Driving Suggestions

Hi,

We will be hiring a car and driving from Barcelona to Rome via the French Riviera in mid July.

Could anyone suggest any must see or must stop at places? Timescale will be about 2/3 days for this part of the trip. We definitely wanted to stay in Monte Carlo for one night so any suggestions for there would be very welcome also.

Also, at that busy time of year is there anywhere we should avoid or will we just have to accept crowds and traffic everywhere?

Many thanks!

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Hi there, if you are passing by on the drive up I would recommend a visit to Carcasonne which is a very pretty walled town. Montpellier is a lovely vibrant university town but I%26#39;m not sure if it is on your route.

On the Riviera itself I would avoid St Tropez as at that time of year you could spend 6 hours in a traffic jam just trying to get in to town. I would recommend Juan les pins, Antibes, Nice, Villefranche, St Jean Cap Ferrat and Eze-sur-mer, you will drive through most of these on your way to Monte Carlo anyway if you take the scenic coastal road rather than the autoroute.

You will need to accept that the coast will be pretty busy at that time of year but, other than around St Tropez, it is not usually a problem.

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Thanks so much for the suggestions! Do you know if we will have trouble parking if we are stopping for strolls/people watching etc. en route? The other option I was thinking is having a base and getting trains/buses out for day trips but it seems a bit of a waste if we have a hire car we%26#39;re already paying for.

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Parking can be a bit of a hassle but if you are prepared to pay for it you should be ok. I would deifinitely go by car just for convenience. However, don%26#39;t leave any valuables in your car - put anything, even jackets in the boot so they are not visible - that goes for everywhere not just the Riviera.