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Eurail Group GIE revealed that the Eurail Italy Pass was the second most popular pass sold last year.

Some 68,732, passes were sold in 2011, an 8.5% increase from the year previously.

It was second only to the Eurail Global Pass, which is valid in 23 countries, including Italy. More than 100,000 of these passes were sold last year.

Of course, it would be a shame to visit Italy without visiting its capital, Rome, which boasts a plethora of tourist attractions that other world cities can only dream of having.

Must-see attractions include the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Quirinale Palace, while no visit to Rome is complete without checking out the Collosseum, which is easily the most famous ancient building in Rome, if not all of western Europe.

Towering 48m high in Piazza Colosseo, the Collosseum was first opened in 80 AD by Emperor Titus and although all that remains is a bare shell of the original, it attracts scores of tourists every day nevertheless.

Italy emerged as the most popular country to visit among people using any of Eurail's passes and given that its rail network is almost as impressive as its seemingly never-ending tourist attractions, it is not hard to see why.

Italy's high-speed network which connects northern and southern regions means that no part of Italy is too far away. This is illustrated perfectly by the fact that it takes less than three hours to travel from Milan to Rome.

Ana Dias eSeixas, Eurail Group's marketing director, said: 'The success of the Eurail Italy Pass is really the result of sales and marketing efforts by the entire Eurail team and its sales agents around the world. Of course an excellent rail and tourism product such as the one Italy offers is of importance as well.'

Leo Stevens