Linda

What is the driving like from Genoa to Nice-road conditions, congestion, etc. I am trying to get from Florence to Nice and have 3 options: <BR>1. Rail from Florence to Milan to Nice-quite long and I believe, not very scenic <BR>2. Rail from Florence to Genoa and drive to Nice. <BR>3. Rail to Genoa, to some other town and then Nice. I am afraid with so many transfers that if one connection is late, we will be stuck. <BR>Any suggestions would be appreciated. How reliable are the trains? Which option would be better?

Joel

Linda, we've driven this route several times while living in France. There is an excellent, continuous highway connection between the two cities. It is the equivalent of an American interstate, but they seem to have some technique for providing a smoother surface on their "interstates", which, at least in France, are called Autoroutes. <BR>Both the Italian and French sections run well above the sea and inland a few miles, so you are almost continuously seeing a beautiful landscape of farms and sea out the window from on high. There are many tunnels. Fun for awhile, they became an irritation going light-dark-light-dark. To my knowldege I'm the only person that has ever whined about it. <BR>The route is a toll road, customs is very fast, about as fast as going through a toll booth as I recall. <BR>That said, you have another choice in roads, the local road that runs through every coastal town is down on the sea, parallels the autoroute and gives you the up-close, but much slower route. <BR>As to congestion, it was nothing. Speed tends to be around 130 km/hr or 80 mph, typical for both country's autoroutes. Service plazas are plentiful. <BR>Regarding the train options you mention, we found that train travel in Europe is the preferred way to travel if comfort and scenery is a priority. I would think that the scenery from the train will be better than from a car: you're up high, you are not looking all the time at commerce along the highway, you're travelling through fields and mountains with no billboards or other "junk" along the way, and most of all, you do not have the stress of driving. Train punctuality is phenomenal in France where we travelled often by train. Our train travel in Italy was infrequent, but neither my wife nor I recall any problems. <BR>We took the train if we were going to a city such as Paris where we knew that public transportation in the city was as good or better than bringing a car. <BR>One issue that you will want to check out if you decide to take a rental car is whether you can drop it off at another location and, if so, is there a fee. We never used a rental in Europe as we owned our own vehicle, but it is standard in the U.S. for there to be a drop-off fee which is highly variable. <BR>Ciao-Au Revoir

sghosh

I don't care for driving, so I did not do any in N. Italy, but perhaps I can offer you a little information about the trains there. I did go from Nice through Genoa to Milan on the train. Though most of the Italian trains were rather aged (I found this charming, but if you are used to having everything shiny, new, and completely first-class, you might not like it) they ran on time, very much according to schedule. I never had any problem with connections. Station clerks and staff ranged from simply polite to very kind and helpful. <BR>You will have to make several connections no matter which train route you choose, and this can be tiring. <BR>For the most part, as I recall, the scenery was pleasant but not spactacular (lots of rolling green fields, little towns, etc.), but the train ride from Genoa to Nice (once you escape Genoa's terrifyingly industrial perimiter) is extremely beautiful. The tracks run right along the Mediterranian. I recommend it highly. You will probably need to change trains at the boarder, but these trains run so frequently that it won't matter much if you are delayed.

Anthony

Linda, <BR> <BR>Last year we drove from Siena to St. Remy in Provence. This route encompassed your Genoa-Nice route. It took 8+ hours. <BR> <BR>Roads are excellent. It is all 85/90 mph driving. Little scenery. And tunnels! We counted 180 on our trip. You need two drivers to relieve the boredom. <BR> <BR>We looked in to train travel but it took too long. Since you are covering less ground then we did Option 2 might make the best sense. My guess on the drive from Genoa to Nice would be 3+ hours. <BR>Incidentally, plane fares between various cities you mentioned were very expensive. <BR> <BR>Good luck.