sardinia. In this lesson, you'll learn about the ins and outs of Italy's comprehensive public transport system so that you can go where you please in Italia.
Train travel
Types of trains (tipi di treni):
Eurocity (EC) and EuroNight (EN) - intercontinental connection with Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Budapest.
Eurostar (ES) and Intercity (IC) - fast train between Italy's major cities. You need to pay a supplemento rapido - an extra charge - when you travel on these trains and prenotare un posto - reserve a seat - on Eurostar (ES*) trains. Eurostar trains are all high speed trains, very comfortable but more expensive.
Rapido (R) - a long distance express train but be careful of the Espresso trains!
Espresso (E) - stops at all the major stations, so it is slower than the Rapido!
Inter-Regionale (IR) - travels between regions and sometimes is in service only on weekends and holiday periods.
Regionale Diretto (D)- travels at faster speeds than the Locale and stops at fewer stations; this train travels within a region and bordering regions e.g. In Tuscany or between Tuscany and Umbria; and indicates that there is no need to change trains to reach the final destination.
Regionale Locale (L) - slow train which stops at every station within a region e.g. from Florence to Siena, it stops at all stations in between, even the tiniest towns.
To understand information about trains, you need to know the following expressions:
treni in arrivo - arrivals
treni in partenza - departures
binario - platform
in orario - on time
in ritardo - delayed
To find information about trains at the station, make sure you:
- Check the electronic boards
- Read the information boards on the platforms
- Listen carefully for announcements as there can be last minute platform changes, late arrival of trains or even strikes (lo sciopero)!
Urban transport
In big cities, like Roma, Milano and Genova, bus, metro and tram tickets are valid for a certain period of time e.g. 75 minutes, so you can get on and off as many times as you wish within the period indicated on the ticket. The same ticket will allow you to use all three types of public transport within the one city. When in Rome, you can buy a special B.I.T. ticket which offers a full day’s travel on buses, metro and trams.
Bus tickets (i biglietti dell’autobus) must be purchased before boarding the bus. It is a good idea to purchase several tickets if you plan to stay in a city for more than one day. Tickets can be purchased at:
il giornalaio or l’edicola - newspaper kiosk
la tabaccheria - tobacconists
il bar - some bars
il capolinea - bus terminals
bus company kiosks (green)
In some cities, you can purchase bus tickets from the driver but you must have the correct change and the cost of the ticket is often doubled.
The types of buses you can catch include l’autobus (an orange city bus) or il pullman (a coach - usually blue - which is used for travel out of the urban area).
At the bus stop (la fermata dell’autobus), board the bus via front door and rear doors, above which is written ‘entrance’ (l’entrata) and descend the bus via the central door, above which is written ‘exit’ (l’uscita).
Travelling in Italy - useful phrases
C’è un treno per Roma?
Is there a train to Rome?
Quando parte il treno per Roma?
When does the train to Rome leave?
Parte alle dieci.
It leaves at ten o'clock.
Quando arriva a Roma?
When does it arrive in Rome?
Arriva alle tre.
It arrives at three.
Che tipo di treno è?
What kind of train is it?
Devo cambiare treno?
Do you have to change trains?
Quanto costa un biglietto di solo andata per Roma?
How much is a single ticket to Rome?
Quanto costa un biglietto di andata e ritorno per Roma?
How much is a return ticket to Rome?
Vorrei un biglietto di solo andata per Roma.
I'd like a single ticket to Rome.
Vorrei un biglietto di andata e ritorno per Roma.
I'd like a return ticket to Rome.
Da che binario parte il treno per Roma?
What platform does the train to Rome leave from?
Buon viaggio!
Have a good trip!