we are planning a 3 week trip in the first 3 weeks of july that will start in the northern italy and finish in paris. we would like to see the italian lakes, cinque terre and milan. we would like to finish the italian portion in menton france and from there north to chamonix and paris. first is it possible by car and so what is the best sequence. we were thinking 8 to 9 days for the italian part, 5 to 6 days to get to paris for 4 to5 days stay
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Having a rental car for most of the places you mention can be a disadvantage. Not much parking in the Italian lakes and the Cinque Terre does not permit tourist cars in any of the 5 towns. There are some parking lots in the CT towns but they are jam-packed in July. Finally, it's easy to rent a car in one city and drop it off at another with no additional fees as long as this all takes place in the same country. The extra charges for renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another can be huge (hundreds of dollars).
What I would suggest is to travel throughout Northern Italy by train. You'll do just fine. Then, travel from the CT to Nice, France by train. You can rent the car there for your touring of France. Cote d'Azur, Provence, Burgundy and the Chamonix-Mt. Blanc area are easily toured by rental car. We've done it (love Chamonix-Mt. Blanc). Turn your car in at the Dijon train station and off you go on the high-speed TGV into Paris. No drop off charges in France if you pick up and drop off in the same country.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16240 posts
Depending on how many Italian lakes you want to do, it might be helpful to have a car to visit the Italian lakes, although not necessary since they are all reachable by train.
One option could be to arrive at Milan, visit Milan for a day (that's all you need), then rent a car to visit the various lakes. Finally you would head to the Cinque Terre, where you could return your Italian car rental at La Spezia. Once in La Spezia you'd take a short train ride to the Cinque Terre and go with Larry's plan above from there on for France.
For sure you should not rent a car in Italy and return it in France because that would be a huge expense in international drop off charges. You need separate car rental for each country.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
You're on the right track with the advice above.
How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link (easy to view and print schedules) and tips for using it. At this time, regional Italian train schedules are only loaded through June 14, so play with a date before that. You can buy tickets as you go or at www.trenitalia.com; see also tips at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/italy-rail-passes.
French TGV trains offer significant advance-purchase discounts if you're ready to lock in a non-refundable ticket now, but full fare from Dijon to Paris is under $100 per person, if you want to keep that schedule flexible (trains depart about hourly).