Welcome to our very first, long road trip we are starting on a dusky morning on Saturday 26th August and rounding up deep in the night between the 7th and 8th September.
Some quick facts about our road trip:
- 2000+ miles from London and back
- Exploring the Northern Italy and its beautiful coastline
- Travelling through Southern France and its picturesque cities
- Two youngsters full of adventurous curiosity, and
- Our car, ready for one awesome journey
As we go along, we will be recording our journey and will be sharing it with you. Our hope is that our reviews, photos and videos will help others like us go on longer, more interesting tips.
This portfolio page will be updated as soon as we get back from our trip (and have had enough sleep). We have some expectations in relation to this journey, but we will only know what it’s really like when we return. For that reason, we will be uploading vlogs shortly after the road trip but will be sharing our journey in real-time on our social media profiles on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Our road trip to Italy and France | 26th August – 7th September
Lyon – Saturday 26th August
Travel time: 11 hours
Driving to Lyon will be the longest stretch of our road trip, taking about 11 hours from our home in London, through the Eurotunnel to Calais, French motorways and our first hotel door. It may seem like a lot of driving, but we decided early on that it was best to do the biggest chunk of driving at the beginning of our road trip rather than leaving it until later when we would surely be more tired.
Lyon is known for its cuisine and an outstanding choice of museums, but most attractions will most likely be closed at the time we arrive in the city. Nevertheless, we hope to enjoy a short walk along the riverside in the heart of the city and pop into the luxurious 19th-century garden called Parc de la Tête d’Or.
Lake Como – Sunday 27th August
Travel time: 6 hours
Every morning will be an early start for us, but this one especially so. Quick breakfast, a quick walk around the city and off we go 316 miles east to a very beautiful place called Lake Como. We are arriving at Colico in the early afternoon, a town residing in the middle of the lake on its eastern coast and we’re hoping to soak up some sun and simply enjoy the beautiful views around us.
Milan – Monday & Tuesday (28th – 29th August)
Travel time: 2 hours
Our first short drive on the road trip! We’re planning to stick around Lake Como and explore the sights before moving on to the mecca of fashion, Milan. Truth to be told we are visiting Milan since it’s so close to Lake Como (we may want to come back for a half a day) and Veronika is eager to see the architecture, namely the Duomo Milan cathedral and the world’s oldest shopping mall, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.
We will be spending two nights at Hotel Da Vinci, a hotel we couldn’t get out of our minds after seeing it because of its interior design and the fact that it’s purple! Being located close to green areas and the centre of the city also helped!
Modena – Wednesday & Thursday (30th – 31st August)
Travel time: 3 hours
Not many know what’s special about this small Italian city, but car lovers like Oskar sure do. This is the birthplace of luxury supercar manufacturers Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini. So we plan to visit at least two of the museums and hope for some car spotting action which Oskar has been missing out on so much lately.
We might do a cheeky stop in Parma on the way to indulge in some real Parma ham and cheese. Two days in one place with lots to see within Modena itself and around it. Excellent!
Florence – Friday 1st September
Travel time: 1.5-3 hours
Eating great food, spotting luxury cars and hiking – that’s the plan up to this point. Come September, we will be driving to Florence and our travel time will heavily depend on whether we want to take the motorway or not – it’s double to be exact.
While not all appreciate Florence and may think of it as too touristy, in Veronika’s eyes, it’s one of the grandest standing symbols of the Renaissance period. There’s hope we will spend some time getting lost in the well-lit streets of the Florence Historic Centre and see the grand Piazza del Duomo cathedral.
La Spezia – Saturday 2nd September
Travel time: 1.5-3 hours
After all that culture, we are setting out on a journey to explore the Italian Riviera, starting with La Spezia before we head west and leave Italy.
Our home for the night is a room at a farm house on the hills next to La Spezia with stunning views, just a few miles away from Cinque Terre – a string of centuries-old seaside villages which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
It’s exciting that the farm has BBQ facilities, but they did send an email asking to buy food and breakfast in the big city as all local shops are likely to be closed. Will see how that turns out!
Genoa – Sunday 3rd September
Travel time: 2-3 hours
Keeping our fingers crossed for clear skies and the sunshine. Just a few hours away, Genoa is our last stop in Italy and we are hoping to use the time we save on driving to explore the Italian Riviera the following day.
We have a tradition of visiting aquariums and if the time permits, we will definitely give the Aquarium of Genoa a visit. Then we must head back to our hotel and sleep as the next day will be spiced with lots of exploration.
Italian Riviera + Monaco + Chorges, France – Monday 4th September
Travel time: 5 hours + 4 hours
Slow drive through the curvy roads of the Italian Riviera, paired with some exquisite (and terribly overpriced) cup of coffee in Monaco, with a very promising hotel at a lakeside in France. What’s not to love about this Monday?
What a beautiful day it’s promising to be, even if a bit busy and driving heavy. Oskar is going to love this and we hope our car does too!
Annecy – Tuesday 5th September
Travel time: 3-4.5 hours
Travelling through the green areas of Southern France with your partner at next you – what could be better! Driving on the rural roads doesn’t add too much extra time spent here, so we might drive through the national parks.
We are staying one night at a quaint hotel called the Le Bel Abri and even though it’s a two-star hotel, we have been promised a room with a balcony and the lakeside view. Let’s see how that goes!
Dijon – Wednesday 6th September
Travel time: 3-4 hours
Might get a bit sentimental at this point. We are hoping that we will have enough energy to keep travelling on the rural roads because motorways don’t really have much personality!
Dijon is one of the most medieval cities in the whole of France and since we enjoy that type of architecture and have something to compare it to (hello, Norwich), we are looking forward to seeing this city. We found the perfect apartment in the heart of the city to spend the last night of the road trip that looked like the perfect place to open a bottle of red wine.
Time to head home! – Thursday 7th September
Travel time: 5-8.5 hours
Our Eurotrain shuttle leaves at 9 pm, giving us just enough time to wake up, freshen up and have breakfast until we need to hit the road again. At this point, we expect to be a bit exhausted but running on all of those positive emotions and the adventures we had on this road trip.
Taken everything goes to plan, we will arrive home just past midnight on Friday 8th September and will spend the majority of our weekend patching up our vlogs and sharing more photos from the trip with you. We will be sharing two extra videos on YouTube every week as well. Stay tuned!
P.S. Just writing this plan and rounding it up feels as if it has ended, yet it has only just begun. Thank you for following us on this journey and we hope you enjoy our reviews and experiences that we’re sharing with you.