London to Lecce, and back again (with stops in Rome and Milan)

(We travelled in June 2019)

Part 1: London to Rome

Why are so many Italian policemen good-looking?

It’s just after 6am in Milano Centrale Station, and a rare chance to see this monumental building not packed with people. Three station police loiter hopefully outside the one coffee shop showing signs of opening up. A little later came another reminder of the importance of coffee to Italy: a soldier from the Operazione Strade Sicure (Safe Streets Exercise – an Italian military exercise which patrols public and tourist sites) with a massive machine gun tucked under one arm, delicately balancing three takeaway espresso cups in his free hand.

We’d arrived into Milan after an overnight journey from Paris on the sleeper train, eating a breakfast of pastries, juice and (of course) proper espresso as the sun rose over the rice fields on the approach to the city.

The sleeper from Paris is not perhaps the most comfortable one I’ve ever travelled on, but it’s a time-efficient way to get to Italy. We’d started our journey on the Eurostar to Paris the previous afternoon, before crossing Paris by metro to the Gare de Lyon to catch the Thello sleeper train. We allowed ourselves plenty of time in Paris, partly to avoid any stress, but also to give ourselves some time to spend in the Gare de Lyon’s magnificent restaurant, Le Train Bleu, and it’s adjoining bar.

Le Train Bleu puts you in mind of the grand era of rail travel, when luxurious trains like the Orient Express crossed Europe. Sadly, the Thello sleeper isn’t quite up this standard. Having been cancelled several times, it’s a wonder it’s running at all, and the current company is doing its best to make it work. Although the carriages are old, they’ve been refurbished, so they’re comfortable, if a bit cramped even by the standards of sleeper cars.  The staff are nice, the train arrived into Milan not just on time but slightly early, and you get a mini bottle of prosecco, some snacks and breakfast included in the price of the trip.

After an hour admiring the architecture in Centrale, we caught a Frecciarossa (red arrow) to Rome. These are the fastest and most modern of Italy’s three grades of high speed train (collectively known as Le Frecce, or the arrows), covering the roughly four hundred miles from Milan to Rome very smoothly, in a little under three hours, and they serve coffee which is ten times better than anything I have ever drunk on a British train. We arrived at Roma Termini Station on time, at just before 10am.

Practical advice for this journey:

*Changing stations in Paris is a bit irritating, but fairly simple. It’s two stops from the Gare du Nord (where the Eurostar arrives) to the Gare de Lyon on RER line D.

*The sleeper cars don’t have showers, although there is a sink in each compartment. Pack wet wipes and dry shampoo. (Toilets are at the end of each carriage).

*The compartment doors can only be locked from the inside, or by the train guard.

*Although you are given some bottled water, it’s probably worth taking extra, as the train water isn’t suitable for drinking (there are lots of shops in the Gare de Lyon).

*Frecciarossa trains have no less than four classes on board, we travelled in Business which is roughly equivalent to first class on British trains. For more info, see here: https://www.seat61.com/frecciarossa.htm).