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Wien / Vienna to Venezia / Venice / Venedig by train
How to take the rail journey from Vienna/Wien to Venice/Venezia
This journey by train from Vienna/Wien to Venice/Venezia is near the top of Europe's must do journeys by train lists.
The two beautiful cities are connected by top tier day and night trains and the route between them is stunning!
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Routes
Option 1: travel by day
Journey Summary
7hr 40min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Venedig\Venezia St Lucia
Venedig is the German spelling of Venezia/Venice, so if you see Venedig on the departure screens at Wien Hbf then the info will be for the train heading to Venezia/Venice.
The trains also call at: Wien-Meidling, Udine, and Venezia Mestre*
*Take care not to leave the train at Venezia Mestre station, if you are heading to the historic heart of Venezia.
Remain on the train until it arrives at Venezia S.Lucia station.
2 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date*
*3 months ahead on Trenitalia
When booking more than 5 months ahead, if you only see 1st class tickets available for sale on OBB check back a few days later to see if the 'Sparscheine' 2nd class tickets have been added to the booking service.
These trains also call at Venezia Mestre before they arrive at Venezia St Lucia, which is the station in the historic heart of Venice/Venezia.
If you will be heading to historic Venice/Venezia take care when booking online, or using an agent, that your ticket is valid to Venezia St Lucia.
Booking agents can enter Wien > Venezia into their systems and see that journeys to Venezia Mestre are faster AND assume that you want to leave the train there.
Using Rail Passes:
The rules are different when using a rail pass to travel to Italy by these Railjets compared to travelling by Railjet to other destinations.
Rail pass users must pay a supplement of €15 in 1st class and €10 in 2nd class.
However, there are two elements to the rail pass supplement; the seat reservation and the rail pass surcharge for travelling on an express train in Italy.
You can pay the charges, which cover both elements by using the Eurail reservation service or the InterRail reservation service - though you will be charged a €2 booking fee per reservation, per person.
If you pay the supplement at a Reisezentrum travel desk at a major Austrian station, you won't pay the booking fee, but a seat reservation won't be included; and will cost an additional €3.50, as per the info on this page.
OR if you book a seat reservation on the OBB website the instructions are here, it won't include the supplement fees, so if you book the seat reservation on the OBB website, you can then either purchase the supplement from the train conductor; or prior to boarding, pay the supplement fee at a Reisezentrum travel desk.
Or there is an option for avoiding paying these rail pass fees on this route.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| OBB | from €29 | |
| Trenitalia | from €29 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
The first Railjet of the day isn't scheduled to arrive in Venice until 14:05, so if you would rather be there at around 08:25, you can take the overnight train.
One of the most spectacular parts of the journey is the passage on the The Semmeringbahn Railway, between Payerbach-Reichanau and Murzzuschlag.
So wonderful that it's a U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Site - though that's partially due to the construction methods and not just because of the scenery.
Though as the train travels over the Semmering Pass, the trackside vegetation tends to block the views, except when the trains are crossing the multiple viaducts
The best views can be seen from the left of the train (when facing the direction of travel) between Wiener Neustadt and Murzzuschlag.
This video gives a sense of the journey experience, on a grey day, it was filmed travelling in the opposite direction, towards Wien/Vienna.
This Semmering part of the route has led to this part of the journey being included on Far And Wide's list of the Most Remarkable Train Journeys in Europe.
However, its easier to appreciate the stunning landscape when the train travels between Leoben and Klagenfurt.
This is our favourite part of this train ride, there are sweeping vistas across valleys - some of which can be seen on the right....
...while other fabulous views are over on the left.
Other scenic highlights back over on the left of the train include the lake, the view of the beautiful Worthersee between Klagenfurt and Villach.
Then at journey's end comes the final flourish - the crossing of the lagoon into historic the heart of Venice.
If you will be travelling south of Villach by daylight there are also spectacular views of the jagged peaks of the Carnic Alps - though the light was fading by the time we came this way, hence the lack of images of this part of the route.
This is a journey when being in 1st class can pay off.
The views from the left of the train (when facing the direction of travel) are much better than those on the right.
But if your 1st class reserved seat is on the right, you'll have more chance of moving over to see the views on the left.
This journey is featured on the The Daily Telegraph's list of Best Rail Journeys to take in 2018.
Option 2: Travel through the night on a Nightjet
Journey Summary
11hr 7min
Nightly
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
The train conveys:
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
- Deluxe sleeping cars with showers (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Click the train info button below for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Rail Pass Users:
You can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
OR reservations can be arranged and paid for at the ÖBB Reisebüro desk in Wien Hbf - (ideally do this when you first arrive at Wien Hbf on the preceding train on your itinerary) or by calling OBB Customer Service (+43 5 1717).
Making the rail pass reservation online a minimum of a couple of weeks ahead of the travel date, is particularly recommended if you will be travelling between June and September.
If you wait until arriving in Wien/Vienna to reserve, your first choice of accommodation may have sold out.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| OBB | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
The train is usually scheduled to depart Wien Hbf at 21:27 and arrive in Venezia S. Lucia at 08:34.
The journey by daytime trains is beautiful, but the first train of the day isn't usually scheduled to arrive in Venice until 14:05
Final Destination: Venedig/Venezia S. Lucia
The train also calls at: Wien-Meidling, St Polten, Udine (arrives 06:23), Treviso (arrives 07:46) and Venezia Mestre*
*If you're heading to the historic heart of Venezia/Venice/Venedig, make sure your booking is valid to Venezia S. Lucia.
Take care not to leave the train at Venezia Mestre.
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