Road trip through France, Italy, Switzerland and Greece. Any advice where to go?

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Andy
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Hi guys,

This year I'm going to Greece for a family holiday. But, i thought driving there over 5 days would give some good opportunities to take photos! I'm planning to be in the car driving 6 ish hours a day, and am happy to stop lots!
I was wondering if there were any places I should visit in particular while en-route. Mountains, lakes, amazing views, let me know where i should be going!
The journey map is below, so anything not miles off of this would be great, but i am happy to add an hour or two here and there for a detour.
I think it is likely I will go via Rome but nothing is set in stone yet.
This will be my first long road trip, but hoping the first of many!
For gear I will be using my d810 and most likely stick mostly with the Sigma 35mm 1.4. I haven't done much landscape/city photography before, so any advice with this is welcome too!

Capture.jpg
 
I'd avoid rome - awful traffic and the scooter riders are mental.
Do you like cars? The ferrari museum at Marenello is amazing: https://musei.ferrari.com/en/maranello
Then there's Lake Garda which is stunningly beautiful, and Verona is only half an hour away (depending on which side you see).

Having done several long road trips through the United States, my only advice would be to stay off the motorway's/major roads and take as many A roads as you can. You'll be amazed at what you stumble across. Plan in a few points that are must see's, plan where you are going to stay and the time to get there, don't plan on driving to much every day as it soon gets tiring, or you find you end up rushing to make up from stops.
 


My recommendation to you would be to remember that
the Devil never sleeps… don't give him any chance…
photo gear a well considered on the stolen markets.

Have a safe and good one! :cool:
 
I'd avoid rome - awful traffic and the scooter riders are mental.
Do you like cars? The ferrari museum at Marenello is amazing: https://musei.ferrari.com/en/maranello
Then there's Lake Garda which is stunningly beautiful, and Verona is only half an hour away (depending on which side you see).

Having done several long road trips through the United States, my only advice would be to stay off the motorway's/major roads and take as many A roads as you can. You'll be amazed at what you stumble across. Plan in a few points that are must see's, plan where you are going to stay and the time to get there, don't plan on driving to much every day as it soon gets tiring, or you find you end up rushing to make up from stops.

That's some good advice I think, I will try and use A roads when i can! Also, I don't think I could say no to a ferrari museum haha.
Having looked up lake Garda, I think that is a definite stop and I might turn that in to a whole day as it looks amazing, so Lake Garda and Verona might make it as a destination to spend some time at.



My recommendation to you would be to remember that
the Devil never sleeps… don't give him any chance…
photo gear a well considered on the stolen markets.

Have a safe and good one! :cool:

Thanks Kodiak, I think that is worth me keeping in mind, so I will make sure to be mindful of my gear. Is there any advice you can think of that might help? I wondered if some sort of gps tag might be helpful
 
Is there any advice you can think of that might help? I wondered if some sort of gps tag might be helpful


What can't be seen can't be desired… or stolen.
No brand name anywhere. Use a bag that is not
associated with photography etc.
 
i hope our car breaks down before you leave Britain, not that i am jealous in the slightest...
Looks like an amazing trip, should be so many photo ops along the way. I have no clue in terms of suggestions having never travelled in mainland Europe but have an awesome trip regardless
 
That's some good advice I think, I will try and use A roads when i can! Also, I don't think I could say no to a ferrari museum haha.
Having looked up lake Garda, I think that is a definite stop and I might turn that in to a whole day as it looks amazing, so Lake Garda and Verona might make it as a destination to spend some time at.

Plan for an overnight and some time in Verona. Obviously it's got the romeo and juliette balcony, but its amphitheater is very good - they have regular music concerts there and its in the middle of town.
The bridges over the river are amazing and lit up at night, the Torre dei Lamberti is a tall tower you can go up for a view over the city and we had some of the best food on our italy trip there - rabbit risotto..
The start of lake garda, east side is 30 mins away by car and is a stunning drive. We drove up that side until the Malcesine-Monte Baldo Cableway. Take a trip up that to the top and you get great panoramics of the alps and lake garda (worth a google)

The ferrari museum is just stunning. You can get up to and touch the cars, engines, boat (yup, ferrari boat), and then usually theres some exotica parking outside as the owners drop in. Thats only a couple of hours from Verona
We then drove to rome which was a 5 hour drive, good roads but rome traffic was awful. I'd say miss that and take the e45 down the east coast road. If you want to do rome, thats a whole city break on its own.
 
If your into motor racing, a good place to stretch legs for half an hour is the deserted former race track at Reims - Gueux in France. It used local roads and from the mid 1920's until the mid 1960's it was used for racing, including Formula 1. The grandstands and pit area survives and has been lovingly restored by volunteers. Its eerie and haunting, and just a few kilometres off your likely route.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...:0x40a5fb99a3b45c0!8m2!3d49.258329!4d4.031696

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims-Gueux



also. Pompeii.
 
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I do a bit of road trip every year that way. 5 days is nothing. You would be mostly driving and skipping most great locations at that pace.

You might as well make the best use of autobahns and put the foot down all the way to the floor towards switzerland or Austria. You could then spend days in either country. Italian Alps offer plenty more unique scenery. Then you have Verona (2 hours was enough for me), Venice (2 days), Tuscany, Cinque Terre (3 days), Rome, Amalfi coast, the Volcanoes, etc.... Or you could go through Slovenia (Bled), Croatia (lots of great spots), Bulgaria and Greeece. That all sounds more like 2-3 weeks. One way.... 100% worth it though.

