Like many people, we have been contemplating our travel plans for later this year.
In June we will be traveling as a family from Provence (Bonnieux) to Austria (St. Gilgen, outside Salzburg). We'll leave Bonnieux on a Saturday late morning/early afternoon and need to be in St. Gilgen on Wednesday late afternoon. So we have four nights to spend along the way. This isn't "slow travel" but I don't want it to be too fast. I'm thinking that we might spend Saturday night somewhere interesting along the route and then the next three nights in one spot that would put us 5-7 hours from St. Gilgen.
I looked on www.viamichelin.com to check their routes and what might be along the way. They had a "recommended" route, which went along the Mediterranean on the A8 and then headed north from Genova up to Innsbruck. I also looked at their "sightseeing" route which took a different route to the Milan area, through Grenoble.
We don't mind the driving and enjoy scenic routes. It's been a few years since we were in Italy and did enjoy the area around Lake Como very much. We could also take a different route up through Geneva and through Switzerland, but we did that last summer so it's not as appealing.
I'd love some ideas from other Slow Travelers. What route would you take? Where would be an interesting place to spend those three days?
Hello Kathy! I drove this past spring from The Luberon area to Gap (not along the A51 but on the N1085 all the way to Savines le Lac (terrific road!!) then up to Briançon and then across the Monginevro pass on my way back home: wonderful! I was a bit in a hurry so I got on the highway just past Sauze d'Oulx and zoomed back home in about 3 hours from there. We slept in Gap one night (only availability I found was the IBIS hotel: nice central position and fantastic breakfast buffet!)
Kathy, I agree with the route along the coast to near Genoa but then I would digress north on A-26 and stay at magical Lago Orta--if you have not been before. Then, I would navigate to the routing from north of Lago Como to the route via San Moritz and the Engadine valley and perhaps stay in Guarda. That route then takes you to Landeck where you pick up the big road to Innsbruck. Very pretty country and the roads are not bad. Be sure to stop in Soglio. You will love St. Gilgen. Good luck !
Take the coastal route to the French- Italian Border, but staying on the French side -then go directly north thru the mountain pass at Tende (Tonde). You can overnight there, it is high in the alps -- something like 2400 meters. It's beautiful. Then you can come back down thru Limone Piemonte, and overnight again in Alba or elsewhere in the Langhe or the Monferrato. Then take Bob's suggestion to head up the A26 to Orta or go directly to Como or Garda (for some Italo-Germanic flair) and then over thru Austria.
I personally would not bother with the route to Genoa unless you really want to go to Genoa. It is really pretty stressful IMO driving the stretch from the French boarder to Genoa -- it's a narrow old autostrada with the bridge-tunnel-bridge construction.
Gio, Bob and Diana-- thanks so much for the advice. We're going to get out our big map this evening and look at possibilities.
(Bob, we are already very familiar with St. Gilgen, and we do love it! We spent just a little time there some years ago but then had a two week stay in 2005 and another week just this past June.)
The scenic route does look very nice. I love the French Maritime Alps and I've stayed in Barcelonnette in June. The high passes in that area are beautiful and full of wildflowers. We were there around mid-June. It can be a bit deserted because some of the hotels and restaurants close for a break before the summer rush. We drove up from Nice which is very slow but the route on Michelin looks good. I can also recommend the Hotel Azteca in Barcelonnette.
Another option might be to go all the way to Trento and up through the Dolomites to Innsbruck. There are several small charming villages along the drive from Bolzano such as Bressanone and Castelrotto.
Also, I was wondering when in June will you be traveling? I think June can be a transitional month and I don't know if you will still run into snow. It wouldn't be an issue for driving but since I'm a wildflower lover - you might not have a the great meadows. It might be better to focus on the lakes instead if the mountains still have snow.
We all studied these posts/ideas and looked at the map this evening. We would be leaving Bonnieux on May 30.
We kind of like the idea of taking the A8 and spending the first night (even two) on the Cote d'Azur. We have only stayed (twice) in Vence and visited St. Paul de Vence and Cagnes-sur-Mer. If we were to spend one or two nights in this area, Marta, what would you suggest? Nice? We don't know it at all. Menton? Villefrance-sur-Mer? This would just be a taste to see someplace we might want to come back to.
