I could really use some advice! PLEASE for my itinerary

Remember that you often can't and don't actually want to drive in much of the Cinque Terre, so plan a place to leave the car while you are there. Discuss that with the hotel/guest house you book. Also September is shoulder season ( if there really is one anymore) and many of the smaller hotels may shut down after their busy summer. Great Place! Have fun!

Welcome!

You don’t want or need a car in CT, Pisa or Lucca
You can’t really “drive thru Pisa and Lucca” anyway

You need to do more research-especially on transportation

If you pick up a car in Nice and drop in Florence you will incur $$$ in drop off charges as well

All drivers must have an IDP

See this recent thread on travel in opposite direction
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/train-from-la-spezia-to-nice

September isnt really shoulder season any more. I don't think you would find many places closing for the season before later in October. My concerns are with the possibly huge drop off fee you will incur by renting a car in France and dropping it in Italy. But perhaps your friends have their own car, or are leasing?

The PP is correct that a car is neither needed nor wanted in the CT, and you will need to park it for the duration there. CT towns are easily reached by train from Nice, via Genoa. And Pisa, Lucca and Pistoia are served by trains as well. A car is definitely a hindrance in Florence. Really, the only places a car is an advantage is in visits to the small rural Tuscan villages. You might want to limit your car rental for those few days.

Hello mulimel, and welcome to the forum!

I have to second (or third) the advice given here so far.

I have driven in Nice in the off-season and I can't imagine it during these season. Double parking and illegal parking are the norm meaning two lanes often suddenly become one lane with no warning and traffic is already daunting. The idea of a scenic drive down the French and Italian coasts is more likely to be a traffic snarled crawl that will take hours longer than it should.

I have also driven in Pisa and unless you're going into Pisa so see the sights there is no joy at all in driving through it. Driving into the center of any Italian town is likely to result in costly ZTL violation tickets.
https://urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/italy-mainmenu-81/toscana-tuscany/pisa-ar
https://www.accessibilitacentristorici.it/ztl/Tuscany/pisa.html

It is not possible to drive through Lucca since the entire inner core is essentially pedestrian only within the walls.
https://urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/italy-mainmenu-81/toscana-tuscany/lucca-ar

The same with Florence so if you are trying to return a car to Florence know the exact route you can safely drive or risk a ZTL fine.

The hilly area of Tuscany you're probably thinking of are actually south of Florence and cluster more around Siena and run south towards Umbria. The Pisa/Lucca area is a mostly flat water delta where the water from the hills and mountains drains towards the sea. It is scenic but it is not the Tuscany of the movies.

I would suggest taking the train from Nice to CT and then again onto Florence. Pisa, Lucca and Pistoia are all on the same local train line from Florence and are easy to explore on foot. A car is an expensive burden in nearly every Italian city - avoiding ZTLs, dealing with traffic, finding and paying for parking etc.

Here is a good idea of where trains work in Tuscany: https://www.wanderingitaly.com/maps/images/tuscany-rail-map.png

Rural Tuscany - Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino - does require a car or some kind of transport to explore so I would concentrate on that. In broad strokes train to Florence and then rent a car to explore the rural areas that need it. You can rent in Florence or many people rent in Chuisi (or Chiusi-Chianciano to be exact) because you're already in the country and close to the famous southern towns - Pienza is about an hour away. If you can drop off the car where you pick it up you will save drop off charges.

Hope that helps you in your planning,
=Tod

Due to the huge rental car drop off fees (at least $600) when you pick up a car in a country and drop it off in another, you should cross the border by train. Since you don't need or want a car at the Cinque Terre either, you should take the train all the way to the Cinque Terre. Unfortunately between Nizza and Genoa, it's a very slow one track railroad, therefore the journey is a few hours and requires two train changes (first at Ventimiglia, just across the border from France, then in Genoa).

If you are so inclined to rent a car after the Cinque Terre, you can do so in La Spezia, near the Cinque Terre. Most rental car companies have a rental location at the La Spezia cruise port. Therefore you need a train from the Cinque Terre to La Spezia, then you need a taxi to the port. You could also rent a car at the Pisa airport, further south.

A car is kind of a nuisance in any city, so also to stay in Pistoia you need accommodations outside the historical center which is car free and pedestrianized.

Melissa-

Let us know if any of this advice is helpful?

May do the first part of the trip by train? We took the train from Nice to Genoa and I know you can also travel by train down the coast to Cinque Terra. La Spezia (at the southern end of CT) has trains north towards Pisa, Lucca and Florence. Then a 3 day rental in Florence to visit the countryside.

If you haven’t been convinced by the huge drop fee forgo the rental car from Nice to Cinque Terre, consider that the coast road may not be as scenic as you expect. Whether you take the slow local, road close to the sea, or the faster higher toll road, you will be going through a lot of tunnels, especially toward the southern part of the drive. Instead of going up and over all the hills that form the picturesque coastline peninsulas, the road goes under them in tunnels. You can see these clearly on Google or Apple Maps, satellite view.

The train down the coast also goes through some tunnels, but at least you aren’t dealing with them as a driver.