We plan on flying in to Paris, going to southern France for about three days to see Carcassonne, Pont Du Gard, Arles, the caves and maybe a few other places. From there we are going to the Italian Riviera, Rome Venice, maybe some hill towns and then in to Switzerland. Do you recommend a car for all/part/none of the trip? I'm not sure how easy it is to get around southern France without one. Our stay will be 3 weeks. Thanks for the help!

You are not telling us from where you will be returning to your home, wherever that is.

If you rent your car in France and end up in Switzerland, you may have a hefty drop-off charge. Thus, you would be wise to drop off your car along the Rivierra in France (no charge then)and take the train for the Italian and Swiss portion.Along the Italian Riviera, you may select a place for staying a few days (I like Rapallo, close by train to Cinque Terre, by bus to Portofino.) You don't wamt/need a car in Rome and Venice.

You can see a lot of Switzerland by train, especially if you take trains like the Glacier Express, or the trains in the Bernese Oberland (Lauterbrunnen,etc.), where you have to leave your car anyhow to go by train or cable car to the main vistas.

I have never done this per se so other Fodorites will say if it would work.

Rent your car for Southern France and drop it in Nice. Take train to your Italian Riviera destination (assuming this will be a base so rent car from there if needed for hill towns. You might also find local busses), and to Rome and Venice.

From Venice to Switzerland, I haven't been but have met others in Venice who took train.

treplow's question above is a good one. Will you fly home from your last destination? It's so much more efficient.

We are flying out of Zurich, so it sounds like a good plan to just rent in the south of France and return it before we go to Italy. Thanks for the tip on where to stay by Cinque Terra!

In 3 weeks? Seems awfully ambitious to me!

You will need a car for some sites. Do not do an international drop off. As mentioned above, it is very easy to leave a rental car at a train station and take a train to the next country.

If by "the caves" you mean you'll be traveling to the Périgord, you'll absolutely have to have a car there. However, if your southern France route is confined to Provence, I'd take the TGV to Avignon and pick up a car there, then drop it before heading into Italy.

Thank you for all the great replies! We've decided to just fly in to Marseilles and then rent a car and drop it back off. We will take a train for the rest of the trip. Thanks again!