Frasa
SituationsGet the app (opens the App Store in a new tab)

Italian · Getting around · Elementary

How to buy a train ticket in Italian

At the ticket office, la biglietteria, say where you’re going: “Un biglietto per Firenze, per favore”, or ask for “un biglietto di andata e ritorno” for a return. For daily travel, ask for an abbonamento mensile, a monthly pass. Paper tickets for regional trains usually need stamping before you board: ask “Devo convalidare il biglietto?”.

Try it · about two minutes

At the train station you buy a return ticket at the ticket office, and later a monthly pass for your daily commute.

Sound on: the ticket clerk speaks Italian. You choose what to say back, and Frasa tells you why it works.

The conversation

  1. Ticket clerk

    Il prossimo, prego.

    Next, please.

    You

    Un biglietto di andata e ritorno, per favore.

    A return ticket, please.

  2. Ticket clerk

    Carta o contanti?

    Card or cash?

    You

    Con la carta, grazie.

    By card, thanks.

  3. Ticket clerk

    Ecco il suo biglietto.

    Here’s your ticket.

    You

    Devo convalidare il biglietto?

    Do I have to validate the ticket?

  4. A week later, you’re commuting every day. You go back to the ticket office.

    You

    Vorrei un abbonamento mensile, per favore.

    I’d like a monthly pass, please.

  5. Ticket clerk

    Ha un documento d'identità con foto?

    Do you have photo ID?

    You

    Ecco il mio passaporto.

    Here’s my passport.

  6. Ticket clerk

    Biglietti, prego.

    Tickets, please.

    You

    Ecco il mio abbonamento.

    Here’s my pass.

Key phrases

  • Un biglietto, per favore.

    One ticket, please.

  • Un biglietto di andata e ritorno, per favore.

    A return ticket, please.

  • Quanto costa un biglietto?

    How much is a ticket?

  • Devo convalidare il biglietto?

    Do I have to validate the ticket?

  • Da quale binario parte il treno?

    Which platform does the train leave from?

  • Devo cambiare treno?

    Do I have to change trains?

  • C'è un'opzione più economica se viaggio ogni giorno?

    Is there a cheaper option if I travel every day?

  • Biglietti, prego.

    Tickets, please.

  • Il treno è stato soppresso.

    The train has been cancelled.

  • La macchinetta ha preso i soldi ma non ha dato il biglietto.

    The machine took the money but gave no ticket.

Good to know in Italy

Stamp it before you board

Paper tickets for regional trains usually need stamping in the small machine on the platform. Digital tickets for a set train usually don’t.

Devo convalidare il biglietto?

Do I have to validate the ticket?

Where to buy

  1. 1

    At the station: the ticket office, la biglietteria, or the machines.

  2. 2

    For city buses and trams, often at a tabaccheria or a newsagent.

  3. 3

    For daily travel, ask about an abbonamento mensile, a monthly pass.

Single or return

Solo andata is a single, and andata e ritorno is a return.

Un biglietto di andata e ritorno, per favore.

A return ticket, please.

More situations in Italian

All situations in Italian

Keep these phrases in Frasa

Frasa is an iPhone app for the conversations in front of you. Save phrases like these, rehearse them out loud, and they come back until they stick.

AI-generated. May be inaccurate.