Itinerary and Drive from Paris to Austria?

If I have done my math correctly, you will be there for 10 nights. That is a large area to cover in that period of time. Have you checked the cost of renting a car in one country and returning it in another? You can expect to pay a hefty charge for that. If you just want to drive in Switzerland you might want to consider taking a train from Paris to somewhere in Switzerland near the border (maybe Basel?) and only having the car in the one country. With your current itinerary you will be spending a lot of time on the move instead of enjoying where you are. If you arrive in Paris in the morning and spend two nights, you only have one full day there. If it were me, I would spend a little extra time in Paris, then fly to Italy to do that leg. You say you like country and quaint neighborhoods as opposed to big busy cities, but you list four cities to see in 10 days, not to mention Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Five countries in 10 days is too much. If you skip those three countries you would have time to see some countryside in Italy. Just remember, two nights = one day in a location.

I've done blitz travel before and find it to be sort of exciting, but the big drawback is that it wipes you out and you spend a lot of time in transit with this kind of itinerary (plus yours is heavy on cities). What about dropping Italy for now and saving it for another trip that focuses primarily on Venice, Florence, and Rome, with small villages mixed in? As for Italy, however, I thought two full days in Venice was plenty…I had three but didn’t really need that much time. It looks like you weren't planning a car rental in Italy, but a good FYI to know that Italy has a high rate of auto theft…no need to have to worry about that ruining your vacation. Last thought on Italy…If I had to choose between adding a day to Paris versus any other city in Italy, I would select Paris. Passing on the Italian city blitz for now will allow you to relax and spend more time in Bavaria, Switzerland, and Austria…a lot more laid back (consider the Berner Oberland, Salzburg, and the lakes district in Austria). The food won’t be as refined as you’ll enjoy in Paris (or anywhere in Italy for that matter), but the outdoor scenery will more than make up for that.

While I’ve driven throughout France, Germany, and Austria, I might recommend skipping the car and using rail for your trip. Regardless of where you pick your car up in Paris, navigating out of town will be very difficult…doable, but not worth the heartburn. The train will be easier with much less stress. If you do decide to rent a car from Paris, Hertz has an office in Esplanade de les Invalides at the Air France bus terminal...close to the Rue Cler area in Arrondissement: 7eme

Another option might be to do the reverse...focus just on Italy and save everything else for another trip. You can mix in the small villages and the Riviera.

I just looked into renting in France and dropping off in Switzerland and there was an 800 euro drop off fee. I'm guessing you haven't gotten any quotes yet. Take the above advice and use trains (there are TGVs between Paris and some Swiss cities, use the car there, then drop in off in Switzerland before taking a train to Innsbruck.

You say you don't like to go to the same place twice, but with that itinerary I guarantee you will have to, because you didn't get to see enough on this trip. You only have one day in Paris, and you'll be jet lagged!! What't the point? And one day each in the Italian cities? And if you only do one night in Venice, condsidering you'll need to take time to travel there, that will leave you with...how many hours? For one of the world's great cities? Italy's a very child friendly country--why not save it for when you can travel with your kid?

Make this a Paris/Switzerland/Mittenwald trip or an Italy trip. What you have now won't be any more gratifying than watching travel shows on tv.

Hi Nichole,

Kent's "pseudo stickie" titled "Help with Itinerary and Travel Times" provides great tools to help with planning the driving portion of your trip! That will help you determine what's a reasonable itinerary!

Realistically, the drive from Paris to Innsbruck through Switzerland takes about two and half days to three days, and that's without doing any sight-seeing along the way.

okay, i am looking to revise the plan somewhat b/c it does seem as it will be very rushed. the problem is that with our jobs, etc. we will probably not get to return for quite awhile. seeing italy and paris is most important to me and i want to at least see them for a short time rather than not at all. then if i really love an area and i do get to return, i can stay longer.

what if we
1- fly into paris and stay for three nights (our arrival will be at 7:30 am - yes we will be jetlagged but we will push through as we try to never waste a day by sleeping or sitting in our hotel) - this will give us 3 full days in paris.

2- skip switzerland for now. but i really don't want to have the hassle of airports once we are there and i really want to break up that train ride from paris to venice. so is there a mid point somewhere by the germany/austria/switzerland borders that we can stop and just enjoy a day and relax for one night before we get on the train to venice early the next morning?

3- once in venice we will stay the two nights as originally planned and will have 2 full days there plus the two nights to explore.

4- early train to florence and spend two nights again giving us 2 full days there plus the two nights to explore.

5- then early train/car to rome and spend three nights.

6 - then fly home from rome.

does that sound any better, can anyone recommend a mid-point and should we rent a car for the ride from florence to rome. this has been recommended by many as being a beautiful area to drive through?

thank you!

Re this part of your revised itinerary:

"5- then early train/car to rome and spend three nights.
6 - then fly home from rome....Should we rent a car for the ride from florence to rome, this has been recommended by many as being a beautiful area to drive through?"

No, the train from Florence to Rome makes sense because you don't have enough time to explore Tuscany (the area in between) by car and do Rome. If you had an extra 2 or 3 days, you could rent a car to explore Tuscany hill towns, dropping it off in Orvieto. But it's not worth the time, effort and hassle it would take to rent a car for one day on your way out of Florence, see a partial day of Tuscany, then turn the car in. You need more time to do that.

Since you’re reworking your itinerary, what about spending a night in Munich, doing a little relaxed sightseeing there as time permits the next day, and taking the night train (sleeper) out from Munich to Venice?

"2- skip switzerland for now. but i really don't want to have the hassle of airports once we are there and i really want to break up that train ride from paris to venice. so is there a mid point somewhere by the germany/austria/switzerland borders that we can stop and just enjoy a day and relax for one night before we get on the train to venice early the next morning?"

If it's the Alps you want to see, why not head south east from Paris and stop for the night in the border regions between Italy and France? The Mont Blanc massif is highest point in Europe west of the Causcases. This is the more direct route from Paris to Italy anyway.

That sounds a lot better though still busy. I completely understand wanting to avoid additional air travel, but you're looking at an 11-13 hour train ride, so I personally would not waste that much time on such a busy trip. And I really wouldn't waste it with a stopover somewhere that isn't already at the top of your list. If you are going to train I'd do a night train. I'm not sure they run every day between Paris and Venice, but they do run; there might be more night trains between Paris and Rome, so it might make more sense to start there in Italy then fly home from Venice.

Oh and you decide you really want a stopover, you can look at the Deutsch Bahn website, plug in Paris to Venice, and see what stops the train makes along the way. I was curious so I did this, but I don't see anything that deserves a place on your itinerary (there was Basel, Geneva, Milan, Stutgart, and others, depending on the train).

Instead of taking the train from Paris to Venice, how about flying instead? Although you would not see the Alps, it would save time, and possibly money.
Have a great trip!

We just took a similar drive last week: rented the car for four days outside of Paris, drove South to the Loire region to see a few castles and then East through Burgundy to the Berner Oberland, and returned the car in Geneva (French side for no drop fee). The scenery was beautiful, the towns charming, and I discovered a place I'd like to return to spend a couple of weeks. We got a little lost so we missed the opening hours of one of our "must sees" and had to make up time the next day. Get a good map!

As for Venice, one night was perfect for us. (couple in our 40's and teenage son)
We also used Easyjet to fly some long distances and saved a bundle of money and precious time. Have a wonderful trip!