The Italian public train system is awesome

We were just in Italy for a week and used the public train system to get around. It was amazing how easy, efficient, fast and affordable it was. Rome has an extensive subway and above ground trams that go most everywhere in the city. It was quite easy to figure out as most stations had English translations plus it was logical and user friendly. There are many options for tickets but we just bought a single ticket at a time that lasted 100 minutes no matter where you went in the city. Each ticket cost 1.5 Euros. There were also mutli-day passes that were cheaper per trip if you intended to use the system over a number of days. The trains were fast, frequent, and relatively clean and not too crowded during the times we used them.

What was even more amazing were the high-speed intercity trains. We traveled to both Florence and Milan on these trains and they were amazing. Incredibly fast, quiet, and affordable. We road the Frecciarossa (Red Arrow). They were the fastest, 190 MPH when at full speed. We purchased "standard class" which included reserved seats and comfortable seating. The cost was about 50 Euros per seat each way to Florence and back to Rome. Non-stop each way.

We also traveled to Milan from Rome on the same type of train, a bit more expensive since it is quite a bit longer trip. Milan also has a very nice city public train system and may even be better than Rome but we didnt stay there long.

What was also really nice abut the high-speed Frecciarossa trains was that many of the seats had groupings of 4 seats facing. So for us (fam of 3) we were able to sit together and talk and play games (we have a young kid). The trains we were on were never entirely full so we had an empty seat in our seating group.

I was also able to purchase tickets online with my smart phone in minutes. So simple and efficient. I dont think you even need a car.

I am sure other cities in Europe have similar systems. I just wish we had something like this in the US. Amtrack is no comparison.