driving paris-nice

i understand i don%26#39;t need a car in the city - what if i would like to travel to other cities, even italy?

how does the gps work?

|||

%26lt;%26lt;what if i would like to travel to other cities, even italy?%26gt;%26gt;

I am unsure how to respond to a %26quot;what if%26quot; inquiry.

I suppose if you would like to travel to other cities and wanted to drive you could as long as you have a valid drivers%26#39; license. You will not need an %26quot;International Drivers%26#39; Permit%26quot; for France but for Italy you will most likely need one, available at AAA for about $20.

For auto rentals check with:

www.autoeurope.com

|||

Why would you need a GPS for such a simple trip? Italy is a hard place to miss.

|||

GPS is very useful if you want to go to an actual address. Your best bet is probably buy one with European maps and perhaps American maps too so you can use the unit at home. Prices of basic units are much cheaper than a couple years ago. Renting a GPS is very costly after a few days. The IDP is required in Italy but not in France.

Having said all that, it doesn%26#39;t seem like you have knocked a plan together yet. Depending on your travel style and destinations, trains might be better than cars.

|||

Take the train....full stop.

if your going to drive, fill in your will, give the cat to a new home and spend up big on your credit card coz its unlikely you will live to pay it back :)

T

|||

How many people are travelling at same time? If 3 or 4 people, it could be cheaper to drive, especially if you book late and/or during peak periods.

Driving from Paris to Nice takes about 9 to 10 hours. If you add several short breaks, you should get there in about 12 hours. There is nothing special to say, except that you will be on highways all the time and that toll roads will cost about 70 Euros. Take care at speed limits : 130 km/h most of the time, sometime less.

When in Nice, you do not need a car. The local train and bus network is good and on time.

If you decided to have real stops on your way down in order to visit regions like Burgundy, yes it would be a good idea to drive. If not, train or plane is stress free.

|||

You do not need an International drivers%26#39; license for Italy.

|||

as a generalization in Europe- cars are an encumbrance in a city, not necessary and in fact inconvenient for large city to city transfer (unless as others have said a car full of people..but price prems for 3 probably cheaper) but really almost a necessity to wander amongst rural villages.

|||

Driving can be delightful if it is an activity that you enjoy. There are a million interesting places to stop between Paris and Italy.

You should be aware of the following, however:

1. If you take freeways, the tolls can be very high in both France and Italy (yet there are plenty of free freeways in France if you know where to look, and nobody is stopping you from using the normal non-toll roads in any case).

2. The price of gasoline is extremely high in Europe if you are used to American prices. Yes, gas mileage is much better, too.

3. The trains are fantastic and the discounted tickets are even more fantastic, if you know how to plan ahead. You can get from Paris to Nice by train for about 20€ if you book wisely. But yes, you would miss seeing all of the delights of France between those two points.

4. Don%26#39;t even think about dropping off a French car in Italy. The drop-off charges are outrageous.

5. Italy official requires an IDP (which France does not). I am pretty sure that nothing bad will happen if you don%26#39;t have one in Italy, but I cannot provide any proof of this.

|||

I am always surprised at people who think driving in Europe is such a big deal -- the roads are well signed, the roadside services especially on the toll roads are convenient and drivers are in my experience MORE attentive than typical in the US -- I can see where someone from the UK might not want to drive on the continent because of the changed sides -- but for everyone else it is really no big deal. (big city driving is crazy everywhere of course)

we have been driving in Europe for the last 25 years without incident including trips from Rome to Paris via Nice

with a car you can go places and see things that are very difficult to do any other way -- if one wants to visit big cities then a car is unnecessary and if you base in a city and want to visit small towns nearby that is often easy to do by train or bus -- but having a car is a great pleasure in rural France or Italy

Italy requires the international drivers license -- rarely would it be asked for -- but if stopped by the police and you don%26#39;t have it, you do apparently run some risk

|||

If you are going to rent a car (and you should) insist upon a diesel. Why? Because diesel powered vehicles get much better milage, and as has already been stated, fuel prices in Europe are considerably higher when compared to prices in the US.