Driving Avignon to Orvieto

Just looking at the map a bit, I have to say Sanremo looks interesting. About three hours into a nine hour total drive.

Hi Bill,

Nice would be a logical stop and an easy place to change cars. I'm not sure if you have checked into this already, but most often it's quite expensive to pick up a car in one country and drop in another. I suggest having one car for France and dropping it in Nice (or consider taking the train from Avignon to Nice), then taking the train from Nice to Genoa or another town in Italy and pick up an Italian rental car. One problem might be dropping and picking up a car on a Sunday, when many rental agencies are closed. The exceptions are agencies at an airport or in a larger city. See www.autoeurope.com for options.

I too would choose San Remo - Italian prices perhaps a little better than the French Riviera.
Treat yourself after the long drive with a fabulous meal - this Michelin Star restaurant looks great value.
http://www.ristorantesarri.it/

San Remo looks interesting but will it be a traffic problem leaving the highway and driving into town especially on Saturday over the May 1st. weekend?
I have tried to drive down into several of the coastal towns before and got caught up in traffic . It took us almost an hour to get into the town itself. I don't really want the problem since my objective is getting to Orveito.

Sleeping on the motorway may not be good for your health - the traffic usually won't stop.