Interrail Italy - explore Italy with our loop route: London to Italy and back

Home Italian Escape: 3 Weeks

Duration

21 Nights

Reviews

Transport

Take off on an amazing 3 week trip exploring 6 of Italy’s biggest cities with our Italian Escape interrailing route! This particular route is 22 days long, involving 19 nights in your accommodation, and two spent on night trains. Journeys vary in length from a few hours to a full day or night’s travel.

Route

London
Paris
Milan
La Spezia
Rome
Sorrento
Florence
Venice
Paris
London

Start your trip on Eurostar from St Pancras

Paris view

Parisian memories

The stylish streets of Milan

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan, Italy

Colourful Cliffside in Cinque Terre

Trevi Fountain, Rome

Colosseum, Rome

Enjoy awesome Amalfi coast sunsets

Sorrento, Amalfi Coast

Florence's bridges

Duomo, Florence

Aerial view of Florence

Doge's Palace, Venice

Venice Gondola Ride

Trip Style

Fancy getting to see Italy’s biggest cities with a few lesser-visited destinations thrown in for good measure? With the Italian Escape, we’ll take you all the way there from the UK and back by rail so you won’t have to worry about arranging any flights! From Milan to Rome, and Florence to Venice, you’ll see the best of what Italy has to offer with our Italian Escape interrailing route! With at least 2 nights in each destination, you’ll get a great idea of what each city is about, whilst having time to spare for a few day trips away. Feel free to choose this trip as it is, or get in touch with us to tweak your route!

Trip Description

Viva Italia!

If you’re travelling from the UK, make things easier on yourself and start your trip from your local coach or train station before heading to London on an Italian train adventure. With a little pit-stop in Paris, you’ll get to wake up to phenomenal views of The City of Lights! Stroll around Parisian Montmartre with its Bohemian artist community and pretty red-canopied cafes. Go classic with the iconic sights of the Louvre, Notre Dame and, of course, the Eiffel Tower! If you’ve seen it all before, head to the Pompidou Centre for your modern art fix, or sip on cocktails around Quai de Jemmapes. We promise that your bank account won’t suffer too much!

Next, you’ll hop onto a sleeper train to the fashion capital of Milan! Marvel at the stunning Duomo and shop until you drop in the city of design. Don’t forget to head to a little al fresco bar to soak up the views with a spritz, before travelling to the stunning city of La Spezia.

On to your next destination, you’ll spend a couple of days in the picturesque port town of La Spezia. Not only is this a quaint town in its own right, but it’s also the perfect hub to take a day trip to Cinque Terre! If you do decide to head there, be sure to take advantage of the chance to take in the bright and colourful higgledy-piggledy houses climbing the craggy seaside cliffs of each town.

Next on the agenda is a trip to magnificent Rome! Soak up the Italian dolce vita in the cosmopolitan capital and one of the world’s most photogenic cities. The Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain and Castel Sant’Angelo, are all dead-cert must-sees, of course! When night falls, the city really comes alive… Head to any of the city’s many unique clubs and jazz bars, and you’ll be guaranteed a great night!

Carry on to Sorrento for rugged coastlines peppered with sandy beaches and the occasional ethereal cove to explore. Here, you’ll find plenty of Insta-worthy views, tasty traditional dishes, and mind-blowingly good limoncello to sip on…and that’s without even mentioning the lively nightlife! With 3 nights here, you’ll easily have time to take a quick trip to Pompeii or Mount Vesuvius, too!

After a couple of days in Sorrento, Florence is your next stop. You’ll explore the awe-inspiring sights awaiting you in the birthplace of Italian Renaissance first-hand in no time at all! Although Florence is a real haven for artistic inspiration, it’s also just a short distance from Tuscany’s plentiful vineyards. It’d be rude not to take full advantage of a full afternoon of wine-tasting in the Mediterranean sun!

Next up, you’ll head across the lagoon of Venice in style. Take a vaporetto down the Grand Canal, or splash out on a gondola through the city’s iconic labyrinth of medieval streets. Don’t let the party stop there, though – next up is a night train to Paris with another night to enjoy the French capital.

Finally, you’ll get to rest your weary bones on the Eurostar back to London; just say if you need us to arrange travel from London to your hometown – we’ll do what we can!

What's included?

All overland transport tickets from the first to the last city, as shown in the key.
Any Interrail or Eurail passes if required, based on the best value for you.
Compulsory seat reservations on high-speed rail, night trains or ferries.
Accommodation in top-rated, centrally located hostels or hotels, tested by us.
Walking directions between the stations and your booked accommodation.
Optional walking tours, pub crawls and other activities at our partner hostels.
A personalised travel booklet with maps, language guides, top tips, and more.
Access to your itinerary, tickets and documents on the Euroventure App.
Access to our 24hr emergency phone number while you’re away.

The Route

Itinerary

This 3 week Italian Escape route takes you around the wonders of Italy at a chilled pace, taking in 7 European cities in 22 days. Most of your journeys will have some flexibility, and you’ll travel during the day except for two night trains. You’ll have a mix of shorter and longer trains, but don’t worry – we’ll always book times that allow you to make the most of each city.

London

London may be huge, but Central London can be walked all over, from the quirky pop-up stalls of the south bank to the glitz of the West End and out to Hyde Park. The buzzing cosmopolitan nature of the city probably makes it the most culturally diverse in the world.