wendysuebob

I have 3 nights, 4 days, to explore France, Switzerland or Italy on my way to Venice from Paris. Where would you suggest I stop on the way? I'd sort of like to have a base, rent a car, and see some small towns and beautiful nature, but I'm open to other ideas. ( I was going to head to Liechtenstein but it looks like it will be raining and without the mountians, I don't know if it's worth it.)

Cicerone

What time of year is your trip? Have you been to that part of Europe before such that you want to rule out places you have already been OR include places you want to see again?

The drive alone will take 10 hours or so, not sure if that is part of the 4 days. (Liechtenstein by the way, would be out of the most direct driving route between Paris and Venice by quite a ways.) 4 days is really short in that large an area, so you might want to pick one of the three countries to concentrate on and stick with that. The most direct route is down toward Dijon and Lyon and then to the south end of Lake Geneva and then towards Milan. I only know Lyon a little, but think you would find pretty villages along that route. A place like Mt Blanc would seem to be on the way and offers Alp scenery and villages (like Chamonix), as well as villages in the Lake Geneva area. Lake Como would also seem to work.

Lifeman

The first thing to realise is that you cannot explore France, Switzerland and Italy in 3 nights/4 days. As Cicerone says, the route will take you via Geneva and Milan but I think I'd aim for Milan in the one journey.

This is perfectly doable if you leave fairly early and you should arrive mid afternoon. My first overnight would be in Milan where there are lots of hotels and you could spend some time in the centre. Then press on to Bergamo, a really nice small town(but very steep). My last night would be at either Lake Garda or Verona, giving you an easy drive to Venice.

flanneruk

If you want "some small towns and beautiful nature" Milan's almost the last place on earth to stay in or near. And the more or less direct route has you leaving the main motorway to head towards Geneva about 50 miles before you get to Lyons.

The only really striking scenery is the bit from just before the Franco-Swiss border to about 70 miles NW of Milan. Before the mountains start in France, there's a fair amount of pretty, but unexceptional, countryside: once you descend into the plain Milan's on, the countryside is among the dullest in Europe till you get to Venice.

I'd get off the motorway near Geneva, head round the north shore of Lake Geneva, turn towards Martingny and take the St Bernard Pass (if open) or tunnel (if not). Overnight at Aosta, then take your choice of next night at Verona or Padua - but see them both.

Don't be tempted to detour much from the direct route from Paris to Macon, where the motorway turns east for Geneva: this has been THE route between London/Paris and Rome for the past 1,500 years, and it's stuffed with terrific towns. Just about everywhere between Auxerre and Macon is worth seeing - and I'd use the A6 between them, because you're really not missing mind-boggling scenery by doing so.

Overnighting at Beaune, Aosta and Verona gives you a pretty good sample of what's good in both countries.

StCirq

If you rent a car in France and drop it off in Italy, expect to pay a surcharge of about $500.

Lifeman

flanner, you've reminded me of the reasons that we started driving the route years ago--we'll do it your way. Ta!

suze

The poster asked about places in France, Switzerland *OR* Italy, not that she planned to see 3 countries in 3 days!