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? <BR> <BR>

The railway in Italy is very good and reliable. Roads are good as well. Get ready to pay a toll though. Italian autostradas cost quite a lot. I would take the train all the way to Nice and then rent a car. Italians are also the craziest drivers ever.

At what time of day you need to be in Nice, Linda? Knowing which trains you have to get, maybe I could comment on possible problems due to train delays. <BR> <BR>In principle, it doesn't make much sense going by train from Florence to Genoa to rent a car. The trip is surely over 3 hours with at least one train change. <BR> <BR>According to Michelin, the 421km between Florence and Nice may be covered in 4:06 hours. I haven't driven the distance, but I drove the Genoa-Florence piece a couple of times in about 2 hours. Both times were in July and there were no traffic problems. Around August 15th I'd bet there would, though. <BR> <BR>Paulo

The best (fastest) train connection from Florence to Nice is: <BR>Firenze S.M.N. 1:35pm 2:29pm Pisa Centrale (Regional train R 3127) <BR>Pisa Centrale 3:00pm 4:41pm Genova P. Principe (Eurostar train ES 9308) <BR>Genova P. Principe 4:56pm 7:58pm Nice Ville (Intercity train IC 346) <BR> <BR>Train R3127 starts in Florence and delays in departure are very unlikely (if a strike isn't on . The trip is short. Therefore, chances of missing the Eurostar in Pisa are very slim. The Eurostar 9308 starts its journey in Rome (enroute to Torino). Though delays are possible, they rarely occur (if a train departs more than 30 minutes late from any station, Ferrovia dello Stato will refund 50% of the fare). The IC 346 is the new denomination of the IC 345 that starts its journey in Basel, Switzerland. Delays here are more likely but, though inconvenient, won't keep you from reaching Nice (actually the might accomodate eventual Pisa's Eurostar delays). <BR> <BR>The other option I referred to in the other thread, reads: <BR> <BR>Firenze S.M.N. 8:25am 9:29am Pisa Centrale (train R3111) <BR>Pisa Centrale 10:09am 11:54am Genova P. Principe (train ES9306) <BR>Genova P. Principe 12:05pm Ventimiglia 3:00pm (train D2886) <BR>Ventimiglia 3:15pm 3:59pm Nice Ville (train 56946) <BR> <BR>Same remarks as above apply to the R3111 and ES9306. The D2886 starts in Genoa and is a local train. Therefore, should the Eurostar be late, it'll wait for it to start its journey. This train stops at every single station between Genoa and Ventimiglia. I wouldn't be at all suprised if it delays. But one shouldn't worry because once in Ventimiglia there are trains that cover the 40+ minute distance to Nice at least every hour (e.g., departures at 4:11pm, 4:40pm). <BR> <BR>The best one can do via Milan is: <BR> <BR>Firenze S.M.N. 11:13am 2:00pm Milano Centrale (ES9408) <BR>Milano Centrale 3:10pm 7:58pm Nice Ville (IC345) <BR> <BR>This makes little sense because one has to go all the way to Milan to take the same train discriminated in option 1 above (1 less train change certainly isn't worth leaving Florence a couple of hours earlier). <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

Driving to Nice, whether from Genoa or Florence does NOT incur ANY tools on the autostrade (in Italy). It's almost surprising, since it surely took a lot of money to drill those ONE-HUNDRED and FIFTY tunnels you encounter on this stretch of autostrada! It's like they took a laser beam and went through a stack of plates in the dish drainer. <BR> <BR>There is a 10,50 FF ($1.50 USD) toll for the last little stretch in France. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

Linda, We took Paulo's first train option in March, and it worked perfectly. We did get our tickets the day before to get seat reservations where available. Also found locals very helpful when asking about making transfers. Pisa and Genoa have more than one station, so you want to make sure you get off at the right one.

to the top, as an accompaniment to the Genoa-to-Nice thread.

ciao linda <BR> <BR>i just turned yesterday back from my holidays in provence. i live in firenze and my hint is: rent a car and drive: Firenze - Genova - Ventimiglia - Nice. it's particularly from genova to nice very nice and you don't have any customs to do because the EU doesn't have any borders anymore. the autostrada is in good conditions (take care about the signs in genova) and it takes you only 5 hours (with stops in beteween!!) from here to nice. if you need more tips don't hesitate to e-mail me directly. <BR> <BR>tanti saluti! <BR> <BR>christina

STOP REX!!! <BR> <BR>don't tell untrue things!!!! of course you pay toll on our autostrada between firenze and nice! you pay: for the part from Firenze to Viareggio (around 15'000 lire) and then from Viareggio to Ventimiglia (there i don't know how much because i do have Telepass but it must be around 50'000 Lire) and then you have to pay twice between Ventimiglia and Nice some FF. <BR> <BR>Allora Rex, primo di dire bugie informati bene!! <BR> <BR>tanti saluti <BR> <BR>christina

My apologies, Christina. I actually DID think that I had remembered some toll inthe intial stretch of this drive, but my source for this was www.mappy.com and it only mentioned the French tolls. <BR> <BR>Is my estimate of the number of tunnels wrong too? <BR> <BR>I counted them the second time I made this drive, and wrote it down in a journal somewhere, but right now I can't seem to locate it. <BR> <BR>Maybe I have previously posted here on the forum. I suppose I should search under "tunnels". <BR>

Cristina, Lit 9,500 toll is due at the "barriera" Lucca San Donato plus Lit 44,500 at the Italian border. <BR>Paulo

Paulo, <BR> <BR>Have you found www.mappy.com to be inaccurate with Italian tolls before? I never gave it much thought - - maybe it's only accurate for French tolls. Or have you ever tried it for that purpose? <BR>

ciao rex e paolo <BR> <BR>i drive this tunnels ???? times and i allways have to pay attention not to drive too fast..... that's why i can't count them <BR> <BR>paolo, the last time when i drive from us (firenze) to forte dei marmi (before i had telepass) i payed 12'500 lire for the toll. but as you know, the autostrada company lifted the prices last winter. <BR> <BR>sure i appologise you rex, no problem! <BR> <BR>tanti saluti <BR> <BR>christina

e saluti a lei, christina! <BR> <BR>

Thanks for all the info. I am not as concerned about tolls. If I pick a car up in Genoa, I have to go from the RR station to the airport-is that a hassle? <BR>But driving would give me 6 extra hours to do as I please from Genoa to Nice.

Drove Lucca to Monte Carlo several years ago. The autostrada is excellent, but I found going into and coming out of the many, many tunnels to be exhausting. It was raining off and on that day so was dark and then bright, leading to a tremendous headache! You could stop in Monte Carlo on the way to Nice if you've never been there. A nice stop for lunch would be in Camogli at the Cenobio dei Doge. It's just south of Genoa and used to be a summer home of the doge of Genoa. Dining room right on water.