Get on track for an Italian rail escape

There is no better time than spring to see the best of this beautiful country – so start planning now, says Tim Jepson

Days in Rome are balmy and blueskied. Tuscany’s hills have a shading of fresh green. Poppies dot Puglia’s ancient olive groves, camellias bloom in villa gardens and lemon blossom scents Amalfi’s medieval streets.

Spring is glorious in most places, but especially in Italy, where its reach is long – from early April in the warm south to late June in the flower-covered meadows of the high Alps – and looking ahead to its embrace is never more heartening than when deep in the grip of the British bleak mid-winter. It’s a wonderful time to travel, but especially if you are on a train, either moving between towns and cities, where temperatures are perfect for urban sightseeing, or rolling through countryside – Umbria’s pastoral hills, say, or the wild interior of Sicily – that is at its seasonal best.

There was a time, of course, when train travel in Italy was a challenge. Quaint, yes, but often ramshackle, unreliable and crowded. Those days are long gone. Local, rural trains can still be quaint – but in a good way – while highspeed services between Italy’s major cities, along with online booking procedures, are as good as any in Europe.

Italy is made for rail travel, thanks to the lie of the land and that famous shape: you can cover long north-tosouth distances quickly on flat coastal main lines, or travel from west to east – Turin, Milan, Verona, Venice – across the plains of the Po.

But then it pays to pause and meander along little regional lines, from the network that links the Italian Lakes and the valleys of the Alps, or the scenic rural railways that thread through the likes of Umbria, Tuscany, Abruzzo, Sicily and Puglia.

Below we have outlined three itineraries between key Italian cities – not on high-speed, non-stopping services but rather using slower trains that take in less well-known but nevertheless first-rank towns filled with art, food, architecture, culture and other temptations associated with Italy.

It is easy to plan and execute Italian rail trips under your own steam. Italians are generally helpful and have more than enough English to point you towards the railway station. Travel in spring and you will also enjoy less crowded cities and often better rates in hotels.

But if you want someone to do the booking for you, or to be on the spot throughout to smooth your journey, we have listed several tour operators which specialise in tailor-made or small-group escorted rail journeys.