My family and I are driving to Norcenni Girasole campsite south of Florence, from Calais, this weekend. We have 3 days to get there, any suggestions for a scenic route maybe through Switzerland. We will be camping en route.

To save money on tolls, I would take a route through Belgium and Luxembourg (fill up with cheap fuel) and then through Germany and enter Switzerland at Basel (40 CHF motorway sticker - vignette - required). Depending on what time you leave Calais, you can stay either in the Ardennes or Germany (somewhere in Rheinland-Pfalz, such as a wine village near Trier). The second night can be in Switzerland, somewhere south of Luzern such as Altdorf or Andermatt. You can then use St Gotthard tunnel (no extra tolls) through Ticino to Italy and follow autostrada bypassing Milan to Florence.
Alternative route is from Luxembourg to Nancy and Mulhouse to Basel (staying overnight in the Vosges), and the second night near Lake Como.

<<To save money on tolls...

... and enter Switzerland at Basel (40 CHF motorway sticker - vignette - required).>>

Even though you can pay a whole lot more than 40 CHF on tolls in France, it still drives me crazy to have to buy that dang thing in Switzerland...

Although it could potentially add hours to your route, you COULD drive <u>around</u> Switzerland through the French Alps (as Hannibal did, cross in the Queyras - - col du Larche, for example) -- brings you out in a beautiful part of the Italian Piemonte.

Presumably there is a cross-country route from Torino to Florence without using the Livorno-Nice or the Milano-Florence autostrade, but I cannot tell you anything about going along such apath from personal experience.

Best wishes,

Rex

topping

Thank all you seasoned travellers for taking the time to reply to my query. it's very much appreciated. Just one other little one,what is the motorway sticker for Switzerland, have never driven through Switzerlnd before. New to Fodor's, LOVE IT. Thank you.

As the name suggests - - it's a &quot;tax&quot; (or toll) sticker applied to the windshield of the vehicle. It's required if you want to drive on any autobahn (synonym: &quot;motorway&quot; or as we nmight say in the US, &quot;interstate&quot; or &quot;freeway&quot. It's good for one year - - I resent it because you have to pay it even if you need to drive on an autobahn for 10 minutes.