We actually have already been to Barcelonnette, and do love that area. We took an incredible mountain road to the Val d'Allos. We are going to do some internet research and look at our guidebooks to learn more about the suggestions made for Italy. We would enjoy the chance to see some new parts of Italy, again just a taste.
We kind of like the idea of taking the A8 and spending the first night (even two) on the Cote d'Azur. We have only stayed (twice) in Vence and visited St. Paul de Vence and Cagnes-sur-Mer. If we were to spend one or two nights in this area, Marta, what would you suggest? Nice? We don't know it at all. Menton? Villefrance-sur-Mer? This would just be a taste to see someplace we might want to come back to.
I'm having a hard time recommending one location. I like them all. For a day, Nice might be the best since there is so much to see especially in Vieux Nice. The biggest negative is you will have a car. Driving and parking on this section of the Cote d'Azur is a little challenging. It isn't too bad getting into and out of Nice and they do have several large lots.
VSM and also Beaulieu right next door also have their charms since they are so beautiful. There is also a great walk right nearby around Cap Ferrat. Menton is a bit more Italian, has a good beach, charming old town and easier to drive and park in.
I would look at the accommodations and see which one interests you. Do be prepared for quite a bit of traffic. Even off season it can be chaotic.
Marta asked about this in another thread, so i thought I'd report back on what we ended up doing.
quote:
Given 3 one nite stands--hardly slow travel---I would stay in Menton, Orta san Guilio, and Guarda
We actually ended up with four nights and did exactly what Bob the Navigator recommended!
We stayed our first night in Menton, which we really enjoyed. I definitely want to come back and spend more time in this area. The Hotel Mediterranee was an excellent location. Charley and I enjoyed exploring the town, and the girls had a chance to sunbathe and swim in the sea. We found a very good place for dinner on a square with lots of restaurants in the older part of town.
We took the route up through Tende suggested by Diana and spent two nights in Orta San Guilio on Lake Orta. We loved our old hotel, La Contrada dei Monti on a tiny pedestrian street near the lakefront. The village was very crowded when we arrived on Sunday afternoon, but we enjoyed the quiet evenings. On Monday we took the ferry to the little island on Lake Orta. That afternoon we drove to Stresa on Lake Maggiore and took the ferry to visit two of the Borromeo islands. It was beautiful, but also very crowded.
After leaving Orta we drove up along Lake Como and stopped for lunch at Domaso, where we had stayed for a week in one of Gio's apartments during our long trip in 2004/5. We love this part of Lake Como.
Our fourth night was spent at Guarda in the Engadine in Switzerland. Bob, thank you so much for suggesting this! This is a tiny, un-touristed village, high in the Alps. We just loved it. We stayed at the Hotel Piz Buin, which I highly recommend. We had an excellent dinner at the hotel. We are definitely going to go back to Guarda.
We detoured through Garmisch, Germany for lunch on our way to St. Gilgen, Austria.
This was definitely NOT slow travel, but we really enjoyed this little "sampler" interlude and sharing such wonderful places with Kelly's friend on her first European trip. Between 11 am on Saturday and 5 pm on Wednesday, we were in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria! The scenery was absolutely breathtaking.
Thanks to everyone who helped me plan this little trip. And a special thanks to Bob for introducing us to Guarda.
Marta, here's a photo taken from the back of our hotel in Guarda, looking toward the next village. Kelly and Becca got up early and walked to that little village and back the next morning.
And if you do stop in Guarda, don't forget to visit ARDEZ on the way there (it's the medieval town where the movie "Heidi" was shot) and then a visit to the thermal SPA in Scuol is a MUST DO (especially if you have children.
For a day, Nice might be the best since there is so much to see especially in Vieux Nice. The biggest negative is you will have a car. Driving and parking on this section of the Cote d'Azur is a little challenging. It isn't too bad getting into and out of Nice and they do have several large lots. 
