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driving Europe

Hi!

I'm starting to think about a driving tour of some countries in Europe. I've been to Italy a couple times; the parts of Europe I'm interested in seeing are: France, Bavaria, Vienna, Switzerland. Paris, castles, beautiful mountains, etc.

Any ideas for a driving itinerary for about 2 weeks?

Thanks,
Julie

Posted by
11056 posts

Make sure that you pick up and drop off the rental car in the same country to avoid a large drop off fee.
That is a lot to cover in two weeks. Choose one area such as France or Switzerland to focus on. You do not want a car in Vienna or Paris.

Posted by
7209 posts

And the most beautiful areas of the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland are not accessible by cars...only trains, gondolas, funiculars

Posted by
1028 posts

Looks like you're drawn towards mountains. I'm a mountain person myself. I've enjoyed driving the German Alpine Road in Bavaria and the Grimsel pass from Switzerland into Italy, and from Turin up through Aosta and through the Mont Blanc tunnel into France. They're quite far apart, though, so I don't see them as go-togethers for one trip unless you want an all-Alps trip and add some long drives through Austria and across the top of Italy. Whichever route you pick, I would encourage you to look for options across high passes instead of tunnels. Partly for the incredible scenery and partly for less traffic. In summer, the big tunnels often have hours-long lineups. That's why we chose the Grimsel pass instead of the Gotthard tunnel. It was August 1, the Swiss national holiday, and lineups to get out of Switzerland via tunnels that day were just stupid long.

I agree about not driving in big cities, not out of fear but just to avoid aggravation and tickets. Turin would be an exception as the roads are wide and well-marked, though study up on ZTL (limited traffic zones for residents only) before you try it. Paris, Rome - never. I've driven outside of both cities with no issues but always parked the car and took transit into the centre.

And in Switzerland, the public transit is half the fun - where else can you seamlessly connect from a bus to trains to a funicular, cog railway, boat and gondola, with a luge run thrown in, and back again easily in one day?

This isn't really a coherent itinerary, but some early thoughts. Hope it helps. If you narrow down your ideas, I'm happy to offer more concrete suggestions.

Posted by
7280 posts

Trips to Switzerland, Bavaria, and Austria have all been by train, bus, and/or bicycle. Driving trips in France have been in Provence and Dordogne in the south, Lyon and some of the mountains to the west, Normandy in the north, and Brittany way, way west, and Bordeaux wine country in the southwest. France is big—are you going to interested in one particular section, or many. As noted above, big cities generally work better with your car parked the whole time, or you rent your car as you leave, and maybe turn it back in at the next big city.

Provence is great for a driving vacation. Maybe base yourself in San Remy, if you want to stay in one spot and drive to places for a day. Lots of tailgaters, though, fewer in other parts of France.

Or do you want to tour in a loop, staying 1 or 2 nights, before moving on? Could start in Provence, head north to Lyon, cut east to Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.

Or start in Bavaria, rent your car there, head from there to France, then Austria, then circle back thru Switzerland to Bavaria, where you can turn in the car?

Other parts of France are excellent for drive touring, but farther from those other countries than Provence.

Posted by
8094 posts

Our favorite car trips have been to Bavaria, Salzburg, Tirol, Northern Italy, etc. We've also done the Rhine River all the way to Amsterdam. We just love to get off the beaten path in a car and drive from village to village--often up on the mountains. Public transit in such places is often a hassle, and trains don't go to such locales.
We often will take the train from major city to major city if 4 hours or less. Any longer, and I'm looking for a budget European airline.
France is not our favorite place for car trips as they have excessive toll roads. And we certainly don't take a car into Paris (again.)
We pickup rental cars in city locations--avoiding train stations and airports where extra charges and tolls often come into play. We do turn in rental cars at airports, however.

Posted by
6431 posts

Look here under "Driving" for a lot of good info about driving, and driving vs. other ways to get around. Dropoff charges are rare or nonexistent when renting and returning in the same country, but very steep when returning in another country. As noted by others, driving is a bad idea, and unnecessary, in big cities.

