Paris to Florence drive
Jan 5th, 2006, 07:12 PM
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Paris to Florence drive
We are planning to drive from Paris to Florence in May. will someone who has made this drive offer soem travel advice. such as how long, difficult, points of interest, etc.
Jan 5th, 2006, 10:36 PM
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It's quite lengthy, and traverses some of the best of France, worthy of 3 to 10 nights' worth of exploration, minimum.
Many people are quite surprised by the segment from Nice to Pisa which travels through 154 tunnels and bridges (yes, 154, that is not a typo). The terrain, especially from Genoa to Livorno, is like a stack of solid rock "plates", arranged like dishes in a dish drainer. The road seems to have been drilled from one plate to the next - - tunnel, bridge, tunnel, bridge... and so on, one after another after another...
I advice becoming familiar with viamichelin.com or mappy.com or both for this... or any driving trip in Europe.
Will you be renting a car in France? and returning it in France? or seeking to return it in Italy. That will cost you many, many hundreds of euros in drop charge. Consider returning a French car in Nice, taking the train to San Remo, and begin a new rental in Italy... for return in Italy.
Best wishes,
Rex
Many people are quite surprised by the segment from Nice to Pisa which travels through 154 tunnels and bridges (yes, 154, that is not a typo). The terrain, especially from Genoa to Livorno, is like a stack of solid rock "plates", arranged like dishes in a dish drainer. The road seems to have been drilled from one plate to the next - - tunnel, bridge, tunnel, bridge... and so on, one after another after another...
I advice becoming familiar with viamichelin.com or mappy.com or both for this... or any driving trip in Europe.
Will you be renting a car in France? and returning it in France? or seeking to return it in Italy. That will cost you many, many hundreds of euros in drop charge. Consider returning a French car in Nice, taking the train to San Remo, and begin a new rental in Italy... for return in Italy.
Best wishes,
Rex
Jan 5th, 2006, 11:00 PM
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You can do this easily in 12 hours. But it's a gazillion times quicker and cheaper to get a low-cost flight from Orly to Pisa, so you'd be a fool to waste time driving flat out.
The road from the Ile de France to Tuscany has been the central axis of Western civilisation since Julius Caesar beat the Gauls into submission. It was also the central axis of Western commerce until the businessmen of Liverpool and Manchester redefined commerce in the early 19th century. So there's an AWFUL lot of stuff to divert you (including, incidentally, a number of museums simply dedicated to the roads themselves) along the way. There's also an AWFUL lot of alternative roadways, though the route currently accepted as the one most frequently used for the past 2000 years is at www.francigena.ch. The site talks a great deal of historical bollocks, but it's interesting saloon-bar gossip.
Get yourself a decent atlas (the Michelin or mappy sites just aren't good enough), make sure you have decent guide books (strongly recommend the Blue Guides: literate and arranged roughly in the order of an itinerary) in the car and choose where along the way you want to divert to.
Personally, I wouldn't follow Rex's route, which is a bigger detour than necessary. The key is to turn off the A6 before Lyons, following first the signs for Geneva, then the signs for Milan. Take the Tangenziale shortly before Milan, following signs for the A1 (Rome/Florence). This takes you through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, gets you through the Alps (which you miss if you go the Riviera route) painlessly, keeps you on dual carriageways, minimises the number of sharp bends into unlit tunnels and is the shortest sensible route.
Where before and after the Alpine bit you choose to divert to is up to you.
<b> But if you allow less than 3 or 4 days you are absolutely wasting your time, and would be a great deal better off flying. </b>
The road from the Ile de France to Tuscany has been the central axis of Western civilisation since Julius Caesar beat the Gauls into submission. It was also the central axis of Western commerce until the businessmen of Liverpool and Manchester redefined commerce in the early 19th century. So there's an AWFUL lot of stuff to divert you (including, incidentally, a number of museums simply dedicated to the roads themselves) along the way. There's also an AWFUL lot of alternative roadways, though the route currently accepted as the one most frequently used for the past 2000 years is at www.francigena.ch. The site talks a great deal of historical bollocks, but it's interesting saloon-bar gossip.
