I am looking at a 2 week road trip starting from Paris to Brussels, Netherlands, Stuttgart, Munich, Zurich and back to Paris

Any advice not limited to toll charges and toll roads etc. would be highly appreciated

Following is the map I am looking at and please remove spaces and paste the URL on a browser

goo . gl / maps / 5xENktL4GxT2

www.viamichelin.com can give you toll and fuel estimates.

Your link didn't work for me. Just post the full URL without spaces.

But even without the route map, this seems like a lot of driving in 2 weeks. And really a lot of driving if you plan sightseeing detours or hope to drive on some interesting secondary roads rather than stick only to boring highways. How much time do you plan to spend in each destination?

If your itinerary is only cities, Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam-Stuttgart-Munich-Zurich, you'd be better off taking trains. You'd save nearly 10 hours in transit time.

>>Your link didn't work for me. Just post the full URL without spaces.<<

The OP cannot post URL's -- He just registered.

mdissanayake: Since we can't see your plan -- tell us what it is . . . in words. If it is in fact just those cities driving makes no sense. What will you do with the car in the cities? Now - a car is great for rural/country driving. But city to city, trains make a LOT more sense.

Thanks Jean and Janisj for your prompt reply. Following is my itinerary

One day stop over in Brussels on our way to Amsterdam from Paris

Drive around in Netherlands. Will catch a train to Amsterdam from Hague where we will be staying.

Drive from Hague to Stuttgart where we will do the Porsche and Mercedes museums primarily.

Drive to Zurich via Munich where we will do the BMW Welt museum.

We have not decided what we will do in Zurich as yet but primarily want to do sight seeing.

We felt we'll have flexibility if we drive rather than flying or catching trains. That's the main reason that we are thinking of driving around.

In NL, having a car in The Hague (or Amsterdam) is a bad idea. (And/or will cost you a penny in parking fees) .But mainly, I understand, you want to see Europe by means of its freeways and rest stops? There's no reason why what you want to do isn't covered by taking trains. Paris-Amsterdam by car: 5 - 6 hours + parking woes, by train: about 3 hours.

In any case: Brussels and NL are the outliers: I'd head straight to Germany from Paris.

You do realize that all three automotive museums are easily access by train/U-Bahn/ S-Bahn.

You do not at all need a car for this trip and it would be a LOT easier by train . . . Unless you are a Jeremy Clarkson avatar

There is no car museum at Zurich. Go to Mulhouse instead:
https://www.citedelautomobile.com/en/home

I'm not against road trips at all. But it depends on the roads you plan to take.

Many of the motorways that are part of your itinerary are the most crowded arteries of Europe, often going through some pretty bland scenery.
It's 6-8 lanes of non-stop traffic, with trucks on the right lane bumper to bumper for hundreds of kms
In addition, traffic jams are standard procedure when trying to get through the conurbations of Belgium (Brussels / Antwerpen), South Holland (Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht) and the Rhine-Ruhr metroplex (Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne).
Personally, I'd expect someone to pay me €500 to drive from the The Hague to Stuttgart in one day - and I like to drive.

If I had to follow the itinerary, I'd probably take the trains between Paris and The Hague via Brussels. Since the itinerary looks kinda fixed here, I'm not sure how much flexibility is needed anyway.

From Amsterdam airport, I'd either
A) fly to Stuttgart, and use trains afterwards for the rest of the trip (one-way with KLM costs around €90)
OR
B) fly to Basel, rent car from the French sector (one-way with easyjet starts at appr. €50), do road trip through Black Forest to Stuttgart, and pick up the original itinerary there.

Option B isn't following the shortest route, but renting the car in Basel will save you international drop off fees.
Plus you get some real scenery on your drive to Stuttgart.

Cowboy hits it spot on, until you've hit the Brussels ring road you have not enjoyed the nightmare that is Belgium sitting in parked cars.

Swiss cities are not really where Switzerland comes into its own. Mulhouse on the other hand is worth it and you can tour the Peugeot factory if you book it.

neckervd: >>There is no car museum at Zurich<<

I think the OP meant the museum in Munich. >>Drive to Zurich via Munich where we will do the BMW Welt museum.<< meant >>We will visit the BMW Welt museum then drive from Munich to Zurich. <<

mdissanayake: Hi, got your message -- I'm not really the one to ask about rail passes since I generally buy point to point tickets. I'm not sure if any passes would benefit you.

How many days are you spending in each city?
To me a road trip is more about exploring along the way rather than motorway dashes from one city to the next.
With only two weeks you are trying to squeeze a lot in, and cover a lot of continent. If you do this trip by train and you haven't already booked your tickets consider flying out of a different city rather than having to go back to Paris.
Think about is really a priorty for you, work out how many days you want to spend in each place, work out travel times -add plenty for getting through Belgium if you insist on driving - and decide which is better for you. Parking is expensive, also German cities, and Brussels, have environment zones. For German cities you need a sticker, which a French hire car probably doesn't have, and for Brussels you must register your car online before you go there.

The only pass that could be cost-effective could be a Eurail Select Pass for 4 countries and can hop any train just about anytime except in France. Driving is great if into it -even Swiss Alps where you park you car at say Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen and take trains and cables above these towns as cars are banned from doing so. Good train info - www.ricksteves.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.seat61.com. If really interested in trains and passes for this trip make a separate post just about that.

Some of us completely understand the attraction of road trips, even when they are not the most efficient and cost effective way of getting around Europe. However, if you like the freedom of driving, you should also take avantage of having freedom from too many plans and leave room for improvisation. There is nothing worse than enjoying yourself somewhere and then realizing "Damn, we still have to drive 400km today to get to the hotel!"

I do understand wanting the freedom to do this by car, but do as Kerouac says and don't tie yourself down too much.
Check waze.com or google maps for driving times at about the time that you think you will pass Brussels and Antwerp. For example from the centre of Brussels to the centre ofThe Hague gives a time of about 2 hours on Google Maps. Could easily be 3 hours, though. In fact take driving times on google maps with a large pinch of salt.
And check where you are going to leave your car in these towns; parking in towns is expensive.

We do a road trip every year, with a group, because we conduct a series of workshops in the Aveyron in France and travel there from The Netherlands. We do make sure to time ourselves so that we avoid rush hour in Brussels. Last year we went via Lyon to avoid the Paris Peripherique in the evening. Heavy traffic around major cities is a fact of European life.

Second the remark about parking. Very expensive.