Hi 

To give a reliable answer it would be important to know which trains you’d like to take. In general these are routes where it’s possible to go without a compulsory reservation. But on certain trains it is needed (example: Paris to Gent takes longer with more changes if you’d like to avoid reservations / or: Luxembourg to Strasboury you may use TGV trains (reservation needed) or TER trains (reservation not even possible). 

To specify this for Strasbourg to Milano: If you go from Strasbourg to Basel by TER200, you’d need no reservation. In Switzerland there are only some tourist trains that will need one. If you go from Chiasso to Milano by RE, you’d need no reservation at all, but you’d need one if you’ll go by EC train - you see why it’s important to know the specific connection. (And there are many other (and more scenic ways) to travel from Basel to Milano by train - don’t know if you plan to go via Chiasso). 

As most starting use the app-and do not bother to see its even possible to set it to trains with NO reserv-its quite possible some trains may need REServ. Best site to check what it is-mandatory, optional or not even possible is bahn.com-this is also much more often updated as app-which is often thus out of date.

there are NO direct trains P-Gent, the usual route is via fast TGV in FR (MUST RES) to Lille-walk to other station, then hourly regional NMBS train.

To/fro DUS-it all depends on what train you wan to use-but even the faster (but often cancelled at last minute) ICE is only optional=which means you MAY (=not will) have to stand maybe part of he way.

In fact nearly all sectors in BE-NL-DE can be done for much less as passdays usually cost. Be aware of the German 9€ ticket-valid ONLy in regional trains, but also nay bus+tram, valid till end of month bought in, and in LUX its free anyway.

Hello again! Thank you both for your answers. The options I’m considering are the following:

• Paris > Gent (04/08/2022) 

Option 1 (Reservation required):

- Paris Nord to Bruxelles-Midi via THA9423 (Reservation required)

- Brussels to Gand-Saint-Piere via IC 2832

- Gand-Saint-Piere to Gand-Dampoort via IC3033

Option 2 (No reservations needed): 

- Paris Nord to Amiens via TER16366

- Amiens to Lille Flandres via TER43911

- Lille Flandres to Courtrai via TER19719

- Courtrai to Gand-Dampoort via IC736

• Gent > Amsterdam (06/08/2022)

Option 1 (No reservations needed): 

- Gand-Dampoort to Anvers-Berchem via IC 731

- Anvers-Berchem to Amsterdam Centraal via IC 9231

• Amsterdam > Dusseldorf (10/08/2022)

Option 1 (No reservations needed): 

- Amsterdam Centraal to Arnhem Centraal via IC 3031

- Arnhem Centraal to Düsseldorf Hbf via RE20019

Option 2 (reservations recommended): 

- Amsterdam Centraal to Düsseldorf Hbf via ICE 123

• Dusseldorf > Luxembourg (11/08/2022)

Option 1 (No reservations needed):

- Düsseldorf Hbf to Luxembourg via IC 5106

• Luxembourg > Strasbourg (12/08/2022)

Option 1 (No reservations needed): 

- Luxembourg to Perange via RB 4714

- Perange to Bettembourg via RE 11414

- Bettembourg to Metz Ville via TER88743

- Metz Ville to Strasbourg via TER30307

Option 2 (Reservation required):

- Luxembourg to Lorraine Tgv via FB 63 (Reservation required)

- Lorraine Tgv to Strasbourg via TGV 5466 (Reservation required)

• Strasbourg > Venice (14/08/2022)

Option 1 (Reservation required):

- Strasbourg to Basel Sbb via TER96213

- Basel Sbb to Milano Centrale via EC 53 (Reservation required)

- Milano Centrale to Venezia Mestre via FR 9741 (Reservation required)

Option 2 (No reservations needed): 

- Strasbourg to Basel Sbb via TER96213

- Basel Sbb to Zurich Hb via TGV 9203 

- Zurich Hb to Chiasso via EC 317

- Chiasso to Milano Centrale via RE 25523

- Milano to Verona via RE 2633

- Verona to Venice Mestre via RV 3551

• Venice > Florence (15/08/2022)

