We are a family of 5 travelling through Europe this December/January. We have a few nights in Paris, then pick up a hire car. We have 6 nights to get to our next booking in the northern part of Italy. We don%26#39;t want to do cities all the time - we enjoy the countryside and water and want some relaxing, peaceful times on our trip too. What shouldn%26#39;t we miss in France and the lower parts of Germany, as we travel into Italy? We%26#39;d like to stay in more homely, but still good quality places and see the natural beauty of an area...
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Well, you do realize you will likely be doing some winter driving ,,right?
I would normally say something like head east, check out Switzerland, then head south to Italy,, but ,, it could be bad driving through mountains in winter, snow etc.
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Sorry, have to add, that while the Alps will in fact be amazingly beautiful,, and a skis holiday a great idea,, I don%26#39;t know if you realize that other then that ,, the
natural beauty %26quot; of some other places( like Italy and rest of France,LOL) will be somewhat dormant,, being dead of winter and all...
I am not trying to discourage you, but I realize that being from Australia you may not be familar with dead winter.
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You are quite right - we don%26#39;t know much at all about snow or what it does to the natural landscape -especialy not where I live. Never even driven in the snow! Will be quite an adventure. We don%26#39;t have castles or ancient monuments and the like or the traditional looking villages that dot Europe. Any suggestions of what not to miss?
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Louise, I might suggest you use the services of a travel service for this one. Here%26#39;s why. A number of years ago I was in Switzerland in October. Without benefit of any outside advice, we rented a car and decided to drive from Sion to Interlaken. Silly us. We ended up heading toward a mountain pass which was closed for the winter, so we couldn%26#39;t have reached our destination anyway. The roads were on a mountainside, covered with snow and ice and there was no guardrail. I still remember praying out loud for our safe return. It was awful, and I don%26#39;t scare easy. Lesson learned.
The terrain and weather in Europe is so changeable. I think you would do well to plan your trip carefully so you and your family don%26#39;t end up in a dangerous situation.
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As discussed above, I would not advise driving from France to Italy in winter when you have no experience driving in snow, never mind driving on the other side of the road from normal, on tiny roads with the second scariest drivers on planet earth (in Paris) towards the most scary drivers on planet earth (anywhere in Italy). I would suggest you use the car to explore northern France - Normandy and Brittany are mostly just frosty in the winter. Then fly from Paris to your Italian destination, or get the train. Even better, just ditch the car idea altogether and explore using public transport. Perhaps train from Paris to somewhere snowy and alpine so you can experience that, then a train on to your Italian location.
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Louise, snow is pretty, I love a snowy landscape, but, it won%26#39;t be snowy everywhere. The trees will be bare, the fields drab, the weather perhaps gray and rainy. Winter landscapes can be a bit dreary,, although there is a certain beauty in that also( an old castle perched on a hill battered by rain and wind looks so romantic)
I too strongly suggest you consider using trains. I know a rental car is cheaper( for 5), but, a car in the mountains for winter will present some difficulties, especially since you are not used to winter driving. I live in a place in Canada that gets little to no snow. When we get an inch or two of snow we practically close the city down,, and everyone who lives here now, but used to live in other places in Canada always goes on and on about how %26quot; I can drive in the snow but these Victorians can%26#39;t%26quot; and frankly, its true to some extent. It is different. And black ice is deadly, and you don%26#39;t need snow for that !
This sounds so discouraging,, and I don%26#39;t want it to be,, I love Europe, it is a wonderful place to visit any time of the year,, but, I would fairly say that unless doing a ski holiday, its best to forget about enjoying winter driving , or enjoying too much outdoor natural beauty,, it will likely be very cold and rainy,, with hopefully some nice clear sunny ( but still cold) days thrown in.
Bring winter clothes. Gloves , good jacket or coat, and boots or at least warm well made shoes.
Did you look up weather in Northern Italy for Jan and Feb.
I just googled it, ,,, it is cold and windy,, they even have some bitterly cold northern wind in Jan.
Perhaps you should really look at what indoor sites interest you.
Keeping my fingers crossed that you will get a fair share of sunny and clear weather.
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Goodness, we%26#39;re in for a tough time, I think! We have to pick this time of year because it%26#39;s the only time we get a big block of holidays so the children don%26#39;t miss school. Besides, the cold, the snow, the wind, mountains are all so different from our experiences here.
The trains sound like a good option... If we do drive,I%26#39;m certainly going to contact the road report each day - excellent advice, thank you. Are the main roads - highways- %26quot;desnowed%26quot; each day?
Maybe trying to plan an itinerary is pointless. It sounds too weather dependant. Is nice accommodation difficult to find if it%26#39;s not prebooked at this time of year? I%26#39;ve read lots about places which close during winter. Is that a very wide spread custom or do you think we%26#39;ll safely find accommodation if we %26quot;wing it%26quot;?
Still, what tourist attractions/areas should we not miss? What specifically in Normandy should we see? Are there romantic/picturesque/quaint/interesting places we musn%26#39;t miss? And if we need to stay indoors mostly, our accommodation will play a major part in us having a fabulous trip. Any interesting thoughts?
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I would suggest catching a train to 1 area. We stayed in the Dordogne area for 1 week in October. Hire a car from a smaller town and use the car to see the countryside ,castles, villages etc. I would suggest Sarlat for example. You can then train or fly from country France to Rome or Milan. Other friends of mine are picking up the car from CDG airport and driving to the Dordogne for a few days and then on to Nice for a few days and then the train to Milan.
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