Ideas needed.... road trip: S.France/Italy?
Discussion
I have 2 weeks at the end of May to fill and need a decent holiday. Don't have a fortune to spend and could do with a bit of sun and some warm weather (couldn't we all right now!).
A bit general at this stage I now, but I thought perhaps a drive down to the south of France or Northern Italy.
Beind PH I'm sure plenty of you have embarked on European road trips, so what sort of destinations could I investigate and how about some suggestions for good routes, with some nice roads and scenery.
Any thoughts to inspire me?
A bit general at this stage I now, but I thought perhaps a drive down to the south of France or Northern Italy.
Beind PH I'm sure plenty of you have embarked on European road trips, so what sort of destinations could I investigate and how about some suggestions for good routes, with some nice roads and scenery.
Any thoughts to inspire me?
Hi Pete. I'm sure others will be along with better ideas, but in the meantime, then you could do worse than investigate this route...
http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/en/my-journe...
We did it (in a hired Focus estate....!!) last year in early June and it is amazing. We flew to Lyon and went to Annecy (a MUST see - little bit touristy, but for a reason)- (we then spent a couple of days in Chamonix for some hiking) - but you could start your drive from Annecy area (due East of Lyon) and then follow it via Bourg-saint-maurice then onto Val D'Isere (there is an superb medeival town just outside Val D'Isere over the top of the pass - cant remember a name, though - worth a bit of time to explore it) then onto saint-martin-d'arc then Briancon then at the Meyronnes junction, we went via Barchonnet and saint-martin-d'entraunes and villeneuve then saint-martin-vesubie then sospel and onto the south coast at Menton, where its a short drive to Monaco or Nice (if you fancy splashing out for a night out). Quite a lot of this route is used on Tour de France stages.
This is only an idea, but we were amazed by the scenery and some of the lovely old french villages and the drive itself is just fantastic - definately some of Europe's best driving roads and there are quite a few Ibis / Novotel / F1 / Campanile type hotels on the way or guest houses (depending on the budget).
Must admit we were fairly new to France when we went and went to SW France last year too, but the scenery in the Pyrenees wasn't a patch on the Route des Grandes Alpes (in our opinion - before anyone else disagrees).
Also, Route Napoleon ( http://www.beyond.fr/map/mpnapol.html ) crops up quite a lot on here as a superb driving road and this is north of Cannes - might be a good way of going back home again we drove back to Lyon this way - through Grasse (famous for Perfume and has a few free factory tours if you're into that kind of thing - or "Mrs Pete" is...!!). If you're into hiking or spectacular scenery, then a detour from Route Napoleon we did was to the Gorges du Verdon - http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/groupes/verdon/pays.ht... (nearest town Castellane) which is often called "Europe's Grand Canyon") - again amazing scenery - there are routes in and around the Gorge (memorable for us as the hire car broke down in the middle of nowhere and we had a nail biting drive in a recovery truck with the driver negotiating hairpin bends whilst turning around to talk to us and texting at the same time with our car not tied down on the back of his flatbed at all and we could feel the car shifting when going around the bends......)
Like I said, these are only a few ideas and others may come up with different ideas.
HTH.
Cheers, Jon
http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/en/my-journe...
We did it (in a hired Focus estate....!!) last year in early June and it is amazing. We flew to Lyon and went to Annecy (a MUST see - little bit touristy, but for a reason)- (we then spent a couple of days in Chamonix for some hiking) - but you could start your drive from Annecy area (due East of Lyon) and then follow it via Bourg-saint-maurice then onto Val D'Isere (there is an superb medeival town just outside Val D'Isere over the top of the pass - cant remember a name, though - worth a bit of time to explore it) then onto saint-martin-d'arc then Briancon then at the Meyronnes junction, we went via Barchonnet and saint-martin-d'entraunes and villeneuve then saint-martin-vesubie then sospel and onto the south coast at Menton, where its a short drive to Monaco or Nice (if you fancy splashing out for a night out). Quite a lot of this route is used on Tour de France stages.
