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Suggestions for Italy/France for late June to early July (16 days)
My girlfriend and I will be flying into Milan Malpensa late June and
leaving after 16 days in early July from the same airport. We'll have a rental car, a tent and sleeping bags and we intend to stay at campgrounds to manage the budget. We enjoy: a) day-hikes (e.g., Ordesa N.P.) b) old towns, castles and fortresses (e.g., Le Pays Cathare) We don't enjoy places which are too crowded and touristy (e.g., most if not all cities, Carcassonne in July, Costa Brava). I'd really appreciate your suggestions on where to go. Right now I'm considering: 1) Massif Central and Cevennes N.P (quite a long way away) 2) The French or Western-Italian Alps (not sure which of the regions to pick, really) 3) Provance 4) Corsica via Genoa (I'm concerned about getting on the ferry without reservations) Do you have any suggestions on where to go or where not to go? Best regards, Andris. P.S. We'd like to limit our driving to a total of 2000 km (preferrably a total of 1500 km) and stick to Italy and France. In the vicinity we've already been to the wine growing regions near Macon, Annecy, Lago Maggiore, Tuscany, Umbria and Marche (which were all wonderful, by the way - but we were there recently enough to want to try some place new this time). I do speak a bit of Italian and French and am looking forward to practice both a bit more. |
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Suggestions for Italy/France for late June to early July (16 days)
Andris Kalnins schrieb:
My girlfriend and I will be flying into Milan Malpensa late June and leaving after 16 days in early July from the same airport. We'll have a rental car, a tent and sleeping bags and we intend to stay at campgrounds to manage the budget. We enjoy: a) day-hikes (e.g., Ordesa N.P.) b) old towns, castles and fortresses (e.g., Le Pays Cathare) We don't enjoy places which are too crowded and touristy (e.g., most if not all cities, Carcassonne in July, Costa Brava). I'd really appreciate your suggestions on where to go. Right now I'm considering: 1) Massif Central and Cevennes N.P (quite a long way away) 2) The French or Western-Italian Alps (not sure which of the regions to pick, really) 3) Provance 4) Corsica via Genoa (I'm concerned about getting on the ferry without reservations) Massif Central and Cevennes is a you mention kind of long[er] trip, Corsica [I would choose La Spezia rather than Genova, but even then] is relatively long and probably the most expensive option (ferries and cost of living in Corsica), important part of Provence will be hot and overcrowded in July .... looks like best option to consider is Provence to start your vacation in June and then West Alps for the second part in July As you already have seen Macon, Annecy and liked it, I would suggest driving from Malpensa to Southern Provence, enjoy the time before the main tourist rush for then driving North/NE to spend the July part of your vacation in the Alps, mainly the border area between France, Italy and Switzerland (Vanoise, Col du Petit-St-Bernard, upper Aosta-Valley), add some detour to Switzerland for mainly the wine producing region above lake Geneva between Lausanne and Villeneuve and further to Aigle, via La Forclaz and/or Grand-St-Bernard pass road. If you then still should have time left, continue East for either some days in Piemonte or via Switzerland (several options) to Milano |
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Suggestions for Italy/France for late June to early July (16 days)
Thanks for all your help.
Just wondering - why would you choose La Spezia rather than Genova? I tried to find even one operator that would go from La Spezia to Corsica and I found none... Perhaps googling on "la spezia traghetti" and "la spezia ferry" wasn't enough. Best regards, Andris. |
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Suggestions for Italy/France for late June to early July (16 days)
Andris Kalnins wrote:
Just wondering - why would you choose La Spezia rather than Genova? I tried to find even one operator that would go from La Spezia to Corsica and I found none... Ooops .... You are probably right - looks like services from La Spezia to Bastia have been suspended ..... sorry! At least according to http://www.cemar.it/dest/ferries_corse.html no more services this year I liked driving the main road from Genova to La Spezia by motorbike and then catching [off season, no reservation, no time pressure] the ferry for Bastia, there across Corsicas mountain ranges, N/NW coast roads and - less interesting - a short detour S for Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio. East coast is mainly [sandy] beach area - but boring roads, nothing really scenic |
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Suggestions for Italy/France for late June to early July (16 days)
On 25 May 2006 02:33:28 -0700, "Andris Kalnins" wrote:
Thanks for all your help. Just wondering - why would you choose La Spezia rather than Genova? I tried to find even one operator that would go from La Spezia to Corsica and I found none... Genova would be preferred for almost any reason. Many more ferries go from there, it's better connected, and it's more beautiful! -- --- DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com --- -- |
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Suggestions for Italy/France for late June to early July (16 days)
Andris Kalnins wrote:
Right now I'm considering: 1) Massif Central and Cevennes N.P (quite a long way away) Between the Apennines, the Alps, and the Massif Central you'll find lots of places to hike. I was in Lavaudieu (pictures visible on flickr.com) a few weeks ago and think it will fit you to a T... Bernard Higonnet |
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Suggestions for Italy/France for late June to early July (16 days)
On 22 May 2006 07:42:38 -0700, "Andris Kalnins" wrote:
My girlfriend and I will be flying into Milan Malpensa late June and leaving after 16 days in early July from the same airport. We'll have a rental car, a tent and sleeping bags and we intend to stay at campgrounds to manage the budget. Well, avoid Milan like the plague. It's expensive and ****! 4) Corsica via Genoa (I'm concerned about getting on the ferry without reservations) Do you have any suggestions on where to go or where not to go? I live near, and work in Genova, and the region has more that enough hiking to do for a mere 2 weeks. I know, coz I have been here for 8 months now, and have done lots of walking. I wouldn't bother going to Corsica if I were you. There's plenty more to do on the mainland without the ferry trip. -- --- DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com --- -- |
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things to do in an afternoon around Genoa
Well, we've decided to go to Corsica after all as the ferry wasn't that
expensive (EUR 136 return trip for 2 persons and a car). I'm pretty clear on what to do on Corsica I think. Mt. Stello, Cap Corse, Calvi, Porto, Evisa, Castaggnicia, Corte, Vivario, Porto Vecchio, Bonifacio, Bastia is the approximate plan. What I'm not sure is how to spend the day on the mainland, as our flight lands around 11:00 in the morning in Milan Malpensa and the ferry leaves at 09:00 in the morning from Genova the next day. Which of the following do you think should we best do? a) Visit downtown Genova b) Visit Cinque Terre c) Do something else altogether? Also - where would there be an abundance of nice campgrounds near Genova? Best regards, Andris. I live near, and work in Genova, and the region has more that enough hiking to do for a mere 2 weeks. I know, coz I have been here for 8 months now, and have done lots of walking. |
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Suggestions for Italy/France for late June to early July (16 days)
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