Posted by
1357 posts

We did a 3 week driving trip in 2017 from Zurich - piece of cake so go for it. Since you mentioned Paris and Vienna, I would fly to one and then make a driving loop staying 2-3 nights in major destinations along your route - head out right after you land and then spend your last nights in the city with the airport. Make sure to travel light so it's easy to move around. Decide how much driving you're willing to do and then establish your route with a combination of 2-3 night stays supplemented with a few 1 nighters. In my view, Paris and Vienna are too far apart for a driving tour that hits both unless you're willing to pay a big rental car drop fee and fly open jaw. Either way, don't spend too much of your trip driving! There a lots of great places to visit regardless of where you go. PS - if you haven't been to Paris you should plan for 4-5 nights unless you get bored with the same place easily. Haven't been to Vienna but from what I've read it's probably worth at least 3-4 nights. Good luck and have fun planning your trip!

Posted by
739 posts

A year or so back I did a driving tour. Started in Munich, headed into Austria (just 1 day driving through) into Switzerland then back to Germany and stayed just below Neuschwanstien then on towards the Rhine and dropped the car in Koln.

We took a day train trip in Switzerland and a day river boat on the Rhine. Had a nice day at the Big Rhine falls in Switzerland (the boat trip to see the falls was really nice).

It was a nice trip. But I enjoy driving (had a blast the year befor in the South of France along the coast) and I was traveling with my father and he did better with being able to rest in the car between doing things. Vs having to walk/take a train.

Posted by
7595 posts

You mentioned several wonderful two week possibilities.

Here are a few choices:
1) Paris, Normandy and the Loire Valley in France
2) Paris, Strasbourg, Colmar France and the Black Forest in Germany (Triberg, Titisee)
3) Bavaria, Munich, The Romantic Road https://www.romanticroadgermany.com as well as Garmish/Fussen, Salzburg, Austria and Berchtesgaden, Germany and perhaps Vienna, Austria.
4) Vienna, Prague and Budapest
5) Switzerland, Geneva, Interlaken, Lucerne and consider the https://www.autoeurope.com/road-trip-planner/switzerland/best-alpine-drives/

Posted by
613 posts

Plan two parallel itineraries, one for good weather (scenery), and one for bad weather (towns, castles, museums) and then play it by ear according to the weather. Best planning tool & guide book for road trips: Michelin Green Guides.

Per other advice, lower car cost if pickup and drop off at same country or same airport.

1: eastern France etc. Fly to Luxemburg (best location) or CDG. Mosel Valley-- south along the Rhine Valley--Alsace-- French Alps-- Provence east of the Rhone. Return: Provence west of the Rhone-- Burgundy-- Rheims-- Metz-- Luxemburg or CDG.

  1. Fly to Munich or Vienna. Get out of boring Munich fast. Cross Austria to Bergenz to Bavaria-- Lake Constance-- Deutsche Alpinestrasse-- Romantic Road-- return.
Posted by
6386 posts

I’d suggest shortening your list of places to see. Two weeks isn’t that long and it would be a shame to spend a good portion of your trip behind the wheel. Ensure you have an IDP. When driving in Austria you’ll need a vignette to drive on its highways. It’s mandatory. We picked one up at the border. and it was more expensive than I thought it would be. With more countries watching the CO2 emissions and establishing green zones, there are a numbers of areas where you may need a special vignette. There’s an app “green-zones” that will show driving restricted areas by country, region, and city.

Posted by
1825 posts

I'd stick to France. You'll probably start and finish in Paris but I would not want a car in Paris. Take a train to Strasbourg and get a car there. Head South to Colmar, Beaune, Lyon and then Provence. From there head East through Carcassonne and then the Dordogne before going North to the Loire. Drop the car in Tours and train back to Paris for your return flight home. You'll have a hard time deciding where to go with only two weeks and all the options along the route. You'll also discover that people in France drive a lot better than they do here in Socal, they only pass on the right and never stay in the left lane unless passing. GPS makes driving easy, just double check because there are different towns with similar names that might throw you off course. You save a lot of money staying in smaller villages and it will offset the expense of the car rental.