Hello,
My fiance and I are trying to plan our honeymoon for next July (second half of the month). We are hoping to spend 10-14 days driving through the French and Italian alps, taking our time and enjoying the scenery. Any itinerary suggestions? I want to stay away from the big cities, instead focusing on the small towns, etc. Thanks!
Fly to Frankfurt, arriving mid-day
Drive to Baden-Baden for 2 nights
Go to baths/spas
You might not want to leave
Strasburg (but might be too big foer you)
Colmar
Dijon
Beaune (wine, food)
Nantua
Skip Geneve
Chamonix
Courmayeur
(Option, particularly if you want no tourists and great food/wine: Asti, Alba, Barbaresco)
Lake Como (Verenna)
Lugano
Bolzano
Baden-Baden again
Frankfurt
Sorry, but punctuation didn't come through.
Fly to Frankfurt, arriving mid-day Drive. To Baden-Baden for 2 nights, go to baths/spas (You might not want to leave). Strasburg (but might be too big for you). Colmar. Dijon. Beaune (wine, food). Nantua. Skip Geneve. Chamonix, Courmayeur. Option at this point, particularly if you want fewer tourists and great food/wine: Asti, Alba, Barbaresco. Lake Como (Verenna. Lugano. Bolzano. Baden-Baden again. Back to Frankfurt.
This itinerary is in the Apls for only a coupld of days. If you really want the Alps, you need to go to Switzerland, Austria, etc.
I second Baden-Baden. It was a fun weekend, but we were there over Christmas, not summer. Baden-Baden is really the only place I've been in that region, so thats all I can really recomend. Oh I was in Turin during the Olympics...I was not impressed with the town at all.
The town of Chamonix is small and close to the border of Italy with Mt. Blanc looming overhead. You could take the lift to the Italian side (if open) for some nice scenery. You would also be close enough for driving the Swiss Alps as well if interested. If you get over to the Italian Dolomites you would also experience some stunning views. Driving the Great Dolomite Road from Bolzano to Cortina d'ampezzo is a fantastic drive. Taking 3 or 4 days would give you time enjoy it and there are plenty of small towns to base in and make day trips. Also in Bolzano you could go to the museum where Otzi the ice man is housed. Very intersting. Another option from there would be to drive up to Heiligenblut, Austria spend the night and then drive the Grossglockner Road. The Grossglockner is Austria's highest peak. Knowing where you were going to fly into and out of would help determine a route. Maybe consider flying into and out of Stuttgart and from there you could go in either direction toward the Swiss, Italian and French alps. You could also drive on toward the Dolomites from there. You could plan a nice circuitous route and wind back up in Stuttgart. Renting cars in Germany is normally cheaper than in surrounding countries. Have used gemut.com on a couple of trips and found their rates and customer service to be excellent.
You would need a vignette sticker to place on your windshield for driving on the Autobahn in Austria and Switzerland. Austrian stickers can be purchased for as little as 10 days but Switzerland has yearly stickers thus are more expensive. Renting a standard shift would save money. Better mileage. Also, use a gps. Search for gps and you will find plenty of endorsements for having one and also some recommendations from others on which ones you can purchase with Europe maps.
