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I am planning a trip to Italy this coming January. My plan is to land by plane in Roma and then go to France by train/bus stopping in some Northern Italian cities on the way, enjoying the architecture, the atmosphere, the art and and the food.

I want to do it at my own pace, without heavy scheduling. Ideally, I would just decide which cities to visit, and take a train whenever I feel it. I often do this here in South Korea where I am living, taking advantage of the "standing seats" as it is called here, that is travelling (for a cheap price and no reservation) standing on the romm between two cars. From my experience, it is also doable in Taiwan (at least in some trains).

In France, regional trains usually does not need any reservation, so you can buy a ticket and take the train whenever you want.

Can I expect a similar system in Italy, that is a way to make short travels between close cities without reservation?

Example of "short travel": Pisa - Firenze.

JoErNanO
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Taladris
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1 Answers1

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Usual regional (not highspeed) trains don't require (or offer) reservations;
so yes, you can just go there, buy a ticket, and enter the train.

However, the South Korean "standing seat" system (if I understood it correctly) is not known here. With reservation, you'll have a guaranteed seat; and without reservation, you may have to stand (anywhere) or you're lucky and find an empty, unreserved seat. There are no lower prices for people refraining from using seats at all.

For many high-speed trains (ES Frecciarossa/Frecciargento/Frecciabianca, InterCity), seat reservations are mandatory. For Pisa-Firenze, this won't be a problem, there are many regional trains (I'm not even sure if there are non-regional trains at all). If you need/want to take a high-speed train somewhere, usually it's still no problem to buy the ticket right before entering; most trains are not sold out. However, buying in advance is probably cheaper.

deviantfan
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