Our family had a lovely journey on the Thello night train from Paris to Venice. My husband and I had each taken overnight trains as young backpackers in our 20s, and we were hesitant at first to travel on an overnight train as a family with kids ages 4, 8 and 10. But, we considered this travel option when researching how to get from Paris to Venice. We discovered a number of complications with the budget flights from Paris to Venice. Arriving in Venice at night is challenging because Airbnb hosts charge hefty late check in fees, and late arrivals also require an expensive water taxi ride into Venice. At €35 per person for a couchette with bedding, the cost of Thello tickets was a particularly affordable option, and the sleeper cabin looked much better than any I had taken during my backpacking days. The Thello night train also allowed us to travel from the city center of Paris to the city center of Venice without losing much valuable sightseeing time. The Thello sleeper train turned out to be a fun and convenient way to travel from Paris to Venice with kids.
A Trip on the Thello Night Train
Thello Train Booking
We booked our Thello tickets directly through Thello’s website. We printed our confirmation and brought it with us. We chose the smart fare, which is non-refundable and available as low as €29 per person.
Thello Train’s Gare de Lyon Departure
In order to prepare for our Thello night train’s departure at 7:10 p.m. from Paris’ Gare de Lyon, we condensed our family’s luggage into our large suitcase and one backpack before checking out of our Airbnb. We knew that it would be totally impractical to lug around our suitcase and backpack as we explored the Champs-Élysées, the Place de la Concorde and the Musée de l’Orangerie and knew luggage storage was essential. We did some research about area luggage storage and decided that it made the most sense to store our luggage at Gare de Lyon rather than near our Airbnb and have to return to the area before continuing on to the train station. We took the Metro to Gare de Lyon, and I waited with the kids inside the Metro station while my husband exited into the train station with the suitcase and backpack to the luggage storage facility we found online. After he safely stored the bags in a locker, he used another billet to get back into the station to meet us and continue on to the Arc de Triomphe.
We had an unforgettable, luggage-free day of sightseeing that included McDonald’s ice cream and Monet’s Waterlilies galleries, the two best rooms of art my sons have ever seen and not a roller suitcase. We returned to Gare de Lyon about an hour before our departure, picked up our luggage, purchased dinner and waited in the beautiful, bustling station, which was built for the 1900 World’s Fair.
We boarded our train upon its arrival on the platform. Even though my three year old did not have to pay to ride the train if she used existing seats, we did not think that we could comfortably have two people share a couchette in one of the four person sleeper cabin. So, we chose to book all the couchettes in a six person sleeper cabin at €35 per seat to make sure that no other passengers were placed with our family of five. The overnight train cost us a total of €210, which was roughly the same as our average accommodation cost! Similar smart fares are available for this route starting at €29 for adults and €20.30 for children ages 4-14. Considering the low cost, it was not surprising that our cabin was located in pretty far down the platform in coach 86, but we didn’t mind the walk.
Thello Night Train Ride With Kids
When we reached coach 86, we located our sleeper cabin and were pleasantly surprised to find that it very closely resembled the pictures we had seen online. We specifically chose a cabin in the middle of coach 86 so that we would not be right next to the bathroom and really were not disturbed by other passengers at anytime in the journey. There were three seats on each side, and the highest bunks were set up with six sets of bedding. There was luggage storage available over the door and under the seats and six water bottles in specifically designed holders in the wall. Had we known that water bottles were provided, we would not have stocked up on beverages in the train station.
We were pretty sure that our kids would enjoy the overnight train as a fun family sleepover experience, and they definitely did. The three level bunk beds were a particular hit, and the Thello couchettes were more comfortable than we expected. As the train journey got underway, we ate our dinner and had a relaxed evening in our sleeper cabin. We enjoyed watching the French countryside that we passed by until the last bit of sunlight bid farewell for the day. Our boys chose the top bunks, and our daughter quickly mastered climbing the ladder up and down to “visit”. We explored a bit but mostly stayed in our seats.
When the conductor came by to check our tickets, she also took our passports. Many train passengers worry about this, but we knew from our previous night trains it was common practice to expedite passport control when crossing borders. There was no WiFi, so we read about Venice in our guidebook and all slept for at least nine hours of the journey. We were able to keep all our luggage with us and lock our compartment from the inside. We felt very safe traveling with kids. Although we would have enjoyed seeing the Swiss countryside, it was dark for our entire journey through Switzerland. Our kids will have to wait for another trip to be dazzled by the Alps.
We somehow managed to sleep right through the alarm I set and woke up when the conductor knocked to return our passports as promised after Milan. It was not long before our scheduled 9:35 a.m. arrival in Venice, and we were a bit frantic to get packed up until we discovered that the train was running late. Breakfast bags with pastries and more water bottles were delivered as an unexpected surprise before our arrival in Venice at about 11:00 a.m.
Our Thello Night Train Review
Taking the Paris to Venice train was a fun and convenient way to travel, and we saved at least $800 by avoiding flights, travel to and from airports in Paris and Venice and late Airbnb check in fees. One main negative was that we did not have a private bath or the ability to shower. Two and three person premium sleeper cabins with private bathrooms are available on Thello night trains, but my husband and I were uncomfortable splitting our family into two rooms. The only other negative was that the train arrived in Venice about 90 minutes late, which meant we were late for our scheduled Airbnb check in, but that luckily worked out seamlessly. While we flew from Rome to Paris at the end of our time in Italy, it took seven and a half hours door to door, which meant that we lost almost an entire day of sightseeing en route. We will definitely consider a night train as a travel option in the future and would recommend considering the Thello night train with kids.
Find Out More About Visiting Paris or Venice With Kids
Considering a family trip to Paris or Venice? Check out our posts on planning visits to Paris with kids and Venice with kids.