Let's ROCK - from Venice to Verona!

It is very early in Venice. That's the perfect time to see the city! Join me for a walk around the empty streets of Venice before I hop on the morning ROCK train to Verona.
Don't ask me why the ETR521s are branded "Rock" by Trenitalia. They've also got Jazz, Pop and Swing too. I'm not sure I want my train to rock, or swing for that matter, but that's marketing for you.
Anyway, let's try one out...
Join me!
Departure: Venice Santa Lucia, Italy
Destination: Verona Porta Nuova, Italy
Distance: 119 km / 74 miles
Duration: 1 hr 28 min
Average speed: 81 km/h 50 mph
Example cost: Adult single, 2nd class. €10,20 / £8.70
Date of Travel: May 2024
Operator: Trenitalia
Motive power: ETR 521 "Rock" EMU
Manufacturer: Hitachi, Italy
Entered service: 2019 onwards
Thank you to everyone that supports the channel by subscribing, liking, commenting or just watching these videos. I really appreciate it!

[@ds1868]

The Italians certainly put lots of money into their railway network. A sharp contrast to what we put up with in the UK. Really enjoyed this one, thanks!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Thanks very much! And thanks too for watching 👍

[@tides2002]

We spent a few days in Venice exactly 14 years ago and I am so glad that we were able to stay in Venice itself for the early morning and late evening walks with the place almost to ourselves.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Indeed. I didn't take my camera out in the evening, when i sat by the water to watch the sunset with a cheeky bottle of wine from the supermarket! Thanks for watching 👍

[@wanderingorganist]

Thank you, yes, the walk round the empty streets was lovely.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

It was certainly a great pleasure to bring you that video! Thanks for watching 👍

[@phronsiekeys]

Thanks for that peaceful, sunny walk thru Venice! And an interesting trip to follow

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Thanks. It was a lovely walk. I must do them more often when i visit cities. Thanks for watching 👍

[@colinriley123]

Enjoyed this. Venice and the Veneto are home territory for me, and that walk to San Marco i have done many times. Like you I also find there are ways to miss most other tourists. Don't be put off visiting, by horror stories is my advice. I am very positive about all things Italian, so you wont be surprised to hear I don't find Rock, Jazz or swing hard on the bum!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

I agree. Even during the day there are unfashionable parts of Venice that are a bit quieter... where i also found the coffee was better and cheaper! Not a big fan of the Rock really. Maybe i have a delicate bum... Thanks for coming along 👍

[@TheUncleGrant]

Thanks Johnny, As usual you filming and editing was great. It was nice to see Venice again. Great memories..🤗

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Yes, it is a lovely place to visit. Even if, in my case, it was for about 16 hours (including sleep time!) Thanks for watching 👍

[@christinehodge3608]

Thank you for sharing 😊

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Thanks for watching too 👍

[@PeteG143]

Your smile while alone in the Piazza at the start was great - says it all about travel.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Yes indeed. That 6 am start was something i had really been looking forward to. Thanks for watching 👍

[@Martin-on2pp]

Your channel is about trains. But this is the best video about Venice I have seen! No tourists, just the city with its charm. Greetings from the Netherlands👍🇳🇱🚂

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Martin-on2pp thank you so much. That made me smile. Very kind indeed 👍

[@Timstravels01]

Venice looked beautiful in the early morning light. As always, a tremendously enjoyable watch. I hope you tracked down that second breakfast!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

I did find a second breakfast.! Thanks Tim 👍

[@tonys1636]

Lucky to be able to get a seat on a commuter service.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

It was easy as almost nobody got on the train at St Lucia. Most travellers boarded at Mestre! Thanks for watching 👍

[@sandiandgregh]

Beautiful early morning walkabout. We’ve been to Italy but not Venice…yet.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Worth a trip. But you have to stay there so you get the late evening and early morning. Daytripping doesnt really work due to the crowds! Thanks so much for coming along 👍

[@koputai]

Thanks for the video Johnny. Early morning is definitely the best time in Venice. If you’re a runner, it’s a fantastic time to run through little laneways, and seeing the lesser travelled parts of the city. And as you say, it’s also a great time to grab a coffee and a pastry in relative peace and quiet!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Yes, i saw quite a lot of runners. You certainly are not going to be able to run down those streets at the busy times! Thanks for watching 👍

[@horsehollerer]

Another super watch, cheers. I'm also a big fan of doing a quick sunrise scoot around a place before picking up my bag and heading out of dodge. I did this very thing last month in nearby Trieste and it was delightful (and deserted!) Oh, and definitely include this stuff in the videos if you have footage imho ... people can always fast forward to the train-trippy bits. 😉

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Oo Trieste! Definitely somewhere in want to go to! I will try and include as much as i can of the city/station as long as i can keep the flow of the video. But i do want to include a bit more like this, or Monday bonus vids with more walking about! Thanks for coming along as things change 😃

[@ampersand.]

