The Southern Europe Road Trip You Must Do

Are you looking for an insane trip filled with lots of moving parts? Looking to do something different than staying in the same destination for a week or more? Are you sick of using public transportation and want to be on your own schedule? If you answered yes to any of the above, take a look at our amazing road trip through Southern Europe!

When we decided to embark on our first large road trip, we browsed hundreds of internet sites for ideas, unique stops and places to stay. What resulted was a twelve day trip through seven of the most beautiful European countries. For the adventurous (or not); this driving tour has a little bit for everyone.

Route Preview

Carefully planned, to not exceed the 2500 Km “limit” on a lot of the European rental cars; this route will add approximately 2400 Km (~1500 miles) to your driving repertoire. It will also scratch seven countries off that adorable scratch map you most likely have in your bedroom. Starting in Switzerland and continuing on to France, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein you will find no shortage of beautiful scenery, great food and adventure.

The Itinerary: 

  • Switzerland ~ 3 nights including one night in Kandersteg, two nights in Zermatt
  • France ~2 nights in Nice, visiting Monaco during one day
  • Italy ~ 3 nights including one night in Sestri Levante, two nights in Venice
  • Austria ~ 1 night in Innsbruck, visiting Germany during the day
  • Switzerland ~ 1 night in Zurich, visiting Liechtenstein during the day

Driving in Europe

For those of you who have never driven outside of the United States, driving in Europe may seem daunting. There are actually only a few main differences we noted during our drive; which we have conveniently noted down below.

  • Be wary of speed limits. Often time speed limits change quickly and can vary significantly between cities and highways. And sometimes, there is no speed limit at all!
  • Vignettes. If you plan on driving through Switzerland or Austria you must purchase a Vignette for your car. These can be found at most gas stations, rest stops or stores right by the borders or major highways. If you pick up your rental car in either Switzerland or Austria, the car should already have a Vignette, but be sure to ask. Lichtenstein uses both the Switzerland or Austria Vignettes.
  • You can use your credit card to pay for tolls in France and Italy. We found this the most helpful; look for signs that say “carte” in Italy.
  • Most gas stations are not open on Sundays, unless you are on a major highway.
  • Chip and sign credit cards are not always accepted at gas stations or many other self service areas, such as parking. Always have cash on hand.

The Route Details

Switzerland ~ Lauterbrunnen, Kandersteg, Zermatt ~ 3 nights
Lauterbrunnen and Kandersteg

There are a tremendous amount of activities to do in Switzerland. This route will take you to three beautiful “stops”. Upon arrival into Zurich, make the two hour drive south to Lauterbrunnen. Grab some sandwich items at the local COOP, right as you enter the town and plan to have an early lunch picnic along the scenic walkways embossed with waterfalls. If waterfalls are for you, continue on-wards about fifteen minutes to Trümmelbach Falls (Trümmelbachfalle on Google Maps.) The Trümmelbach Falls in Switzerland are a series of ten glacier-fed waterfalls inside the mountain made accessible by a tunnel-funicular. Spend about an hour here exploring the different falls, and taking pictures of the beautiful blue waters.

Picnic views in Lauterbrunnen

Continue onward to Kandersteg, Switzerland. If you are feeling up to it, we highly recommend a hike to Oeschinen Lake (Oeschinensee). There is a parking lot at the foot of the hike, which will take you about an hour (warning: the hike is a 500m climb over the course of about 2.5 km.) Alternatively, there is a gondola which will take you about three quarters of the way up. Spend the remainder of the afternoon here before retiring to a hotel in nearby Kandersteg. We suggest, The Cambrian Hotel Adelboden & Spa, about forty five minutes drive from Kandersteg.

Lobby at the Cambrian Hotel Adelboden & Spa

Zermatt

After your good nights rest, continue to Täsch, which is where you will need to park to go to Zermatt, where you will spend two nights. Täsch is about a two hour drive from Kandersteg. Eventually, about forty minutes into your drive, you will come to the Lötschberg Tunnel train; this will take you and your car straight through the Alps, and is definitely a highlight of the trip! 

Because Zermatt is car free, you will have to park in Täsch. There is a garage where you can park your car right at the train station, Matterhorn Terminal Täsch.

Almost all of our planning for activities and restaurants was completed using the Zermatt travel website. Couer des Alpes was our hotel of choice; towards the tail end of Zermatt, just a five minute walk from the gondola to Furi and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. The hotel offers spectacular views of the Matterhorn and surrounding trails.

