We have the opportunity to do a great trip next summer. We have French friends in Paris to stay with, and U.S. friends who are renting in Tuscany to stay with. I'm hoping to hear from people who have done either a road trip or train travel, both leisurely, from Paris to Tuscany. Why do you advocate car or train if you have a preference? We have been to Tuscany before and found a car very valuable, so even if we did do rail travel most of the rest of the way, we might rent a car there. We have about 17 or 18 days to devote to this odyssey, and want to spend at least 2 nights in Paris, 5 in Tuscany and 2 in Rome for our flight out. We'd like a lot of opinions on this. Also input on places to stay on the way and how long. We enjoy small to mid-size towns and would like to spend some time in Provence for sure. And we are traveling with a teenage son. Thanks, all.
Car or train from Paris to Tuscany?
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Sounds like fun, but your problem is the car drop costs between countries. I would train to Avignon[2], then to Nice[3] and finally to Genoa and get my car there and onto the Cinque Terre from there for 3 nites. Your Tuscany destination is probably 2 hours from there, and you take it from there. Drop the car at Orvieto and train into Rome. Good luck !
Look into low-budget flights from wherever in France to wherever in Italy at www.whichbudget.com. Much easier in the long run than renting a car and dropping it off in another country, which will cost you a LOT.
This is good feedback. I wondered about the car rental cost. I am thinking rail in France and then a flight from Nice to Rome, which looks very affordable on the website provided. We could then rent a car for the Tuscany portion. Planes, trains and automobiles, I guess.
We have done a whole bunch of road trips is europe - usually 3 weeks - and 3 from Rome to Paris. I would definitely do car - it gives you much more freedom to explore as you like every day - and you don't have to worry about hauling luggage around or meeting someone else's schedule.
On our trips we stopped in Florence, Venice, Innsbruck, Munich the Black Forest, Lucerne, Trier, Strasbourg and the Vezelay/Avallon area of burgundy (not all on the same trip naturally). We tend to spend 2 or 3 nights in smaller towns (doing day trips) and 3 or 4 nights in smaller cities (ditto). When you have a car there are many interesting places within an hour or 1.5 hours of most any large town/small city.
You just need to decide on what you like best. You don;t say exactly when you're going - we always go in May and start in Rome and head north - to stay with the pleasant but not hot weather. So - you may want to consider doing the trip in reverse depending on your dates.
I am re-thinking this trip based on feedback and a new set of priorities. Now I think we will fly into Paris, stay with our friends there, then travel a bit by rail in France. Return to Paris (or leave from another city in France) and take a cheap flight to Rome. Then rent a car to have in Tuscany for the rental. We have interest in Normandy, Burgundy, Bordeaux area and Provence, but I think we would like to limit it to one spot (we just don't like moving around that much). If we spend two nights in Paris upon arrival, we can spend 4 or 5 nights elsewhere before a flight to Rome (depending on whether we return to Paris for one night). Since we won't have a car in France, the destination needs to be interesting enough for 4 days minimum, but we are not fast-paced travelers; we like to savor a location and don't have to be on the go constantly.
I am open to feedback on which direction to head. We are hoping for the least stress possible in taking the flight to Rome. Which cities in France, other than Nice, would we be be able to find a direct flight to Rome? My husband is very interested in good food, wine and Normandy WWII destinations (me too), so I am leaning that direction. I think what we could get in Provence (as an experience) might be similar to what we will get in Tuscany, but please correct me if I am wrong.