Driving in Nice

Old May 25th, 2007, 12:01 PM
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pastis1793
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Driving in Nice

All I keep hearing about is the driving and traffic is horrable in Nice......even in Winter? We will be there end of Decmeber into early January and plan to rent a car to drive into Italy and Provence. I need reassurance or a reality check?
 
Old May 25th, 2007, 12:24 PM
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You have a series of questions about driving in Nice, Milan, and beyond.

Driving and parking in major European cities is not for the faint of heart, nor for those short on patience and tolerance. Avoid it if you can.

OTOH, if you must then get good maps and a compass. Know your route before getting in the car. Know the road markings. Signage is different in Europe. Obey the speed limit even if others do not. Get an International Drivers License at the AAA. Buy the insurance to protect you against paying big for dings and scratches. Be prepared to pay megabucks for gasoline. Pay more for tolls in France and the expressway permit in Swiss.

There's more, but I'm sure others will chime in.

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Old May 25th, 2007, 12:49 PM
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nbujic
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o.k.
we drove around the last week in April, beginning of May.
At that time, the center of Nice was dug up ( new tram line) so traffic was slow and parking was a problem ,
We used the highway A-8 in France and A-10 in Italy because the scenic roads by the sea were too crowded.
We found that French drivers tended to follow right behind you, cut in, and were a bit erratic .
In Italy, the main problem were countless motorcycles and Vespas who were zooming around like mad.
Parking the car was not always a problem
once we got a ticket : 33 euros
It may be totaly different in the winter
 
Old May 25th, 2007, 12:57 PM
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nbujic
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sorry, got cut off.
The highway was much better, but it is not cheap ( Nice -Aix was about 15 euros).
Make sure you have enough change for parking ( and some tolls).
The highway signs , in some spots, did
not give a lot of time but we managed.
I would say that the worst part was the amount of traffic , but then , it will most likely be different in the winter. Good luck!
 
Old May 25th, 2007, 01:01 PM
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This was an interesting question for me as DH and I will be in NIce/Cannes at the end of Jan and want to go to Italy. I was a little surprized to find out it is only 4 hours to Florence.
We are debating weather to drive and take a leisure drive or the train. I wonder if the train runs along the watet to get to Florence?? It seems as if it would be vry scenic...

Funny, I just remembered aabout 23 years ago when I was in college I did this exact route by train but I have no recollection....maybe it was at night!!!
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Old May 25th, 2007, 01:09 PM
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The train from Nice to Genoa takes about 3 hours and goes through a lot of tunnels.
You may have to change trains at one point to get to Florence .
 
Old May 25th, 2007, 01:23 PM
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So, what you are saying the train is not very scenic!!!
We actually have been invited to genoa by friends to stay for a couple of days after Nice. I have never been there.
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Old May 25th, 2007, 01:32 PM
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it is - but not all the way!
 
Old May 25th, 2007, 02:05 PM
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I would not worry about it. We spent a month in Nice, and absolutely could not have managed at all without a car. The majority of the traffic, was coming back into town on the Blvd. Anglais in the afternoon, but in town the traffic was not bad at all, maybe parking was troublesome at times, in the Cours de Salaya area, but really no big deal, since there are several underground parking lots.

We used the car to travel to: Monaco, All the Hill towns above Nice, St.Paul de vence, Aix , Avignon, Marseilles, and all the way down to Portofino in Italy.
And this was in the summer!
Relax, and make sure you rent a car in Nice. It is not a problem, and I would recommend that you forget about an International drivers license, although I would go for the most comprehensive insurance I could get. We ended up with about 4 big dents in the car after a month.
AutoEurope is a ggod choice, and dont forget to eat at Le Merende in Cours de Salaya. I still dream of the smells of the food there!
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Old May 25th, 2007, 02:07 PM
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Another thought- If you can afford it, a Garmin Nuvi GPS with European maps is a godsend for travelling by car there.
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Old May 25th, 2007, 04:35 PM
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Driviing in european cities can be a little - but not much - more challenging that driving in big cities in the US. If you can drive in NYC or Boston (lots of one-way streets and drivers all operating con brio, hard to find places to park, small spaces with parallel parking on both sides, etc) then you'll do fine in europe.

If you're used to driving only on highways and in suburbs and malls with head-in parking - then you may find it a little more challenging.

But really - the worst that can happen is that you get a little lost and circle around. Since speeds are necessarily low in cities - it's really not dangerous.
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Old May 26th, 2007, 11:04 AM
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Thank you so much! So its sounds like driving is similiar to the 405 in La and parking like NYC....while reading signage in different languages making sure we don't speed...I'm sure my husband and I won't have one "driving" argument. LOL
 
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