Starting to plan this itinerary, would love to hear your thoughts/feedback. Would like to do all this driving rather than using public transport. How's driving in France? We have driven in Italy before (Tuscany) and I have visited Belgium where the driving seemed pretty easy. So the itinerary goes like this - still need to plan the number of days at each city, but the total duration of the trip is 3 weeks. Fly into Venice, drive to Verona (we have already been to Venice)... then on to: Bergamo Milan Lake Cuomo Torino Provence Marseille Bordeaux MtStMichel Normany Paris Brugges
Brussels Fly home from Brussels
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I'll comment on the areas I know. For Mont St. Michel/Normandy, yes, a car makes more sense. For Brugge and Brussels, no, a car is more of a hassle than a benefit. Belgian rail is cheap and easy enough to get you from Brugge to Brussels.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2713 posts
This sounds like an itinerary for someone with a high energy level who likes to see lots of stuff, enjoys driving, and doesn't mind one night stands. If that sounds like you, it could work. I've only been to the last five destinations on your list, and I liked them all, but I did them in two two-week trips. I don't enjoy moving around a lot, and I like to spend more time in each place. I like to spend my time in places rather than traveling to them. This trip sounds exhausting to me, but if you've done this kind of traveling before, it might work for you. I agree with the prior poster - ditch the car after you see Normandy and train into Paris then to Brugges and Brussels. There is no benefit to having a car in those three cities.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
One change I would suggest would be to skip Torino and substitute Nice. There's not much to see or do in Torino, and Nice would be a much more interesting stopover between Lake Como & Marseille/Provence. Since you will be westbound, your list should have Marseille ahead of Provence. I would ditch the car when you get to Paris and proceed from that point by train.
Posted by
Reston, Virginia
403 posts
Check the drop fees. Picking up a car in Italy and dropping it in another country may cost much much more than you think. It makes more sense to mix driving and rail.
Posted by
Portland
3600 posts
Re what Roe said about drop fees:
Because of the outlandishly high drop fees, we've dropped our rentals in a couple of different Italian cities (depending on where the company has offices) and taken the train to Nice. There we pick up a new rental car and proceed. If timing requires it, there is an Ibis hotel near the train station for an inexpensive overnight stay.
Posted by
OP
Zionsville, IN, USA
94 posts
Thanks for all this insight! I thought about the drop fees too, but wondered how much of a hassle it would be to go from drop off point/train station/pick up point. Will figure this out for the Italy/France portion and sounds like train is the way to go after Paris. We will probably spend at the most two days in each of these cities, one is some. I know it sounds kinda hectic but we don't go into every single museum/cathedral, etc in each of the cities.