Option 1 (No reservations needed): 

- Venice Mestre to Bologna Centrale via RV 3977

- Bologna Centrale to Prato Centrale via RE 17837

- Prato Centrale to Firenze Rifredi via RE 18495

Option 2 (Reservation required):

- Venice Mestre to Firenze SMN via FR 9425

• Florence > Ancona (18/08/2022)

Option 1 (No reservations needed): 

- Firenze Campo Matre to Foligno via RV 4073

- Foligno to Ancona via RV 4152

Option 2 (Reservation required):

- Firenze SMN to Bologna Centrale via FA 8502 (Reservation required)

- Bologna Centrale to Ancona via FR 8803 (Reservation required)

I just wanna know if I’ll able be flexible enough to choose between and if it’s safe to chose a route (with no reservation needed) in case my plans change during the trip or something goes wrong (like missing a train or something)

Also @Hektor do you have a more scenic way to suggest for the trip from Basel to Milano/Venice?

The main thing is: Would you like to have more flexibility or would you like to save as much money as possible? For most of your connections it’d be not that much of a problem if you’ll miss a train. If it’s because of a train delay you’d also get a new reservation (so even this is not that much of a problem); different thing if you’d like to extend your stay or if you’d like to do a stop for a few hours en route. 

My 2 cents for the rest: I’d mix up things a little bit. For instance Paris to Gent: I’d avoid the Thalys train because the passholder seat reservation is very expensive. But it’s not a bad idea to go by TGV from Paris to Lille (costs 10 € and is much faster than by regional trains) and to avoid reservations between Lille and Gent. 

May I ask why you plan to go from Luxembourg to Strasbourg that way (it’s possible to leave Luxembourg much later and arrive in Strasbourg with the same train)?

For scenic Switzerland:

I don’t know what you prefer to do. If you would just like to get from obne place to another, the two connections you did choose are good connections (but I’d avoid the EC in Switzerland - costs much more and is not even the nicest train; schedule a stop in between in Lugano (don’t change in Chiasso (!)) - even the view from outside the station is beautiful - and go by connecting RE). 

For me, I always choose trains where the journey itself is fun and not just transportation. For instance to get from Basel to Milano there is a way to use two ships on two different lakes in between the mountains and a connecting cogwheel train. Or there is an other way where you can go in open “cabrio” carriages over the highest open railway line in the swiss alps. But for this, you’d need a whole travel day just in Switzerland - that’s not possible if you plan to go from Strasbourg to Venice in a single day (but in good weather, I’d always skip Luxembourg and / or Strasbourg for this ). And it doesn’t make any sense if you don’t like such a trip in itself. 

What’s always possible with just an additional hour of travelling time: The direct trains from Basel / Zürich to Lugano / Chiasso are using the Gotthard tunnel - it’s just a long tunnel. But it’s also possible to go via the old railway line over the mountain - slow, but nice views. Even nicer if you hold a 1st class pass - do you have 1st or 2nd class? 

If you’d like to change your plans and get a full day route through Switzerland, just tagg me and ask - otherwise: Have a nice trip. 

The alternatives you mentioned about Switzerland sound interesting. To be honest I wouldn’t mind to skip Strasbourg to have a more fun and scenic journey. But doesn’t this mean the cost will be much higher and/or I’ll have to find accommodation in Switzerland for that extra day? Also, I guess I don’t have access to those ships/trains with my interral pass…

@Hektor 

PS: I have a 2nd class ticket 

You’ll need accomodation. But a youth hostel (if that’s ok) in a small town in Switzerland shouldn’t be that much more than one in Strasbourg or Venice.

Those ships are included with your pass without any additional cost; just board the ship. Same for the train. (Not every ship and train in Switzerland is included, but some are and a lake cruise is always something special...)

PS: A good starting time for such a trip would be 07.56 or 09.56 from Basel SBB. And a youth hostel in a small mountain village for a two-day-trip would be 39,50 CHF (just to give you an idea). But it would also be possible to reach Italy the same day (would be a 1-day-trip then).