Glorious, thank you! A long time since I`ve been to Venice. Do hope you tracked down a nice second breakfast in keeping with JHT tradition ;)

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

I was in a hurry to get that 8 am train... so second breakfast had to wait until Verona. But i managed to get something, don't you worry 😉

[@paulgibsonphotography]

Great Video Johnny

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Cheers Paul 👍

[@WINGSANDRAILS]

Just booking the Highspeed Frecciarossa train from Brescia to Klagenfurt via Venice. Thanks for some Venice tips

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

You are welcome 👍 Have a great time in Italy 😎

[@gerardvanteeffelen8437]

Even seen a former Dutch Fyra EMU

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Haha! Thanks for watching 👍

[@enricomonti156]

Lovely trip, and I also love to walk around Venice. Verona is also lovely overall. The Trenitalia regional trains are quite good in some Northern and Central Italian regions, but tend to be worse in the south. Sadly, for very longer or (sometimes even shorter), Trenitalia seems to usually discourage using regional trains, as it would include train changes and unmatching timetables that cause waiting for the next train

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Verona is lovely. My wife prefers it to Venice actually. I only spent an hour there changing trains this time, but would happily return! Best wishes and thanks for watching 👍

[@walterfillingham]

I have been on a train from Milan Centrale to Verona, where my friend picked me up to stay at Roverbella near Mantova. Google Maps directed me from my then home in Stonehaven, to my friends home in Roverbella using buses, flight, trains and the exact minute it said I would arrive is exactly the time we arrived with two minutes to spare.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Google maps can be a bit scary sometimes with how accurate it can be! Best wishes to you from Devon 👍

[@steamisbest]

Of course it's not a comfortable seat, it's built by Hitachi famous for ironing boards. I went on Hitachi's latest version this week the class 803 run by Lumo, I'd heard it was more comfortable, believe me it's not and the only drawback is you're on it for 3 hours if you go from London as the first stop is Newcastle, a little less if you start in Edinburgh.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Tbf I think the purchaser defines the seats that are fitted, so I would not necessarily pin that one on hitachi. But... i do not think their trains are as well made. That open cable was very poor. Interested to hear you view on lumo. I will review the service in a future video. For some reason i have never yet got around to it! Thanks for watching 👍

[@johncrwarner]

I used to use a commuter train here in Germany which technically did a very LONG journey but few passengers did anything like the full journey There was a tendency to go from one town to the next, so there were a lot of short hops with a few hardy folks taking the train to one of the two airports on the route or the oddball like me going three stops to work LOL They are a vital part of any train network those and the local services that feed the other levels of train.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Yes, i suppose so. I was indeed one of the very few that made the whole trip from end to end. Thanks for watching another. I hope everything is going ok. 👍

[@Fan652w]

Thank you Johnny for an extremely interesting video. And the best bit of all was the very beginning with you wandering round an almost deserted Venice just after dawn! Now that is the best way to see the buildings of a historic city. Did you do the same on your recent visit to Luzern?

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

No, i didn't get out early in Luzern. But i hope to do so more in the future. It is the only way to truly enjoy some of the big tourist hotspots. Oh... cheeky extra Switzerland video coming on Monday 😉 Thanks for coming along and for the encouragement 👍

[@trailwayt9H337]

Sir Your videos all are giving very different experience. Views in your videos are very beautiful with your excellent speech. These videos are giving very different experience and different feeling to me. I am your a new follower from the country India ❤️👍

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Thank you for the very kind words from India. My best wishes to you from here in the UK. Thanks too for watching 👍

[@trailwayt9H337]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels ❤️Welcome 👍

[@stuartparks8094]

Early morning in Venice is a great idea. Been there a few times and never thought to do that.... the works for the high speed include adding two extra tracks through Vicenza which is what you saw, as well as the new lines east and west of there - Mestre-Padova opened in 2007, the new lines are supposedly going to be ready in 2028

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Early morning, as i say, is highly recommended! Thanks for the extra info on the works and thanks too for watching 👍

[@Gourockz]

Definitely impressed how you managed to negotiate Venice even at 6am. I was there in March and got lost many times walking from the station to the Rialto hotel. Should have taken the waterbus instead!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Ah the waterbus rides are great, but i do prefer to walk and maybe get a bit lost like you do! A wrong turning often leads to a nice undiscovered place! Thanks so much for watching 👍

[@Kulla1berg]

surprised to see a trip from Italy, was expecting a trip from Carlisle or Leeds

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Don't worry. Back in the rain next Friday. Jumping around a bit as i have stuff from my recent trip to Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Hungary ready to edit up. Oh, and on Monday i will be briefly back in Switzerland! Thanks for watching this one 👍

[@whatthehellcarrot2801]

What app do U use for checking the speed of trains

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

apps.apple.com/app/id1445284873?at=1001lcYH&ct=tf This one! Thanks for watching 👍

[@user-eg8pv2om7j]

Only 1 gentleman of Verona ?

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

There were loads when i left the station! 🤣 Thanks for watching 👍

[@liamburke1741]

ETR521s are absolutely awful trains, both interior and exterior. Awful seating layout. Nothing good about them. Typical Hitachi rubbish. Trenitalia should have bought Stadler Kiss trains instead. But I enjoyed the footage of beautiful Venice though. Excellent 🤩👍

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Yes, i had no preconceptions but by the end i was underwhelmed... Thanks for watching 👍

[@MansurahmmadYT]

Hello Sir, Your videos are not properly SEO optimized.R্If you do SEO properly you will get more views and subscribers. Thank you

[@user-eg8pv2om7j]

" As you like it " 2 gentlemen of Verona, but this was much ado about nothing.@JohnnyHooverTravels

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

I like to think of these videos more as a Comedy of Errors... 😉