Milan Malpensa to Avignon by car - where to overnight?
Nov 28th, 2007, 08:23 PM
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Milan Malpensa to Avignon by car - where to overnight?
We are flying into Milan Malpensa 7:30 am on the 17th May 2008 and we will be driving to our house in the village of Beaumes de Venise (30km NE of Avignon). We will have a 21 hour transit into Milan from Australia so do not want to make this drive on the day of arrival. Can anyone suggest a good place to stop, say no more than 3 hours drive from Malpensa? ViaMichelin suggests Malpensa-Turin-Chambery-Valance as the quickest route, but Malpensa-Genoa-Nice-Avignon is only 1/2 or so different. We will definitely return via Nice so would be interested in the other way in but we don't really know ehere to stay. I'm sure that Turin would be worth seeing briefly but we'd prefer to avoid driving into town day1. Grateful for any suggestions. Greg
Dec 18th, 2007, 05:04 AM
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Greg, I never went in this direction (South to Genoa,Nice etc.) but in May I think Turin would be pretty but cold so I may head South. Easier driving I would think after your flight. Personally I'd find a Motel/Hotel near the airport and sleep! The highlight of your trip is going to be in Provence so I might plan accordingly. Bon Voyage.
Dec 18th, 2007, 08:52 AM
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Hi Greg,
If you do take the quickest route, and can drive 4 hours, Chateau de Candie in Chambery is a wonderful stop. We stayed overnight a few years ago and loved it.
One thing we did not love was the long, long Frejus tunnel that took us between France and Italy....not for the tunnel challenged!
Dec 18th, 2007, 02:20 PM
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I'm curious why you are flying into Milan if you are staying in Provence. Can you fly from Milan to Marseille or Nice? There is a 5 hr train to Nice - which is what I would do. I also think you'll save a lot of money in car rental if you pick up/drop off a car in France instead of Italy. CDW is required in Italy but not France (if you have a Gold or higher CC it will cover CDW at no cost to you).
I hate the drive from Genoa to Nice, and driving through the Alps in mid-May just after 20 hrs on the plane doesn't sound like fun.
Stu Dudley
I hate the drive from Genoa to Nice, and driving through the Alps in mid-May just after 20 hrs on the plane doesn't sound like fun.
Stu Dudley
Dec 19th, 2007, 06:15 AM
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Stick with Bob on this one. Traviata..have you seen the YouTube video with your screen name? http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=DTRMb3yEHf0
Dec 19th, 2007, 09:13 AM
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Greg,
While I agree with Bob and Stu' comments if you have to drive I would recommend San Remo. It is fairly close to Nice maybe halfway to Avingion (if I remember it was about 2-2 1/2 hrs to Marsailles from there). It is right on the water and a great rest stop. We stayed there after leaving Parma. We stayed at the Hotel Bobby which has great views of the water although I'm sure there are other places to stay.
While I agree with Bob and Stu' comments if you have to drive I would recommend San Remo. It is fairly close to Nice maybe halfway to Avingion (if I remember it was about 2-2 1/2 hrs to Marsailles from there). It is right on the water and a great rest stop. We stayed there after leaving Parma. We stayed at the Hotel Bobby which has great views of the water although I'm sure there are other places to stay.
Dec 20th, 2007, 07:20 PM
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Thanks everyone for your comments. By way of explanation, we are part owners of the house in Provence and know the area well - the Italian Lakes should be the highlight of this trip. Our preferred entry/exit for Beaumes de Venise is Marseille - an easy drive up the autoroute to the house. This time we are using Milan as (1) Thai Air flies there direct from Bangok - 'only' 21 hours Melbourne-Milan, (2) we have an excellent deal on business class seats with Thai, and (3) it works very well for the exit from the Lakes area.
Sleep won't be a problem - we normally sleep well on the second leg of the trip from Australia. Of course jet lag can be an issue, hence the idea of stopping over somewhere on day 1. Stu, our credit cards don't give us insurance but it will be built into the car hire which I will buy from here - pick up & drop off will both be in Italy. There's a range of suggestions here for which I thank everyone - I'll look up all the options suggested and then we'll just have to make a call. Maybe just wing it and see how we feel on the day.
Greg
Sleep won't be a problem - we normally sleep well on the second leg of the trip from Australia. Of course jet lag can be an issue, hence the idea of stopping over somewhere on day 1. Stu, our credit cards don't give us insurance but it will be built into the car hire which I will buy from here - pick up & drop off will both be in Italy. There's a range of suggestions here for which I thank everyone - I'll look up all the options suggested and then we'll just have to make a call. Maybe just wing it and see how we feel on the day.
Greg
Dec 20th, 2007, 07:40 PM
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I would take the scenic route if I was driving, which I wouldn't after a plane trip such as yours, and I do sleep well on the plane.
You seem to have time on your hands. Go up to Aosta and overnight. Next day go through the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Meander SW to your destination.
Jun 25th, 2008, 11:48 PM
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Back now from our trip. We had decided to drive south from Malpensa to hit the coastal road around Genoa and then to pick a place to stay the night however it didn't work out that way. We landed at Malpensa in heavy rain and it did not ease up all day. Neither of us were inclined to stop for sightseeing in the rain so we drove all the way down to Beaumes de Venise that day. I was acutely aware that fatique or jet-lag could sneak up on me so I was under close observation from my fellow traveller and we took frequent stops along the way. A challenging drive in the rain, with lots of trucks, and more tunnels than open air in Italy near the French border - but great fun all the same.
Jun 29th, 2008, 02:53 AM
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I had also asked questions about places to stay on the Italian Lakes and I did a quick report on that aspect as well. It's on athread headed "Looking for a base for a week around the Italian Lakes" Not sure if I've done this right, but this should be the link.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...en_name=GregY2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...en_name=GregY2
