florence to nice pit stop
 

We are looking for a place to stop on the way from florence to nice.
We would like a place that is easy to get to easy to park and easy to get back out of.
Maybe somewhere along the coast to stop for lunch and have a look around for an hour or two.
Any other information regarding traffic along the coast would be appreciated.
It looks like we will be taking the autostrada for time sake unless there is a good reason not to.
thanks

Hi Chewey - My suggestion would be Santa Margherita or Finale Ligure (- either side of Genoa)

Steve

Steve
thanks for your suggestions. I have googled these places and they look nice. Out of the two which would you choose?
And any restaurant recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks

any other suggestions?

Santa Margherita Ligure is a nice small harbor city. We stayed there three nights one May. We had no problem finding good restaurants there.
:)>-

Of the two I'd choose Santa Margherita, Chewey.

I've stopped off several times - but never stayed unfortunately :( - so I don't have a restaurant tip I'm afraid ...

Steve

Santa Margherita is great as is San Remo which is further up the coast and closer to Nice.

I pulled these sections out of my Santa Margherita Ligure trip report, for restaurant names:

"Despite the late hour of our arrival, we were interested in dinner, so we walked down to the town. Santa Margherita feels very safe, and we were comfortable there walking at all hours to and from the hotel. We easily found a few interesting restaurants, and chose the Ristorante “A Lampara”, via Maragliano 33. It is a small and cute place, with many locals still there chatting. It was fine for our light, late-night meal.

". . .that night we found the Trattoria Baicin, via Algeria 5, and enjoyed a nice dinner for about 35.50 EUR, including a half-liter of house wine.

"We’d heard other guests mention they had eaten twice at a restaurant in town, and we decided to try it for our last meal in Santa Margherita. It’s called Ristorante da Emilio, Piazza Martiri della Liberta 20. It had especially attractive outdoor seating, and the prices were also relatively inexpensive. Our meal included salad, cheese, veal, pasta, one-half liter of house wine, and cappuccino for 51.70 EUR."

Hope this helps.
:)>-

We just drove that route last week and I have to tell you that it was the worst drive of our lives. We left Florence about 11:30 A.M. and arrived in Monte Carlo about 5, only stopping for quick coffee and restroom breaks.

We had driven it before and knew to expect the winding roads, tunnels and speeding Mario Andretti wannabes but this was positively harrowing.

It rained almost the whole way, every 10k or so one or the other lanes would be closed for construction but no one working and there was a constant line of trucks (granted they all drove fairly professionally). Trying to dodge the rain backsplash from the trucks and watch for the lane closure signs had both of us on edge.

The drive from Monte Carlo to Beaune the next day was about 7 hours (again, it rained buckets the whole way) but it was a walk in the park compared to the day before. We both breathed a sigh of relief when we got on the Autoroute.

Sorry I went on so about that ;-). Your question was about the traffic. I would say it really wasn't that bad. Trucks stayed on the right except to let people in from the access ramps and only a couple passing on a hill. Most cars were driving around the 130k and no one expect a few trucks were slowing to the 110k limit for the rain.

I think if it hadn't been for the lane closures it wouldn't have been that bad. The signs were hard to see in the rain and you didn't have much time to merge to one lane.

Cheweydan, why not take the train? So much more relaxing.
:)>-

I would suggest the train also. We were going to do that and pick the car up in Nice but it was a much longer trip, about 8 hours with a transfer. As it turned out, I wish we had done it.

I have a wonderful suggestion.

Camogli, Italy. It is just on the other side of the penninsula from Santa Marg. Very Italian, beautiful and not very touristy.

We stayed at this hotel: Cenobio dei dogi, it was great.

I think I will still drive even after hearing that story.
There is something about driving that I find appealing especially when exploring a new place. I do hope the weather is nicer though as that can make a big difference.
I will also be driving from nice to lauterbrunnen switzerland and it is this part of my whole journey that worries me a bit.