Hi All,

Has anybody ever tried to take the train from Zurich to Rome. I'm planning to go there in the Easter Holiday, just wanted to hear if anybody had any experiences they could share about taking the train. Anybody know the cost for a return ticket. I'm planning to travel there Thursday afternoon and go back Monday afternoon, but might consider taking the night train

Also, anybody had experiences with good hotels in Rome close to the central station?

Thanks for sharing!

I would have thought getting an hotel in Rome over the Easter period will be very difficult at this late stage .

Hi there! I've taken the train (EuroNight Luna) from Olten to Rome, the entire ride took about 11 hours - but I did not really realize that because I was sound as sleep for about 9 hours We were 2 people in a room with a double decker bed. The beds were comfortable and clean, and the room was in order, although it was small and quite old. There's also a sink inside the room, the toilets are outside though. Breakfast was included (coffee and soft bread). We paid around CHF 600+ for 2 people (return ticket), we both have yearly GAs.
Overall it was a nice experience and I would take the train again the next time I go to Rome.

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I went to Rome a few years ago over Easter, and I really wouldnt recommend it. Its just too crowded. The
queues for the Vatican are a mile long, be prepared to stand in a line for a few hours. Same goes for the Collosiuem. We stayed in a hotel near the train station, the hotel was overpriced and awful.

Two of my sisters and I took a train from Zurich to Florence, then Rome and finally Milan and then back to Zurich last spring. It was a good experience overall with the cabins. Passport checking was onboard. Bring some earplugs if you're sensitive to locomotive movement noise and occasional passenger chat. Night train is good if you can easily sleep anywhere, even with the train movement.

Sorry can't remember exactly how much it cost, altogether roughly CHF350 for me, with my Halbtax card applicable for the Zurich-Milan-Zurich sectors.

Cheap hotels near Roma Termini (main train station) are quite expensive and not that clean. Splurge a bit and you'll probably get something worth your while. I used hrs.de and got a place just outside Rome accessible by Metro subway. Florence was much better value for money in terms of hotels.

i imagine rome over easter would be insanely busy and would recommend another time-also make sure you check the exact location of the hotel too as i booked one "in the centre" which was a 20 minute taxi away for anything..
oh and i remember queueing for the collosieum for about an hour also, and eventually when i did get in i found it was in an appalling state - bits of walls missing, rocks on the floor, no roof and generally very old looking. Avoid at all costs.

Area around Termini is not the most salubrious in Rome. I would recommend going somewhere else, if possible.

Having said that, we stayed here for one night http://www.hotelmadisonrome.com/en/index.htm back in 2001 and it was OK.

I've been to Rome over Easter too. Very crowed, but waited less than an hour for the Vatican, and for the museum we turned up 1.5 hours before closing and walked straight in.

Watch out for the pickpockets - especially on the busses (Bus #64 in particular - Google it.). They scr*wed up my dad's visit to Rome. Keep some spare money back at the hotel or in another pocket.

Hi, I was thinking of doing the same thing but my Swiss neighbour advised against it. I'm still thinking of it, however and there are many fairly cheap b&bs on this website-b&bair. Let me know how your plans go.