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Venezia / Venice / Venedig to Milano / Milan / Mailand by train
How to take a rail journey from Venice/Venezia to Milan/Milano
Now that the first stage of the Venezia to Milano high speed line has opened west of Brescia, the rail service between Venice/Venezia and Milan/Milano is provided by
- high speed 'Frecce' trains operated by the national rail company, Trenitalia
- high speed Italo trains
- EuroCity (EC) trains which be travelling on to Switzerland (these trains don't use the high speed line).
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Routes
Option 1: taking the Frecce and EC trains
Journey Summary
2hr 25min (Frecce trains); 2hr 37min (EC trains)
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Milano Centrale or Genova or Geneve or Zurich
All trains also call at: Venezia Mestre and Verona and Brescia
All trains also call at: Peschiera del Garda and or Desenzano del Garda
The service of high speed (AV) trains between Milano and Venezia/Venice is split between these 'Frecce' trains operated by Trenitalia and other, less frequent departures, by Italo trains.
See the 'Ticket Information' below for details of how you can compare these services, when looking up this journey on the ticket agents.
In addition to these Frecce trains which be heading to Milano Centrale, there are two morning Frecce trains which call at Milano Porta Garibaldi station on route to Torino/Turin.
These trains
The Frecciarossa andFrecciarossa 1000 trains have now completely replaced the Frecciabianca trains on this service, since the opening of the high speed line (that these trains use) between Brescia and Milano.
Two departures per day are by train and two other daily departures are by the new type of Frecciargento E700 train.
There are also 2 x EC trains per day from Milano Centrale to Venezia. S Lucia that are usually scheduled to depart daily at 16:18 and 17:18.
They're around 10 mins slower than these Frecce trains because they don't use the high-speed line between Milano and Brescia,
Frecce trains:
Mon-Sat 6 x trains per day
Sunday: 5 x trains
EC trains:
2 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date
If you're heading from the historic heart of Venice/Venezia, then take care to select Venezia S. Lucia as the the Departure station.
If you will be using an agent check that they are making a booking from Venezia S. Lucia and NOT from Venezia Mestre station.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months* ahead of the travel date.
The train service between Venice/Venezia and Milano is provided by:
(1) these Frecce trains, which are operated by Trenitalia, and the EC trains
(2) alternative Italo trains, which are less frequent, but often cheaper.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.
If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking, the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on with Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee..
Rail Pass Users:
If you will be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you will need to reserve prior to boarding these trains, either at the station (using a Trenitalia ticket machine or ticket desk) OR by booking them online.
How to book the rail pass reservations online is included on our guide to using rail passes in Italy.
Note that rail passes are not valid on the alternative Italo trains.
Rail pass users can avoid the €10 rail pass reservation fees on these Frecce trains, by taking
(1) An RGV train from Venice to Verona, and then (2) a train on from Verona to Milan.
There are now no direct Regionale Veloce trains from Venice to Milan.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| ItaliaRail | from €19.90 | |
| Trenitalia | from €19.90 | |
| Trainline | from €19.90 | |
| Omio | from €19.90 | |
| SaveATrain | from €19.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
The railway route between and Venice/Venezia and Milano is typically very popular with tourists, so as a consequence of the global pandemic, the train service has been (temporarily) reduced quite dramatically on this route, particularly in the morning when only two departures to Milano Centrale are now scheduled
The final direct Frecce train from Venezia S. Lucia for Milano Centrale is currently departing at 16:48, but there is a later Italo train (see below) at 18:57.
Like all departures from Venice one of the highlights of the journey comes at the very beginning of the trip, as the train heads out over the lagoon to the mainland - with the best of the views on the right.
This video was taken from a train arriving in Venice S. Lucia.
Then after Padova, also on the right of the train, on a clear day, there are distant views of the Alps.
If you're on the right of the train (when facing the direction of travel) keep a look out after Desenzano for a fleeting, but incredible view of Lake Garda (weather permitting).
Option 2: taking the Italo trains
Journey Summary
2hr 25min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Milano Centrale
All trains also call at: Venezia Mestre and [Verona] (/train-travel-info/countries/italy/cities/verona/rail-stations/verona-porta-nuova/) and Peschiera del Garda and Desenzano del Garda and Brescia
The service of high speed (AV) trains between Venezia/Venice and Milano is split between 'Frecce' trains operated by Trenitalia and these Italo trains.
See the 'Ticket Information' below for details of how you can compare these services, when looking up this journey on the ticket agents
6 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 5 months ahead of the travel date
The train service between Venezia/Venice and Milano is provided by:
(1) more frequent Frecce/EC trains
(2) THESE Italo trains
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but these Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking, the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on with Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
Rail passes are not valid on the Italo trains.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Italo | from €9.90 | |
| Omio | from €10 | |
| Trainline | from €9.90 | |
| Happyrail | from €9.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
These trains take the same route as the Frecce and EC trains.
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