For some inspiration you can click through my website
 
The start of lake garda, east side is 30 mins away by car and is a stunning drive. We drove up that side until the Malcesine-Monte Baldo Cableway. Take a trip up that to the top and you get great panoramics of the alps and lake garda (worth a google)

You have to be a bit careful on Italian roads now. Lake Garda has some booby traps in the places you wouldn't expect but it's the lake Como that is a real minefield particularly through towns. The sat nav will only show half of it if you are lucky, while thankfully some have been smashed up by the locals.

P.S. I most strongly warn not to drive through Hungary and Serbia, unless you like the encounters with gypsies gangs and eagle eyed police. You just don't go there with a UK number plate.
 
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You have to be a bit careful on Italian roads now. Lake Garda has some booby traps in the places you wouldn't expect but it's the lake Como that is a real minefield particularly through towns. The sat nav will only show half of it if you are lucky, while thankfully some have been smashed up by the locals.

P.S. I most strongly warn not to drive through Hungary and Serbia, unless you like the encounters with gypsies gangs and eagle eyed police. You just don't go there with a UK number plate.

What do you mean by booby traps? and what's so bad about lake como?
 
For your info the use of Speed Camera Warning devices (including those built into Sat Navs) are illegal in Switzerland and France and if you get caught the Police can confiscate them.
 
When we drove up the side of lake garda we were so busy watching the scenery and pulling over for photos I doubt we got anywhere near the speed limit :D
 
For your info the use of Speed Camera Warning devices (including those built into Sat Navs) are illegal in Switzerland and France and if you get caught the Police can confiscate them.

The industry is ahead of the game. They just call it danger zones in France so entirely legal. You get the usual road signs anyway. Stay off the rippoff toll roads and there are not too many of them. Don't drive like a moron and you will not be stopped. The French mostly even get away with excessive speeding through towns and extreme tailgating on highways.
Switzerland is nasty case. The databases are so out of date you would be even silly to rely on them. Most swiss drive *like* dangerous geriatric dotards (excuse my language - nothing against the swiss people by the way) because they are so scared to death of the traps and only look for them hence they drive on the verge of an accident by missing the rest. As a pedestrian you can't even use a marked crossing safely as they just go and then swear at you. I was very surprised to say the least. Driving through Switzerland is very slow, exhausting and dangerous unless you elect to pay their annual road tax for just a day or two use.

When we drove up the side of lake garda we were so busy watching the scenery and pulling over for photos I doubt we got anywhere near the speed limit :D

It is very easy to go over 50km/h with UK specced car. Most cameras are in town zone. Our speedos show km/h in tiny analog digits or lagging electronic display.
 
I'd go down to Chamonix - you'll want to go up the Aiguille du Midi. It's really good. I'd skip the Cinque Terre - too busy in the evening - good in the morning. I'd go a bit more east towards the Dolomites and grab an evening on the Alpe di Siusi and morning at Pragser Wildsee. I'd probably do Val D'Orcia in Tuscany.
 
I do a bit of road trip every year that way. 5 days is nothing. You would be mostly driving and skipping most great locations at that pace.

You might as well make the best use of autobahns and put the foot down all the way to the floor towards switzerland or Austria. You could then spend days in either country. Italian Alps offer plenty more unique scenery. Then you have Verona (2 hours was enough for me), Venice (2 days), Tuscany, Cinque Terre (3 days), Rome, Amalfi coast, the Volcanoes, etc.... Or you could go through Slovenia (Bled), Croatia (lots of great spots), Bulgaria and Greeece. That all sounds more like 2-3 weeks. One way.... 100% worth it though.

For some inspiration you can click through my website

I know that it is a bit of a push, but realistically I can only manage 4 or 5 hours a day actual travel, and I thought this might give a good opportunity to scout out and look through areas and places that I can go back to in the future at a more leisurely pace. Equally, I think I will enjoy seeing a lot of culture and landscapes in a limited time period

I'd go down to Chamonix - you'll want to go up the Aiguille du Midi. It's really good. I'd skip the Cinque Terre - too busy in the evening - good in the morning. I'd go a bit more east towards the Dolomites and grab an evening on the Alpe di Siusi and morning at Pragser Wildsee. I'd probably do Val D'Orcia in Tuscany.

All of these look amazing. I know I have wanted to see the Dolomites and thought about visiting on a trip that would be a bit longer. I really appreciate this list of places as they are all stunning. They're a little bit more off the journey than I had planned, but I going to spend some time this weekend bringing the journey together, and if I can't make it to them this time, hopefully I might get a chance next summer to spend a couple of weeks visiting some of them!
 
I don’t recognize the comments above about driving in Switzerland. I’ve been here for a while and it’s quite ok. The “vignette” to use the highway costs about GBP 15. Most people drive at the speed limit as there is not much leeway and fines can be high.

Back to the topic there are countless opportunities for great photos. Search for mountain passes Switzerland to Italy and take your pick.
 
Not sure where you are stopping but Le Cheval Rouge in Ste Menehould France, just off the A4 is good.
Check out the Route de Vin in Alsace, lots of scenic views and villages like Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr are very floral with pretty houses - but also very popular!
Laufenberg in Switzerland / Germany has some nice houses and is interesting. It used to be one town but is now split into the Swiss side and the German side, still joined by a bridge over the Rhine which you can stroll over.
 
Following with interest as I am planning a four week tour of the Alps/Dolomites/ Italian Lakes etc next year for my 60th birthday in my old MGB.

I'm narrowing down the locations when we arrive but also wanting to pick the best "potential photography" routes there and back.
 
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