Cannes to Verona where to stop

Arles (Edit: oops, I meant Antibes), France is a favorite of mine, but it’s always been a daytrip rom Nice for me. Would make a great stopover.

Then again, if a city would be considered, Nice is one of my 2 favorite places in France. Lyon is the other, but that would be out of your way.

Even bigger city, also worth considering, is Milan. You might be changing trains there anyway, if you’re going by train. Have you been there?

Your original message says you’ve been to “Genia;” is that actually Genoa?

I am driving. Yes my fat fingers made a mistake! Loved Arles but that is wrong direction to Verona. Milan might be a little big but thanks for ideas.

Arles is way west of Cannes (over 3 hours by train); Verona is to the east.

Genoa is the midpoint, unfortunately. I'm not familar with the small towns where the train stops on the Italian side of the border, but I've at least heard of San Remo--not much of a recommendation, I realize. If you're willing to go way past the midpoint, Milan's the logical stopover. You'll probably have to change trains there anyway, and as a large city it has lots of things to see, especially if you like museums.

Edited to add: Oh, a car. I bet our Italian posters will have some suggestions for you. I like Bergamo a lot, but it's beyond Milan and off the direct route. Google Maps is estimating over 4-1/2 hours from Cannes. I'd normally use ViaMichelin, but is non-responsive at the moment.

What about Torino?

Lake Garda since you need a car to get some places.

My fat fingers and fat head mixed up the towns starting with the letter “A.” I meant to say Antibes, France. Picasso museum, market, great food. That’s the place I’ve done as a daytrip from Nice, several times. I’ll edit my post above, for good measure.

What about Bologna? Less than 5 hrs from Cannes. Bologna>Verona- 1.5 hrs.

Consider a stopover in Alba or one of the wine towns - Barbaresco, Barolo. I stayed at the Agriturismo Tre Stelle in Barbaresco, visited a number of small towns. Food in the area is fantastic!
If you want a city experience, I’d recommend Torino - wonderful auto museum, outstanding Egyptian museum and many more great sites.

I was writing a message about Alba in my mind before reading Philip's!

Yes, Alba: Small, an easy to spot ZTL and you need a car to see the wine country. Plus there is a Direct train from Alba to Turin, to avoid being fined up there.

Whatever your choice is, In Italy you'll have to drive along the coast on the A10 motorway. To go to Alba, I'd take the A6 motorway at Savona to cross the Alps. Then leave the A6 at Mondovì. When driving through the mountains, Don't be fooled by the more direct routes displayed on Google Maps .

Thanks everyone. After all that we decided to go to Verona for 5 days and not to break up journey. Will go to Turin and Alba and Lake Garda after the Dolomites.