Drive from Florence to Paris
 

We are planning to drive from Florence to Paris in May. We will have 4 days to do the trip and would like any suggestions on the most scenic route to take. Thanks for your advice.

Hi P,

You have many options.

Do you want to drive for 4 days, making overnight stops, or stop somewhere for 2 nights?

You might want to start with the direct route at www.viamichelin.com or www.mappy.com and see what's in the vicinity.

((I))

A few years ago, we drove from Paris to Rome, stopping for the night in Beaune, two nights in Chamonix, then taking the Mont Blanc tunnel to Italy, then one night at Lake Garda, two nights in Venice, then crossed Italy to Florence, two nights there, then dropped off car at Rome airport. Sounds like a lot of driving, but we enjoyed being on our own schedule, not dealing with trains. Just stay in the far right lane at all times! There are plenty of gas station/restaurant/convenice store places all along the major roads. Just don't drive into any cities -- we drove into Florence and it took us two hours to get out.
Pam

Will this drive be by rental car? Are you eventually returning the car to Italy? Or are you prepared the many hundrds of dollars it will take, to return an Italian car in Paris?

That aside, if you're going to do this, then an intensely scenic route is to cross the Alps as Hannibal did, through the Queyras. Ass "Ventimiglia" and "Chianale" to your "vias" on mappy.com

On this route, here are four places to stay, and I'll vouch for each one of them:

Nyala Suites Hotel, San Remo

L'Equipe, Molines-en-Queyras

Chateau Longsard, Arnas

La Beursaudiere, Nitry

Best wishes,

Rex

I asked the same question in reverse a couple of months ago and rec'd wonderful answers full of history as well as the topography of the roads. You can find the info by searching paris to florence trip in search or paste http://tinyurl.com/za5lc

Thank you for your suggestions. We would like to spend a couple of nights in one location - perhaps Annecy or Lake Garda. We plan to lease a car in Paris - spend 3 weeks touring Italy and return to Paris via Austria. Any route suggestions would be greatly appreciated.