I'm planning to take my parents to a section of Europe for a road trip. They are both in their late 70's and we feel a road trip would be the best way for them to be able to get around with less walking. I was in the Loire Valley in France this spring and it was ideal, as we could spend the nights in beautiful Chateau and then drive around and see sites and beautiful countryside. We are planning to spend around 10 days the beginning of May 2023. We have been looking in the Dordogne and Tuscany regions, but would love to get any suggestions of additional places. Looking for something relaxing, with beautiful scenery and architecture - not opposed to larger cities, but prefer to minimize the amount of walking. If you have any ideas, pleas let me know. Thanks.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
1421 posts
The Loire is nice. The Dordogne would fit the bill. The other region that everyone raves about is the Alsace-Lorraine: Ribeauville, Hunawihr, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg are all within a few miles of each other with vineyards and medieval towns, castles. You can take the TGV train from Paris in 1:45 to Strasbourg or fly into Strasbourg and rent a car there or further south in Colmar. Trains run from Strasbourg down valley to Selestat and Colmar.
Posted by
DFW TX, USA
457 posts
So many other places, a few come to mind right away ... Bavaria and the Black Forest in Germany, either Lisbon and the Algarve to the south or Lisbon and Porto to the north, Andalusia region of Spain ... plenty of time to research what would work out best, come back as you plan further if you want more thoughts or to bounce any more ideas around.
Posted by
Washington DC
27111 posts
A potential hang-up is that when you visit a hill-town, you sometimes have to park well below the central square and walk up. Larger places might have buses, lifts or escalators, but tiny towns probably will not. As you begin to narrow your possibilities down, you might post your potential target list in the appropriate country forum(s) to get input. My recollection is that Alsace, for example, tends to be flatter than Tuscany and the Dordogen. However, terrain can vary a lot from town to town.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5384 posts
I would pick Istria. Car friendly and great variety - sea, hilltop towns, history.
Posted by
7663 posts
I drove my personal car in Italy a few times during my living in Germany from 87-91 and had not issues, but I would not drive in Italy today. Just read the many posts on this forum of those that do so and a year later get a ticket in the mail for hundreds of dollars.
Drive in France or Germany, no problem.
Posted by
Fort Myers, FL
1669 posts
I'll second Kenko's suggestion of Alsace-Lorraine. Wonderful wine country and very drivable region. Very beautiful French Villages.