I am wondering of the best way to travel from Italy into southern France. We are planning on finishing the Italy part of our trip in Lucca and were then planning on traveling on to Nice. Would the best way be to take a train or to drive? It seems that taking a train involves lots of changes and stops.
If you drive, be aware that you will likely incur a large fee for dropping the car in another country. I would take the train, but if you really want to drive you could drop the car before you leave Italy and take the train the rest of the way.
I traveled with four people from Cinque Terre into Nice and split a driver. It was cheaper than 4 train tickets and faster. Have your hotel price out a driver, its less expensive from the hotel in Italy.