Looking for scenic driving route from Venice to Florence
 

Hi,
I am an American who has lived in Paris since 1985 with my French husband. We will be driving from Venice to Florence in a few days and would like to make a few stops with our 12 yr old (thus the trip shouldn't be overly long for her). Any ideas would be most welcome!
Thanks a lot!

i know this sounds silly, but have you got a map? [michelin do a good touring and motoring atlas of europe which I'm sure that you can find easily in Paris, and might come in useful elsewhere, or just get a map of northern Italy]

if you have a look at the map, you'll see that the direct route goes via Padova, Ferrara and Bologna. on the motorway you could easily do this in less than a day, but you'd be missing loads of good things, and by the sound of it, that's not what you want to do.

a stop in any or all of these places would be lovely.

but, depending on how many days you want to take, there are other routes available.

A. you could run down the coast via Choggia to Ravenna, then cut across to Florence via Forli.

B. you could head west from Venice, see Verona, and then Lake Garda, which would be worth several days as there is lots to see on the lake [depending on the time of year - the boats and attractions tend to shut between October and May]. From there you could hear south to Florence via Modenaand Pistoia, or bologna.

C. you could do a combination of any of the above.

but your biggest ally is your map!

regards, ann

and what if from Venice to Florence without highway ?
Yes, you can.
Listen.
From Venice, you drive to Ravenna.
Fisrt stop to vist Comacchio, not well known and so pretty and charming.
Then the next stop is in Ravenna to visit mosaics. If you need details I am ready.
Then from Ravenna to Forlì and drive to FLorence crossing Appennino and enjoy every small hill town and views and colors and atmoshere and also the way you arrive in Florence is nice.

Ciao.

Vincenzo

Those are both great ideas, thanks!

The area of Italy between Venice and Florence is a treasure trove of beautiful cities and smaller villages. Havine driven many of those routes, I would be hard pressed to recommend a single way to go. If you want to see the cities, stick to the major ones already named. But if you want to see more of the character of Italy, stay off the autoroute and get on the back roads, stopping whenever your heart desires. That's what I would do, but I don't know what you enjoy.

Gillian,

How did your drive from Florence to Venice go? Would you mind sharing some details. My wife, 2 year old, and I will be doing the same one-day drive at the end of October. Any feedback would be truly appreciated.

Thank you,

Daniel

How about some help with a round trip from Tuscany to Venice.
We are a foursome traveling next Sept. and would like to rent a car in Florence, tour the beautiful Tuscan region, visit Venice and return auto to Florence. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated including accomodations, towns, "not to miss sights" and dining.