Car Travel to Umbria

My Suggestion. Rheims to Chalons en Champagne [the only bit of toll road]Challons. to St Dizier - normal road [not dual carriageway, but with overtaking lanes at times]St Diziere to Nancy - dual carriagewayNancy to Colmar - dual carriageway, then normal road, but with overtaking lanes in placesColmar to Mulhouse then turn left into Germany - dual carriagewayDown German autobahn towards Basel - pick up Swiss Motorway Carnet at Bad Bellingen servicesBefore reacing Basel, take turn to Lorrach, and on into Switzerland - avoids Basel [possible traffic delays at Border] - dual carriage way throughoutTake Swiss motorway to Lucerne and on to Gotthard Tunnel [or Gotthard Pass], and on into Italy and autostrada Easy route to take- done it many times

Well ......................... Its about 760 miles, so assuming a two night trip [250ish miles per day, a leisurely trip] Night 1 – overnight near Colmar  - we stayed at http://www.deux-clefs.com/  very nice place.  Alternatively, Mulhouse has plenty of hotels - we use the Accor websiteNight 2 – overnight in the area around/south of Milan – not an area I’ve stayed in, [we are North of Milan, in the Lake Orta area],  but the web should throw up plenty of options. I would avoid stopping overnight in Switzerland, it can be expensive [but the petrol is cheaper than France, and a lot cheaper than Italy - especially if you get off the Swiss motorway to fill up]

try using this website http://www.viamichelin.it/. you can thenselect the route that suits you.

Thanks Guys.....  Nice area to be Alan, I used to live in Legnano many, many years ago!

Finding Hotels .....................The Drive Alive website has a map  http://www.drive-alive.co.uk/hotels.asp   that shows the location of Hotels, plus details etc. It could be worth looking at to get some idea of what is availble, and where.[Website has lots of other info as well]

If staying near Colmar ...........Avoid the Novotel at Colmar airport - we didn't enjoy our stay there.  [except going into Colmar for an evening meal]

Thank you again Alan...

Someone has just mentioned that we may need an "Emission Zone sticker" for travel in Germany... Is this correct or just something residents must have in their cities?

Depends where you are going. See;- http://www.lowemissionzones.eu/In Detail for Cars - http://www.lowemissionzones.eu/lez-quick-guide/cars  Must say - having read some of the website pages - am totally confused, especially when it comes to Italian cities with LEVs

Yes. I have just checked those Alan thanks...  I have ordered one anyway as this car will be driven back & forth every year by whatever route!  Think it is unlikely for this trip, but you never know!Thanks again for the advice and prompt response.