We are a family of 5 (3 teenage boys) driving around France/Italy in October. Am having trouble planning trip. We currently have 6 nights in Paris,4 Venice, and want to spend majority of time in Tuscany/Umbria as a base. Also would like to include Rome and Amalfi. Question - what is the quickest and easiest route to go from Paris to Venice -
e.g. through Lyon and miss out French Riviera region or go north through Strausburg and come down through Switzerland. We have pre praid a leased car- pick up at end of stay in Paris and drop off before entering Rome.
Posted by
Ojai, CA
591 posts
Quickest way would be to head to the French Alps and cross into Italy near Chamonix via the Mont Blanc tunnel (about 700 miles). Sounds like you have enough time to stray off the route a little, so if you wanted to see the Riviera it would only be about another 250 miles (5 hours) to add to the trip. You also wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of an early snowfall in the Alps that might slow you down.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Leanne: Your question: "What is the quickest and easiest route to go from Paris to Venice?"Answer: Quickest route (and presumably the easiest) is south from Paris, then a bit north of Lyon heading east and passing near Geneva, Milan and on to Venice. 700 miles and highway driving time on the road of about 11 hours, that does not include time for stops. To see the details of this route, go here: http://maps.google.com/click Get Directionsand input Paris and Venice, it will draw the route for you.Another similar site is: http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htmTechnically you could "do the route" in a day and a half--but how many tourists would want to do that, the whole point of driving instead of going by train is to have the flexibility to stop where you want, and explore. So, the quickest route may not be the one you really want. Both websites allow you to fully explore your routing options, so that you can explore wherever you want to go.
Posted by
OP
brisbane
43 posts
Thanks for the above comments so far. Has anyone ever driven to Venice from Paris via Strasburg, into Germany and then through Bern Switzerland then Italy.
I know we're starting in Paris but thought this might be alternative to going through south of France then French Riviera region then Venice.
We have about 5 days that we can use before needing to be in Venice.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
Sorry, we drove from Salzburg down through the Brenner pass to Verona and then Venice (and on to CT, Florence and Rome).
I would recommend buiding your trip based on where you want to see on the way and don't schedule driving days of more than four hours a day. By the time you add in meals, checking in and out, and maybe a rest stop and a brief stop for a site or two four driving hours becomes a full day.