I’ve only ever travelled second class, so I can’t give a comparison. But in my opinion the thing to remember is both the first and second class cars are heading in the same direction at the same speed. The extra cost isn’t worth it to me.

In a word “no.”  Second class is perfectly adequate for this trip.  Even with a 1st class railpass I end up in 2nd class accomodations on overnight trains cuz I don’t want to shell out the prices for a 1st class roomette.  Check the prices on the most popular overnight trains at this site: http://ourworld.comp…

I would look at a three country railpass and point to point tickets in Italy for this trip.  Italy is usually a toss-up as to whether or not a railpass “pays” since trains are cheap but reservations (not covered by railpass) are fairly expensive and can be a hassle to get.  It’s easy to buy tickets (which include reservation if needed) from the automated kiosks or from www.trenitalia.com

Agree mostly with the others, but if you have several overnight trips, 1st class can be terrific – not crowded, you can sprawl, etc., and if you end up on a train with a 3-facing-3 seating arrangement in a compartment, you’ll probably find an empty one in first class.  Close the curtains, fold the seats down, sleep like a baby.  Much harder to lie down in those cars in the more crowded 2nd class.  Sometimes in the summer you’ll have those occasional daytime journeys in 2nd class when you end up in a compartment next to some unshowered or conversationally obnoxious soul; that’s when you’ll wish you’d gone 1st class.  But overally, 2nd class is fine and a lot more interesting.

Thanks a lot for the advice. I think I’ll go for the 2nd class pass then. If on one of my overnight journeys I should decide I would like to have more comforatable accomodations, is it possible to upgrade or get a reservation in first class for that trip only?

They are similar enough that its hard to tell them apart.  I’d go 2nd class.