This is only an idea, but we were amazed by the scenery and some of the lovely old french villages and the drive itself is just fantastic - definately some of Europe's best driving roads and there are quite a few Ibis / Novotel / F1 / Campanile type hotels on the way or guest houses (depending on the budget).
Must admit we were fairly new to France when we went and went to SW France last year too, but the scenery in the Pyrenees wasn't a patch on the Route des Grandes Alpes (in our opinion - before anyone else disagrees).
Also, Route Napoleon ( http://www.beyond.fr/map/mpnapol.html ) crops up quite a lot on here as a superb driving road and this is north of Cannes - might be a good way of going back home again we drove back to Lyon this way - through Grasse (famous for Perfume and has a few free factory tours if you're into that kind of thing - or "Mrs Pete" is...!!). If you're into hiking or spectacular scenery, then a detour from Route Napoleon we did was to the Gorges du Verdon - http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/groupes/verdon/pays.ht... (nearest town Castellane) which is often called "Europe's Grand Canyon") - again amazing scenery - there are routes in and around the Gorge (memorable for us as the hire car broke down in the middle of nowhere and we had a nail biting drive in a recovery truck with the driver negotiating hairpin bends whilst turning around to talk to us and texting at the same time with our car not tied down on the back of his flatbed at all and we could feel the car shifting when going around the bends......)
Like I said, these are only a few ideas and others may come up with different ideas.
HTH.
Cheers, Jon
Edited by JONSCZ on Friday 8th January 21:06
I've also been to chamonix and it's terrific! Loved it, lots to see and do. Beautiful town.
Last year I went to the south of France, about 40mins drive from Nice. Very touristy in the south but it's worth a visit. Day trips to Monaco, Nice, up into the hills (Gorge Du Verdon in particular) has a lovely winding road up the side of the gorge. Pretty busy though.
St Raphael is a also a place to visit, maybe just a morning or afternoon. Market along the front at night.
If your willing to make to trip, Marseille is also worth a visit, about around a 2 hour drive though.
On another holiday we went to Vias, not far from Montpellier. Not as touristy as other places and Montpellier is a very cultural place, beautiful city.
Also can make the 2 hour drive to Barcelona.
Italian lakes; Lake Garda
Maybe not what your looking for but if your willing then i'd recommend it.
There are lots of small roman towns and villages in the area. I stayed in Peschiera Del Garda. Verona is a short drive and it has a large amphitheatre, narrow roman streets, and Romeo and Juliet
Up to the north of the lake you have other small towns such as Garda and Malcesine. Malcesine has cable cars up the hills and there are various hill walks and activities up there, and stunning views over the Garda area.
If you want anymore info just ask.
And have a good holiday.
Andy.
Last year I went to the south of France, about 40mins drive from Nice. Very touristy in the south but it's worth a visit. Day trips to Monaco, Nice, up into the hills (Gorge Du Verdon in particular) has a lovely winding road up the side of the gorge. Pretty busy though.
St Raphael is a also a place to visit, maybe just a morning or afternoon. Market along the front at night.
If your willing to make to trip, Marseille is also worth a visit, about around a 2 hour drive though.
On another holiday we went to Vias, not far from Montpellier. Not as touristy as other places and Montpellier is a very cultural place, beautiful city.
Also can make the 2 hour drive to Barcelona.
Italian lakes; Lake Garda
Maybe not what your looking for but if your willing then i'd recommend it.
There are lots of small roman towns and villages in the area. I stayed in Peschiera Del Garda. Verona is a short drive and it has a large amphitheatre, narrow roman streets, and Romeo and Juliet
Up to the north of the lake you have other small towns such as Garda and Malcesine. Malcesine has cable cars up the hills and there are various hill walks and activities up there, and stunning views over the Garda area.
If you want anymore info just ask.
And have a good holiday.
Andy.
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