Hello Fodorites, DH and I have visited Tuscany a couple of times on shore excursions while cruising. We have talked about returning to Tuscany to spend a week and it seems that it may actually happen this year! We've tentatively booked an apartment for 1 week in San Quirico.

DD is currently at school in Grenoble and we'd like to combine a visit to her with our week in Tuscany.

So here's the question of the day. I had originally thought we would take a train from Grenoble to Italy via Switzerland and traveling the Bernina Express then renting a car or possibly continuing on to Florence by train and renting a car there.

DD has suggested that we rent a car in Grenoble and drive to Tuscany. According to the ViaMichelin website via the scenic route it is approximately a 12-13 hour drive which we would do over a few days.

I'd love to hear your views on what you think are the best options.

If we do decide to drive, one of the places we would like to stopover for a couple of days would be Cinque Terre. Can you recommend a town/hotel close to Cinque Terre which would be a good base for exploring the area.

If you do recommend driving, can you suggest other towns that we should see. I would love any other hints or advice that you can provide.

What month? Makes a difference for the driving.

The A43 route via Bourgneuf and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne/Montmélian only takes maybe 7 hours - which is the scenic driving route that would take 12 hours?

There are lots of other options. Just one, but an awesome one for those who like mountains, trains, and mountain trains:

Train from Grenoble to Martigny (the last stretch with the little train that crosses the border at Le Châtelard - a gem!), with changes in Chambéry or Aix-les-Bains-le Revard, then Annecy, La Roche-sur-Foron, St. Gervais-les-Bains-le-Fayet, and Le Châtelard-Frontière.

That is one heck of a mountain journey, seven hours of unsurpassed valleys and peaks to marvel at. Slow, but precious.

From Martigny, down in the Rhone valley on the fast train line from Geneva-Lausanne-Montreux up to Sion and Visp and Brig and over the Gotthard (or through the Simplon tunnel down to Italy on the fast but not scenic line), you can easily connect to the Glacier Express (http://www.glacierexpress.ch/theglacierexpress.php)that goes over the top of Europe to St. Moritz where you can take the Bernina Express down to Lugano (www.rhb.ch/index.php?id=33?&L=4).

That's three worldclass train trips linked, one after the other. Take your time, break the journey, prevent sensory overload...

Details at www.rail.ch. You need to use the VIA field and input Le Châtelard-Frontière for Grenoble-Martigny, otherwise only the faster trains via Geneva etc. might show.

Happy research!

We would be traveling the beginning of May. The 'sightseeing' route that Michelin recommends would be from Grenoble/Gap/Cuneo/Savona and then follows the coast down through Pisa and across to Siena. There is much less time spent on the motorways hence the much longer driving time. Are you saying that taking the 'recommended' route which is 7 hours would be a scenic drive? I think my husband is picturing getting on an expressway and not seeing a thing!

The train sounds appealing to me but I think my husband likes the flexibility of having his own vehicle and being 'in the driver's seat' so to speak. In my view, it's not going to be terribly relaxing for him and especially if the roads are mountainous as I have a definite fear of heights.

Your scenic route looks fine. The 7-hour route is really only scenic through the mountains (it avoids the tunnel) then it's expressways.

You could compromise - take the trains through the mountains as suggested, the Bernina Express goes to Lugano then a regular train can take you Chiasso or Como in less than a half hour where you can rent a car.

Probably better than in Lugano, crossborder rentals for one-way drop-off tend to cost quite a bit more than those in one and the same country).

In three hours you can be on the Cinque Terre coast, or wherever your husband wants to drive to - zigging and zagging. Monza is not far, in case he's a car nut.

Train as far as Torino or Asti to get the car to avoid the car drop big charge. Then spend time in Piemonte or Liguria for a 2 nites to explore.

Torino and Asti are only options if you do not take the train route we discussed but take a train straight through the French alps into italy, not along the special scenic routes.
But that wasn't really on the table, was it?

Renting from Chiasso or Como doesn't incur the cross-border charge I mentioned, they are in Italy, and they are next to Lugano, your likely arrival from the Bernina Express.

Thank you Bob and DL - If we do decide on the train route as you suggested DL, how would you recommend breaking it up?

How many days and nights do you have? Some people get antsy after a few hours on trains, others keep going and marvel out the window forever... (And there is plenty to marvel at, of course.)

Just one of many ways to do it:

Day One - from Martigny take the train to Montreux or Vevey, spend the rest of the day by the lake relaxing.

Day Two: make an early start and go all the way to St. Moritz, spend the night in nearby Sils or some such gem, or in St. Moritz itself if you find something that doesn't break the bank. (Mo-Ritz, get it?)

If you can now spend a day in that region, go for a hike, go up on a nearby peak, or just chill and enjoy - great. Look at www.engadin.stmoritz.ch/en/

The Bernina Express gets you to Lugano, a nice place by a nice lake - stay, or move on , maybe to nearby Bellagio on lake Como, or elsewhere - up to you.