Get yourself a decent atlas (the Michelin or mappy sites just aren't good enough), make sure you have decent guide books (strongly recommend the Blue Guides: literate and arranged roughly in the order of an itinerary) in the car and choose where along the way you want to divert to.
Personally, I wouldn't follow Rex's route, which is a bigger detour than necessary. The key is to turn off the A6 before Lyons, following first the signs for Geneva, then the signs for Milan. Take the Tangenziale shortly before Milan, following signs for the A1 (Rome/Florence). This takes you through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, gets you through the Alps (which you miss if you go the Riviera route) painlessly, keeps you on dual carriageways, minimises the number of sharp bends into unlit tunnels and is the shortest sensible route.
Where before and after the Alpine bit you choose to divert to is up to you.
<b> But if you allow less than 3 or 4 days you are absolutely wasting your time, and would be a great deal better off flying. </b>
Feb 1st, 2006, 02:47 PM
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Dear PT,
Is the purpose of this trip to motor through France or to get from Paris to Florence?
If the latter, fly.
See www.myair.com for flights from Orly to Venice.
Is the purpose of this trip to motor through France or to get from Paris to Florence?
If the latter, fly.
See www.myair.com for flights from Orly to Venice.
Feb 1st, 2006, 05:11 PM
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P_Texas,
Hi! My family is doing this drive in June! (but going on to Rome)
We are stopping in Beaune, in Provence for three nights, and in the Cinque Terre for 2 nights. I've used Mappy.com to get great info on driving distances.
Regarding renting a car, Rex is right. There is a huge "drop off fee". I spent hours researching, and posted this info on another thread:
"I did get some interesting info. by calling around for a mid-size 12-day rental (pick up Paris - drop off Rome). I was surprised that Autoeurope was the MOST expensive quote I got, although they said they would "beat" other quotes.
Avis: $890
Hertz direct: $925
Hertz thru Autoeurope: $1000 ($950 if I pay in full now)
Budget-doesn't do one-way from Paris to Rome."
The bottom line was $75 per day, all taxes/fees included. (geez, you'd think I was getting a BMW or something) Haven't looked into it yet, but was thinking about Rex's idea: dropping off in Nice, taking the train to San Remo, and picking up an Italian car from there. (I'd have to save a lot of $$ though to do that, since I would giving up time and freedom, as well as adding hassle.) Also thinking of calling NOVA rentals.
Rex--I had no idea that highway was so interesting! I can't wait!
Have fun planning!
Dina
Hi! My family is doing this drive in June! (but going on to Rome)
We are stopping in Beaune, in Provence for three nights, and in the Cinque Terre for 2 nights. I've used Mappy.com to get great info on driving distances.
Regarding renting a car, Rex is right. There is a huge "drop off fee". I spent hours researching, and posted this info on another thread:
"I did get some interesting info. by calling around for a mid-size 12-day rental (pick up Paris - drop off Rome). I was surprised that Autoeurope was the MOST expensive quote I got, although they said they would "beat" other quotes.
Avis: $890
Hertz direct: $925
Hertz thru Autoeurope: $1000 ($950 if I pay in full now)
Budget-doesn't do one-way from Paris to Rome."
The bottom line was $75 per day, all taxes/fees included. (geez, you'd think I was getting a BMW or something) Haven't looked into it yet, but was thinking about Rex's idea: dropping off in Nice, taking the train to San Remo, and picking up an Italian car from there. (I'd have to save a lot of $$ though to do that, since I would giving up time and freedom, as well as adding hassle.) Also thinking of calling NOVA rentals.
Rex--I had no idea that highway was so interesting! I can't wait!
Have fun planning!
Dina
Feb 1st, 2006, 05:14 PM
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There are several ways to go - and innumerable sights to see on the way. It all depends on you, your interrests and how long you have.
We did Rome to Paris via Florence, Innsbruck, Munich and the Black Forest - in 3 weeks - but we had done both Rome and Paris before so only spent 3 days in each.
We did Rome to Paris via Florence, Innsbruck, Munich and the Black Forest - in 3 weeks - but we had done both Rome and Paris before so only spent 3 days in each.
