BRIAN 1

Cheers for that Stan.When we drove back here in March the 35 euro vignette is still valid now for driving back.So driving thru Swiss is still "free".Just surprised me that nobody commented on the disaster at the time.

nicktonight

There are other things to worry about apart from theft in southern Italy - lots of the roads are really badly made and dangerous - there is a lot of aquaplanning, numerous poorly signed sections of single lane traffic almost invisible at night as well as the risk of broken bridges and mud slips. Then there are the differences in altitude - you can be sailing along without a problem and then the mototorway rises to 600 m with snow and the motorway blocked by lorries. Another problem is the big difference in the age of vehicles so you can suddenly come up behind someone at 40 mph with poorly attached luggage on the roof in a 50-year old Fiat without lights - and if you ever have an accident it is quite likely that the other person is not insured. The Palermo-Genova ferry is very boring but very cheap in winter and safer. Thanks for the info about ferries to Toulon (Corsica Ferries from next April) http://www.lemarin.fr/secteurs-activ...toulon-et-nice

philat98

Accetturese

I am suprised that anyone in Italy would drive an uninsured car. There are so many spot checks carried out at the roadside here that it seems doomed to failure.
As far as driving up from Sicily to France I wouldn't hesitate. I drove down to Sicily some years ago, while the new road was still being built, and it was a bit of a nightmare but it looks to be finished now. We went skiing in Calabria this February and drove some distance on it, and the road up past Naples and on to Rome is good. Genova must be a traffic nightmare at the moment, but there must be diversions in place?

BEVS

Actually 'we' are BritishExpats living all around the world & BE is here to care , share, help . That includes those asking about travel. Any sort of travel. In this instance the OP was very wisely seeking info from those on the ground in Italy itself. I'd call that sensible.

I'd suggest a little re-read of our BE Site Rule 1.



The OP was asking about the dreadful bridge collapse in Genoa & what routes/diversions /delays there may be with regard to this.

To those that offered help and info. Thank you.

carcajou

I am in Genova at least once a year - the bridge was a very key artery and I imagine the traffic impact has been terrible if you are out at certain times of day. It is tough to re-route thousands of cars onto the narrow Genova streets. I imagine by now people have adjusted their routine and gotten used to the detours so it just seems better, without it actually being better.

That being said I would not hesitate to drive through there and have no concerns at all about crime. As another said, it's probably worse in France.

Driving to France from Liguria, the autostrade is not very scenic, but if you take the coastal highway, it will take you most of the day as it is slow going. There are a lot of tolls (on the autostrade) and petrol is very expensive.

If you plan several village stops that will break up the monotony and might be the way to go.

San Remo has some interesting sights (and a mostly-preserved old quarter), and on the other side of the motorway from San Remo is Dolceacqua (a very interesting place to stop and have a wander) and the mountain roads - they form a loop and put you back on the motorway. A lot of moneyed Russians like to winter in San Remo.

Albenga is another worthwhile stop with ancient towers etc.

Aside from the obvious of Cinque Terre, which is on the other side of Genova, which as I am sure you know is not accessible by car. One of the main pathways connecting two of the villages is out of service because of some storm damage - it has been a few years though and no timetable on when it will re-open. Sestri Levante is where Ligurian locals like to weekend.

Genova, itself, is one of Europe's more underrated cities and there is a lot to see and do there. It gets overshadowed by everything else in Italy.

Agree with the other poster who brought up the Aosta road. Aosta is a delightful place with a lot of interesting old Roman ruins. It is in a fairly isolated part of Italy, not really near or on the way to any of the famous Italian sites, and so gets overlooked. Fontina is the local cheese there and worth trying. You can get there from Milan if you are worried about the traffic situation in Genova.

The viability of going through Aosta depends on where you are going in France - you go through the Mt Blanc tunnel and it puts you out near Chamonix, so if you are on your way to Lyon or Paris, or want to make a stop in Geneva, it is probably faster to go that way (provided it is not winter). I have been to Aosta but never through the tunnel to France so can't comment on road speed or quality. But if you are heading to Marseille, Nice or anywhere else in the South of France then it's not a viable way to go.

carcajou

OK, I spoke to someone in Genova today.

The "red zone" where the bridge collapsed is still closed off as the police are still conducting investigations etc, so the area will remain closed off until that is finished. Current ideas is that it will take around a year and a half to replace the bridge - but that is from when they start the construction, not now. The Ministry has apparently had some, well, not great ideas about how to proceed.

The effect on business in the city has been terrible - ie, businesses that used to traverse the city several times a day (ie for transporting materials etc), now find they can only do that once per day because of the traffic situation. As well it's been a catastrophe for businesses that were around the bridge.