JenniApril

My sister is getting married in Venice in early October and my husband and I are joining her and her fiance as witnesses. My husband and I spent 3 weeks in Italy last October driving from Rome to Bologna etc and did not expect to return again so soon but they asked us (my husband is Italian born although been in Australia for over 50 years)---and we said yes!
So the plan is over about 3 weeks fly in to Rome, take 3 days make our way driving to Venice, stay in Venice four days, then drive to Paris taking about a week and then fly out of Paris.
Specific questions
*Is this realistic?
*What would the best route be?
*Is driving the best way to go - would there just be too much time in the car?
*Any good advice from anyone on must see places? Boat trips?
We won't book necessarily except in Rome, Venice & Paris and have time to stop if required - what about apartments?

Jenni
Melbourne

Steve_James

Jenni - It sounds very realistic to me

Between Rome and Venice you could spend a lovely 3 days discovering Tuscany and/or Umbria ...

And between Venice and Paris you can visit some very beautiful areas en route. Pick any from ... the Dolomites, Italian lakes, Austrian Tyrol, Engadin Valley, Bernese Oberland, French Alps ...
You're spoilt for choice!

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Traviata

Jenni,

We have made this trip in reverse, driving from Paris and in October..we loved it..we were in Italy and France for six weeks, so time was not a factor for us..we started in Paris and drove the Autoroute to Provence for our first stop in the Luberon..the ride takes you through pastoral villages, vineyards, and then the craggy hills of Provence..it took about six to seven hours...next we drove across the Riviera, really pretty and on to Genoa where we turned north..this was not as pretty and picturesque, but it took us to the A4 (GRIM) which took us to Venice where my daughter was getting married...there are many, many wonderful stops to make, really your choice....I know most people would suggest flying or train, but the car made it possible for us to really see the countryside and gave us the ability to stop and explore...and the wedding in Venice will be magical...!!!

Alec

To cut down the amount of driving, you may like to consider taking a train from Rome to Venice, with a stopover in Florence. and then rent a car in Venice. You have to figure in a faily hefty drop-off charge for turning in an Italian rental car in Paris (which can easily double your cost). You can travel by train, say, to Nice and pick up a French car there, but this doesn't give you a chance to tour through the Alps, which is well worth doing.

kelliebellie

I agree you might want to take some other forms of travel for a few legs of it. We took the high speed train from Paris to Nimes in Provence. That only took 3 hours I think instead of 6 hours or more driving and we still saw some scenery without missing too much, I think. You could turn your car in in Provence since you won't need it in Paris anyway.

Here is the rental company we used. We had one-way rentals (although not across any border) and there were no additional charges. Sounds like such a dream trip. You will have so much fun!

http://www.fastcarhire.com

nessundorma

If you've got your heart set on Rome and some countryside sights in between there and Venice, by all means take a car. But if not, you might consider flying into Milan and making your way to Venice with a stop in Verona, all doable on the train line.

To me it's a choice between Western Italy and Southern France (both still warm and beautiful in early October) or going through Switzerland. For the latter, you really don't need a car much of the way. Both of you could sit back and enjoy the scenery. You could eventually pick up a rental in France if you wanted to do some small town exploring, or just stick to the trains, some of which are spectacularly scenic.

JenniApril

Thanks for the advice. Our concern is the drive from possibly Lake Como/Lucerne to Paris. Is it just too far and too long in the car? Is it just a lot of tunnels? We are confident of the car drive from Rome to Venice as we have done that before. We went to Ovieto Florence Magello Bologna (including quick trip to Maranello to see Ferrari's) etc however once we leave Venice and head for Paris - is a week long enough to do it leisurely. We did love having the car last time - I feel it would be a cop out to just take the night train to Paris! Perhaps a train from Lucerne?

ira

Hi J,

>I feel it would be a cop out to just take the night train to Paris!

Don't worry, no one will chastise you for doing the sensible thing.

You could also fly from Venice to Paris on www.mayair.com

If you must drive see www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com

The drop off charges will be rather high.