Feb 1st, 2006, 08:21 PM
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Looking this thread over again (it's a few weeks old) - - I was surprised to see that the websites I cited (and everyone else as well) are now "live" <i>hot links</i> - - that is, you can go to any of them simply by clicking on them. I knew that Fodors had activated this possibility a day or two go, but this was simply the first tie I noticed that it works for ANY website, cited even before Jan 31. Including those which lack the "www" in front of them.
Feb 1st, 2006, 11:07 PM
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Rex, could you be a bit more specific with the cost of pickup France drop off Italy. I suppose it depends on the cities and the type of car or is there a flat fee regardless? We will be picking up Nice dropping off Florence (Avis)and I am finding it hard to know exactly what it might cost, apart from the car rental.
Feb 2nd, 2006, 04:22 AM
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after viewing train maps, and reading your advice, i am hoping to talk everyone into taking the train from paris to avignon. rent a car to drive around, then train to the marseille area. i would love to see the tunnels but that would require renting the car in france and dropping off in italy, too expensive. do the trains go thru the tunnels? and are the train routes as scenic as the highways? perhaps i could take photos of the historical markers thru the window , and blow them up to read later for my history. (just kidding, i won't have to, my history buff husband will give a running dissertation). Rex and Flanneruk's history was as welcome as the travel advice. thanks.
Feb 2nd, 2006, 07:04 AM
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Sounds like you're narrowing down your decisions; it will be a wonderful trip with beautiful scenary, no matter which route and mode of transportation you take.
Seven years ago, we made a similar trip, except we started in Florence, visited Tuscany, stayed in the Cinque Terre for several days (all of which we'd been to previously), then drove from there to Provence. There was a hefty drop charge, but in the end, it worked better for us (the old time vs. money analysis) to pay the charge and not take the train. For our plans, considering that we'd be coming from the Cinque Terre, the train schedules just didn't work well; as I recall, something like arriving in Nice in the middle of the night and hanging out in the train station until the morning, for the train to Avignon. Anyway, train schedules and fares will factor into your analysis, and if there's more than 2 of you, the additional train fares will need to be balanced against that drop charge.
The drive was beautiful, though going through those tunnels can be tiring - as the driver, I must have taken my sunglasses on and off 500 times.
Seven years ago, we made a similar trip, except we started in Florence, visited Tuscany, stayed in the Cinque Terre for several days (all of which we'd been to previously), then drove from there to Provence. There was a hefty drop charge, but in the end, it worked better for us (the old time vs. money analysis) to pay the charge and not take the train. For our plans, considering that we'd be coming from the Cinque Terre, the train schedules just didn't work well; as I recall, something like arriving in Nice in the middle of the night and hanging out in the train station until the morning, for the train to Avignon. Anyway, train schedules and fares will factor into your analysis, and if there's more than 2 of you, the additional train fares will need to be balanced against that drop charge.
The drive was beautiful, though going through those tunnels can be tiring - as the driver, I must have taken my sunglasses on and off 500 times.
Feb 2nd, 2006, 05:04 PM
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down under-
If Avis quoted you a price already, it's probably already in the price. Just call them to see. I found the phone conversations to be easier than their internet site.
Rex--
i totally get it now, and I'm so happy about the "hot links". I hadn't noticed it before. Thanks for explaining!!!
Dina
If Avis quoted you a price already, it's probably already in the price. Just call them to see. I found the phone conversations to be easier than their internet site.
Rex--
i totally get it now, and I'm so happy about the "hot links". I hadn't noticed it before. Thanks for explaining!!!
Dina
Feb 11th, 2006, 08:45 PM
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an update. we will be taking the train to avignon and renting a car there. spending a couple of nights in menton and one in rapallo before heading on to montaione. my brother found us a renault laguna for $889 for 13 days including drop charge. one BIG question: the map makes the road look like a major interstate, or european equivalent, is that true? or is it something like independence pass going to aspen? very important, as i may need to drink a case of wine to travel. (my husband will be sober and driving) thanks.
Feb 12th, 2006, 11:11 AM
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thanks, i appreciate hearing that from someone who has traveled that route instead of trying to just gauge from the fact that it's a major highway. my atlas makes wolf creek pass look like a big highway.
