Innsbruck to Venezia / Venice / Venedig by train

How to take the fabulous rail journey from The Tyrol in Austria to the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice

Step on board for one of Europe's most fabulous journeys by train.

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Routes

From Innsbruck Hbf to Venezia Santa Lucia/Venice S. L.

Travel Information

Final Destination: Venezia S.L./Venedig - the German spelling of Venezia is 'Venedig'.

These trains also call at: Verona and Vicenza and Padova/Padua

Arriving in Venice/Venezia:

The train will call at Venezia-Mestre station before it reaches its final destination at Venezia S. Lucia station.
If you're heading to the historical heart of Venice/Venezia take care not to leave the train at Venezia-Mestre.

Mon-Fri = 1 x train per day
Sat/Sun = 2 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date

When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for a direct EC train; they usuallly depart from Innsbruck at 13:24 daily or at 09:24 on Sat/Sun only.

If you're heading to the historic heart of Venezia/Venice/Venedig then take care to book tickets to Venezia S.Lucia station and not to Venezia Mestre.

Trenitalia does not seemingly sell discounted tickets for this journey.

Seat Reservations:

When booking online on OBB a €3 price will be added to the shopping basket; you need to accept this price.
It is the cost of the mandatory seat reservation that is required when travelling by these trains from Austria into Italy.

Rail pass users should make these reservations at the Reisenzentrum desk in Innsbruck Hbf prior to boarding.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
OBB from €29

OBB Guide

OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.

It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.

OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.

Trainline from €29

Trainline Guide

SaveATrain from €29

SaveATrain Guide

Happyrail from €29

Happyrail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesMountain viewsCoastal views

Good to Know

There isn't a direct overnight rail service from Innsbruck to Venezia/Venice, as the sleeper trains from Munich/Munchen to northern Italy take a completely different route to the daytime services.

Heading south from Innsbruck Heading south from Innsbruck
North of Brennero in winter North of Brennero in winter
North of Brennero in summer North of Brennero in summer
Near Brennero from the left of the train Near Brennero from the left of the train
North of Trento North of Trento
Crossing the lagoon to S. Lucia station #1 Crossing the lagoon to S. Lucia station #1
Crossing the lagoon to S. Lucia station #2 Crossing the lagoon to S. Lucia station #2

The most incredible part of the journey is that between Innsbruck and the border at Brennero.

And as can be seen in that video, the best of the views on this part of the train ride can be seen on the right.

Between Brennero and Verona the railway route primarily travels through a massive valley, by the River Adige and on this part of the journey, there are some great views to be had from either side of the train.

But the reason why ShowMeTheJourney featured this particular train ride on our Best Express Train Journeys list, is because it doesn't solely feature the incredible passage through the Alps; it also concludes with a flourish!
In order to reach journey's end at Venezia S. Lucia station, the train has to cross the Venetian lagoon.

So as there won't be any hurry to leave the train on arrival, ShowMeTheJourney recommends savoring every last moment by remaining in your seat until you pull into the station.

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This is one of more than 1000 journey guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.