Try using “venezia” in the search — Deutche Bahn doesn’t always recognize the English spelling. Santa Lucia station is the one that’s across the causeway in Venice and walkable (or take the Vaporetto) to central Venice. There are 3 direct trains (no connections) a day on this route that take about 3 hours. Other options require numerous connections and take much longer.

Try putting this itinerary in www.railsaver.com Follow the “I have a good idea of my itinerary” route and check “I prefer using railpasses (to point to point tickets) ‘only when it saves money.’”

Reservations: Some trains require reservations which aren’t covered by the railpass. Express trains between major cities often require reservations. I would only make a reservation if the specific train I wanted to take required a reservation. You can avoid reservations by taking slightly slower (because they make more stops) regional and local trains. However, particularly in Italy, the trains running at “peak” times often require reservations. Reservations in France and Switzerland will be cheap (probably 5 euros) and easy to get. Reservations in Italy can cost as much as 19 euros and usually involve waiting in line — which often makes it more convenient not to use a railpass as you can buy a ticket, which will include the reservation if required, from the automated kiosk (user-friendly in English) without waiting in line.

1) Probably not, since trains within Italy are relatively cheap. Use “Railsaver Tool” under “BOOKING” heading on top of the page.

2) Yes, of course. It makes perfect sense to use a pass for more expensive trips and point-to-point tickets for cheaper ones.

3) OK, that’s a bit complicated indeed. Roughly speaking there are three types of trains:

• “premium trains” that must be reserved,
• “regular trains” that you may be reserved (when you want to guarantee a seat on a long trip),
• “local trains” that can not be reserved.

It does not mean that all “premium trains” are necessarily faster or more comfortable then the “regular” or “local” ones. You should pick trains based on cost/convenience combination.

One reason not to use a railpass on a trip like yours (or at least not to use it in Italy) is that tickets with or without reservation can be easily bought from an automated kiosk, however to buy just a reservation you’d have to wait in line to get to a ticket window.

To get started go to German Railways website bahn.de. Their schedule engine covers all of Europe. (That includes trains Villach-Venice. You’ll see that all the direct trains from Villach to Venezia Santa Lucia are marked with a red “R” meaning “reservation required”.) While there check if they offer reduced price tickets on Zurich to Munich portion.

Edit: OL, you’ve beaten me to it! Again!