Rooms at Couer des Alpes

After settling in, take about an hour and a half hike to the Hängebrückenweg Furi suspension bridge (or the gondola to Furi and walk twenty minutes.) The views definitely do not fall short of impressive! You can continue downwards to the Gorner Gorge, which has impressive blue waters draining from the Gorner Glacier way above you.

Hike at Gorner Gorge

For the remaining two days, there is no shortage of hikes or spas to visit. For decent hikers, we highly recommend the Matterhorn Glacier Trail which gets you up close and personal with the glaciers and Matterhorn.

Start of the Matterhorn Glacier Trail

France ~ Nice ~ 2 nights

Continue onto the French Riviera from the chilly weather in Switzerland. Although long, this is the most scenic drive of the trip. Passing through the Simplon Pass into Italy, you will arrive in Nice in about five and a half hours. There is a good amount to do in Nice, including walking along the scenic boardwalk or pedestrian streets, taking a stroll through Cours Saleya Market, or visiting Colline du Château.

Views from Colline du Château

Nice is about a thirty minute drive from Monaco; there are not many hotels which are reasonably priced in Monaco, so we suggest staying two nights in Nice and making the drive to Monaco during one of the days in Nice. Make sure you visit the Monte Carlo casino and the Yacht Marina!

Italy ~ Sestri Levante, Venice ~ 3 nights
Sestri Levante

After relaxing in the French Riviera, continue to the Italian Riviera for a night. There are numerous sea towns along the Italian coast, we recommend Sestri Levante. This beautiful shore town is split into two bays, the Bay of Silence and the Bay of Fairy Tales. Driving the small twisted and tiny streets may seem overwhelming but we found it to be very worthwhile. Hotel Helvetia was our choice of hotel; right along the Bay of Silence with a pool overlooking the colorful buildings.

Bay of Silence

If you are willing, and do not get car sick to easily, take the trek to one or more of the Cinque Terre towns. We parked at the entrance of Vernazza and hiked down to the town where you can grab the train to the other towns. You cannot drive in any of the Cinque Terre towns themselves, but there are parking stations right before the gates. Cinque Terre is a very popular tourist destination, so skip it if you are more of the “off the beaten path” type. Instead, stroll through the streets of Sestri Levante or relax on the beach.

Venice

Continue bright and early the next morning to Venice where you will spend the next two nights. Accompanying the drive to Venice are lovely wineries and some small and big Italian towns. You will most likely drive through Bologna, which is a good stopping point, about halfway into the four hour drive.

Like Zermatt, there are no cars in Venice, so you will have to park and ferry over to the city. Tronchetto is a private, but very easily accessible parking garage. At 21 euro a day, it is very reasonable as well.

Explore the old streets and canals of Venice as well as some of the surrounding islands; we recommend visiting Burano and Murano.

Overall, be careful in Venice, there are a lot of tourist traps and pick pockets. Additionally, the price of gondola’s in Venice is 80 euro for 30 minutes, do not get dragged into paying more than the stated rates (regardless of where you want to go, the rates are time-dependent).

Grand Canal

Austria ~ Innsbruck ~ 1 night

From Venice, continue to the beautiful city of Innsbruck, Austria. This drive will take you through a few Italian parks, where, if you are looking for scenic mountain lakes, you can find plenty. Make a stop at Lago de Braies before continuing to Innsbruck. Stay close to the city center in Innsbruck, as a lot of the restaurants and activities are within walking distance.

River in Innsbruck

Early the next morning, make the drive to Germany to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. We recommend making the trip (only an hour and a half) up there early in the morning, unless you have pre-purchased tickets as the loads of tourists entering may limit you from visiting the inside of the castle.

Spend the morning and mid-afternoon in Germany, before continuing onward to Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Vaduz has a beautiful castle, which is worth the visit!

Neuschwanstein Castle

Finally, make the hour and a half drive to Zurich where you will spend your final evening before flying home. We stayed about twenty minutes from the airport, as our flight was early the next morning; but if you have an afternoon flight, stay close to city center as there are a number of activities to do in Zurich.

The Bottom Line

Driving in Europe is not as scary as it sounds. However, if driving is not for you, the good news is public transportation in Europe can get you to all the same destinations described above. All of the hotels and restaurants we stopped at along the way were very accommodating to our food allergy. If we were to do it again, we would cut out Nice and Venice and extend our time in Sestri Levante and Austria.

Looking for our food suggestions and reviews? Check back next week for our post about allergy friendly eateries throughout these European destinations.

~Always be conscious of what you are consuming, but don’t let your allergies stop you from having amazing experiences.

A&C