Driving the seaside route between northern Italy and French Riviera
 

Every year, as part of a month long visit to Italy and France, we make the trip from Camogli, Italy, to Mougins, France via the Autostrada...It is quick and easy, but surely the least attractive road in all of Italy..someone on Fodor's said that there were 154 tunnels, but there MUST be more...it feels like 1,000! As you drive from tunnel to tunnel you can catch glimpses of beautiful scenery down on your left (for a split second...) We want to know if anyone has driven the seaside route (Via Aurelia??) and, if so, what does it entail?? We don't mind challenging driving if the view is a reward, but we are concerned about time and continuity of the road....maps, even Mappy, are a bit confusing, especially near Genoa. We want to leave Camogli in the morning and arrive Mougins by late afternoon or early evening. Has anyone had first hand experience with this trip??

I have only driven the part from Monaco onwards. Between Monaco and Nice there are different roads; the Grand Corniche, the Moyenne Corniche, and the road along the sea; 'bord du mer'. The moyenne Corniche is not that difficult, and views are stunning. Stop for lunch at Eze!
From Nice you can continue along the bord du mer, following the Promenade des Anglais. This road can get very busy depending on the time of day and year. Or you can join the motorway from Nice to Mougins; the Baie des Anges and Nice are pretty, but after Nice the towns of St Laurent, Cagnes, Villeneuve Loubet, are not scenic at all.
If you want to drive along the coast, follow the Bord du Mer signs.

I wouldn't follow the seaside route all the way to Cannes, since you would then have to drive up through Cannes to get to Mougins.

Tulips,

Thank you for the information..the route from Monaco looks pretty straightforward and you have confirmed that...it is the Italian part that has us hesitant !! We would be happy taking the seaside route as far as San Remo or Monaco then going onto the routes you suggest to get us to Mougins, but we really would LOVE to try to get close to the sea in Italy..!!

No one has posted on the Italian part of this drive....does this mean we are destined to face those tunnels again?????

Anyone???????

I've driven from Camogli to Cap d'Antibes, and I confess I quite like the autostrade in Liguria. Have you driven many other autostrades in Italy? Around Pisa? Around Bologna? They are usually loaded with truck traffic and (traffic jams). In the mountains of Le Marche, some of the tunnels go on 10 minutes or more. You think you are in a Fellini nightmare after 5 minutes of them.

By contrast, the tunnels in Liguria are quite short and the drivers are very unagressive. You don't want to hear about Sicily, do you?

Also, if you ever got off the autostrade and went up into the Ligurian hills -- where nobody goes faster than 25 miles an hour because the roads are so twisy and potholed you can't go faster -- you might come to love that zippy, empty Ligurian autostrade for its sheer modernity and time-saver-ness.

Anyway, to answer your question, the Via Aurelia goes from Rome from Tuscany. But if you are thinking of getting off the autostrade and taking the coastal road from Camogli into France, you will first have to navigate the Genovese port (and later the port of Imperia), and I doubt it's worth it. After that and in between you will be driving through a string of very small Italian towns, very heavily trafficked with Vespas and trucks, etc. And of course, one way streets and roundabouts. If it is nice day between June and September, you may never get to France at all!

Like you said the Ligurian autostrade is quick and easy. To amuse yourself, count how many seconds you spend in each tunnel, and then tote up the minutes at the end of your trip. I'd be surprised if the entire trip is even ten minutes of tunnel time.

nessundorma,

You have told me what I think I already knew...don't try it...the autostrada IS fast...it is just the lure of those beautiful seaside vistas that call to you as you go through tunnel after tunnel...the maps around Genoa looked confusing..having been lost once already in the port area of Genoa, not eager to do it again..we have driven to Rapallo, Camogli, Portovenere, etc. but always to spend the night, not try to get to France!! Thanks for your help...

Well don't deprive yourself. You surely have time to get off the road at least once or twice. I understand Albenga has a beautiful historic center. Cervo is lovely place to take a break. There is an olive oil museum in Oneglia. I had a fabulous lunch right on the beach in Porto Maurizio -- but it could have been anywhere, really. If you've been staying in Camogli, you know how good the seafood is.

It seems to be that if you get off shortly before Ospedale (sp?) and then drive through Bordighera, then hop back on the autostrade shortly thereafter, you won't add too much to your trip and Bordighera is a kind of loopy place. (Where else is there an abandoned grand hotel once occupied by the Nazis that is called -- no kidding -- Hotel Angst?) Look at the map for few possibilties for zipping off the Autostrade both before Imperia and after Imperia.

You can even drive through San Remo if it's not a weekend.

There are a few websites that pretty much describe every town along the coast in the Riviera Ponente. Take a chance. You can always get back on the autostrade if you're not having fun.

nessundorma,

Thank you!! If we can stop now and then we can be happy with just a taste....I am still laughing about the "Fellini nightmare" comment...how very true..

Here are two websites that might help you decide where to take a break to look at the sea or a church or something.

The one with less information is in English:

http://www.initaly.com/regions/liguria/ponente.htm

This is an interactive map with descriptions in Italian of every town on the coast, but the pictures will give you some idea:

http://www.rivieraligure.it/ponente.php

And my mistake: It is Ospedaletti. There really is no town there to speak of, so you can drive quite fast after San Remo to Bordighera. But I will warn you: I have more than once rounded a blind corner in Liguria to find myself facing 5 oncoming Vespas. They always all managed to get back to their side of the road in the nick of time, but it does take some getting used to.

But I would just say go for lunch someplace when you're hungry. Even you mistakenly pick an ugly town with hideous concrete hotels, the food will be better than the AutoGrille.

Not only have you given me confidence to do this, when so many friends said "don't", but you have made it sound inviting and fun...thank you so much for the links..I will study them carefully...and you know, you are exactly right...this particular Autostrada is one of the easier and less traveled ones we drive..it is good to be reminded of that...all I have to do when I am on it next time is remember the A4 across the top of Italy....surely one of my LEAST favorites!! Thank you again..

Great! Have fun!

Hey -- and I learned something too. It is still the via Aurelia up there!

Yes,that's what I had read..it is the Via Aurelia and why it made me think it was one long, continuous, road..but we have driven up and down those hills many, many times...the one true thing we know about driving in Italy is that nothing is ever a straight road!!