Hello!
my husband, son and myself need to travel this Tuesday July 27 from Basel to Milan. We have Global Eurail First Class passes. I am wondering if I must reserve seats for this leg or if we should just turn up at the station and hop on?! Any advice would be appreciated!
IC and High speed trains in Italy have mandatory reservations. On this line easy to avoid and not needed if you switch to a regional train in Domodossola.
Tip: if you want to see the best views, best take the old (slower) Gotthard line via Airolo, instead of the long and boring base tunnel 
(Go to the travel planner of www.bahn.com , go to further options and add a stopover at Airolo - add 0:00 for transfer time needed to plan this)
As long as you don't take the EC into Italy, no seat reservations are needed. 1st class will basically be empty.
I also suggest the Old Gotthard Railway : simply stunning !
The fastest reservation-free route (same time as the direct EC) is by changing to the RE in Lugano : -> 4 min guaranteed connection. You can also make a break there if you'd like.
I'd only advise against taking the 11:03 EC, it is a small train coming from Germany : often full and delayed...
IC and High speed trains in Italy have mandatory reservations. On this line easy to avoid and not needed if you switch to a regional train in Domodossola.
Tip: if you want to see the best views, best take the old (slower) Gotthard line via Airolo, instead of the long and boring base tunnel (Go to the travel planner of www.bahn.com , go to further options and add a stopover at Airolo - add 0:00 for transfer time needed to plan this)
Thank you so much for your help!
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