Planning

There were two main decisions to be made, What to see and How to get there.  After discussing numerous cities, it became reasonably obvious a car would provide the most flexibility and allow us to see some of the less frequented cities.  This is especially the case for Germany and Belgium, as we couldn't find trains that got us close to Ypres and, to a lesser extent, Rothenburg, Neuschwanstein Castle etc.  I also liked the idea of driving over the Alps - a la Top Gear and the Stelvio Pass

A car presented it's own problems, especially in Italy.  Many people on TripAdvisor thought we were mad to even consider a car - perhaps they will yet be proven correct.  However others, such as Terry from Auckland, have travelled by car and agree with us that the journey is as much a part of the holiday as the destination.  Certainly I expect Tracy to suggest we stop for photo opportunities often, something you can't do on a train.

So where are we going?  Here is the plan as at 29 April 2014, showing arrival and departure dates and distances between towns.  We have booked some hotels/apartments/B&B's in Italy but mostly plan to book a few days ahead via the internet or just book something when we arrive.  Hopefully we can then be a bit flexible and stay an extra night if we feel the need or go to other places recommended by fellow travellers.

In a nutshell we fly to Paris and spend 5 days there before picking up a Peugeot lease car (308 diesel manual with GPS) and driving approximately 9000 kms through 8 countries.
.
City Country Days kms Arrive Depart
Paris France 5   03/05/2014 08/05/2014
Villers-Bretonneux France 223 08/05/2014 08/05/2014
Ypres Belgium 3 158 08/05/2014 11/05/2014
Heidelberg Germany 1 573 11/05/2014 12/05/2014
Neuschwanstein Germany 0 333 12/05/2014 12/05/2014
Ulm Germany 1 131 12/05/2014 13/05/2014
Rothenburg Germany 1 248 13/05/2014 14/05/2014
Kassel Germany 2 265 14/05/2014 16/05/2014
Berlin Germany 3 381 16/05/2014 19/05/2014
Prague Czech 3 496 19/05/2014 22/05/2014
Vienna Austria 2 331 22/05/2014 24/05/2014
Linz Austria 1 184 24/05/2014 25/05/2014
Salzburg Austria 1 133 25/05/2014 26/05/2014
Hallstatt Austria 1 73 26/05/2014 27/05/2014
Lake Bled Slovenia 2 237 27/05/2014 29/05/2014
Venice Italy 3 314 29/05/2014 01/06/2014
Verona Italy 0 115 01/06/2014 01/06/2014
Maranello Italy 0 120 01/06/2014 01/06/2014
Sant'agata Italy 1 34 01/06/2014 02/06/2014
Florence Italy 2 128 02/06/2014 04/06/2014
Amalfi Italy 4 524 04/06/2014 08/06/2014
Rome Italy 4 277 08/06/2014 12/06/2014
Pisa Italy 0 363 12/06/2014 12/06/2014
Cinque terre Italy 4 78 12/06/2014 16/06/2014
Zermatt Switzerland 1 453 16/06/2014 17/06/2014
Lucerne Switzerland 1 196 17/06/2014 18/06/2014
Interlaken Switzerland 2 51.7 18/06/2014 20/06/2014
Geneva Switzerland 0 280 20/06/2014 20/06/2014
Monaco Monaco 0 521 20/06/2014 20/06/2014
Antibes France 1 45 20/06/2014 21/06/2014
Gordes France 3 294 21/06/2014 24/06/2014
Carcassonne France 1 276 24/06/2014 25/06/2014
Epernay France 1 902 25/06/2014 26/06/2014
Paris France 0 155 26/06/2014 26/06/2014
Dubai UAE 3 27/06/2014
30/06/2014

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