We are traveling to Munich in April 2008 for 10 days with three older kids. We are renting a car to tour Bavaria and Blackforest and want to visit Innsbruck, Verona and Venice for a few days. Not knowing the area between, i'm concerned about driving through the alps at the end of the winter season. are roads passable or should we consider a train from Munich to Venice?
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Expect the roads to be clear unless you are in the middle of a storm. The Brenner pass is a major trade route. The road is easy, safe and kept clean. If you get in a storm, my technique is to get in the wheel tracks of a big truck and follow them through the pass. You may be going 50 kph (30 mph) the whole way, but at least you arrive safely.
On your trip be sure to check out Hall in Tirol. It has a nice medieval section. In many ways, it's better than Innsbruck.
We also really liked Verona. We weren't interested in the Romeo/Juliet stuff but we enjoyed the old section of town/bridges/wall/coliseum/piazzas.
In Venice be sure to see St. Mark's Cathedral when it is lit (at least for Mass daily, maybe other times), it's magnificent.
Posted by
OP
Cumberland, U.S.
2 posts
Thanks for the tips. It sounds like the roads will be as clear as our new england roads. Being able to drive gives us the flexibility to tour other sights.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
We've driven to Venice on 2 different occasions, and it turned out to be the most stressful driving destination of both trips. First of all be prepared for toll after toll after toll.
When you approach Venice from the autobahn the traffic grinds to an incredible snail's pace with all of the tractor-trailer rigs inching along in the right hand lane. Obviously you don't want to be driving in THAT lane and inching along when you could go a tad bit faster in the left lanes. The problem that now is that there is only 1 little exit for Venice Island. Yes, it's marked with a sign on the right hand side of the autobahn...but that sign(s) is hidden behind the endless stream of nose-to-nose tractor trailor rigs to your right.
If you miss the exit like I did both times then you have to exit off the autobahn and hopefully take an exit that will allow you to get back on going the opposite direction. From there I thought I could just take the Venice exit from that side...
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
...but I never found the exit. I had to turn around AGAIN and try not to miss the exit again. It was very very stressfull, and I'm a fairly good driver. It was the only fight the wife and I had on both trips...driving to Venice...the city of love???
Oh, and don't forget about the huge parking garages at Venice Island...they are huge and will cost you. Not only is that daily rental car fee being wasted but you have to PAY to park the useless rental car for your Venetian stay!
Really, train travel is so much nicer...just sitting back KNOWING where you're going but knowing that you don't have to worry about getting lost! What other sights are you planning on visiting that are inaccessible by train?