Driving along coast Italy-France... where to stop? How hard a drive?
May 16th, 2000, 06:59 PM
#1
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Driving along coast Italy-France... where to stop? How hard a drive?
Driving from Florence area to Provence - St. Remy. What kind of a drive is it? I am guessing similar to driving the coast of Northern California. Where is a good place to stop for lunch? Any places a must see? <BR>Obviously the whole area is heaven but can't <BR>see it all and will have already spent time <BR>in Amalfi coast. Thanks for replies....
May 17th, 2000, 02:48 AM
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Last month we drove from Nice to San Gimignano (just south of Florence) on autostrade. There are places to grab snack at gas stations but we didn't want to get off road as time was more important. There are about 154 tunnels on this absolutely wonderful road. Takes about four hours to Nice at about 125 kph. <BR>Richard
May 17th, 2000, 07:46 AM
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I drove from Cuneo to Pisa. Definately take the autostrad as opposed to the secondary coastal road. You'll find yourself in the craziest traffic jams thru all those tiny coastal towns. The drive is pretty spectacular with the mountains, bridges and tunnels. We went in Nov.'99 and it was foggy and slightly drizzly so we took out time. We stopped at the famous (and delicious) auto-grille that you find everywhere.
May 17th, 2000, 08:13 AM
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Diane - The portion from about Monaco to south of Aix-in-Provence is much more crowded (generally speaking) than driving up the Calif coast from Stinson Beach to Fort Bragg, for example. More densely populated, with fast, heavy traffic on the autoroads, especially in the tourist season. Have not driven in Italy. We alternated between smaller highways and the 'expressways' and found both to be less than relaxing in late May-99.
May 17th, 2000, 08:38 AM
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Diane - Forgot to mention we had a good, regional Michelin road map, which along with the generally excellent French road signs, kept us from getting too lost. There is a good trip planning web site mentioned by others (www.iti.fr?) which we used to estimate driving time. Found it to be accurate. You might consider heading inland a few miles at some point after you reach France to get a flavor for that region. If you're lucky, you might find the lavender fields in bloom (July?). Good luck.
