Getting Ready for The Amazing Italy, France and Switzerland Road Trip!

Hi Travel Friends!
We’re getting ready for our next incredible road trip!  The Amazing Italy, France & Switzerland Road Trip. This one will take us first to Milan, where we will spend a few days at the perfectly located UNA Maison Milano Hotel, exploring the city (and shopping of course!) and taking two Viator tours: Small Group Tour of Milan including Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” and an Evening Rooftop Tour of the Duomo.

Above photo credit: "Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) - The Last Supper (1495-1498)" by Leonardo da Vinci - Unknown. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

From Milan, we are picking up our car at the airport and driving to Lausanne, Switzerland, via Zermatt to see the Matterhorn!  While staying in Lausanne, we will have a view of Lake Geneva a the Hotel de la Paix lausanne, we will be seeing all there is to see nearby, including beautiful lake.

Zermatt Switzerland: Above Photo Credit Andrew Bossi via Wikimedia commons

Lausanne: Above photo credit - www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/lausanne.html

Next we'll be heading off to the fairytale town of Colmar, in the Alsace region of France.  This medieval town is considered one of most charming towns in France and we will be enjoying a stay at the Hotel Le Colombier Suites.  We will be taking our time driving there so we can explore picturesque medieval towns like Gruyeres, Fribourg and Neuchatel on our way.  

Colmar: Photo Credit - France Haut-Rhin Colmar Photographie prise par GIRAUD Patrick

Fribourg - Above photo credit: Norbert Aepli, Switzerland via Wikimedia commons

From Colmar, we are heading south and back into Switzerland to stay in the lakeside town of Thun which is located on the Thunersee near Interlaken, where we will in town at the Hotel Freienhof.  We are looking forward to a visit to Ballenberg with its open-air museum populated with 100 historic Swiss rural buildings.  We will also explore the Bernese Oberland at the feet of the famous Eiger, Monch and Jungrau Alps.

Thun: Above photo credit - Andrew Bossi via wikimedia commons

We are really excited about driving across the Alps taking the Susten and Gotthard Passes, seeing the spectacular alpine scenery and visiting the small mountain villages like Andermatt high on the side of the mountain.

Andermatt Switzerland: Above photo credit - "Andermatt 9122" by Badener - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -

Our last stay in Switzerland will be far south near the border with Italy, in Bellinzona, a fortress town since Roman times.  We will be nestled near a castle at the Hotel and Spa Internazionale.  It is famous for its THREE castles and is a designated Unesco World Heritage Site!

Bellinzona: Above photo credit - "Castelgrande Bellinzona" by H005 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

We finish off our road trip with a brief day visit to the Italian Lakes District to spend a few hours on Lake Como and visiting the lakeside town of Bellagio, filled with Old World elegance and considered “the pearl of the lake”.

Bellagio: Above photo credit - "Lac de Côme - Bellagio" by Jean-Christophe BENOIST - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Finally we turn in our car back at the airport and taxi into Milan for our last two days back at UNA Maison Milano, giving us a chance to relax from our whirl-wind driving tour, eat some more yummy Milanese food, catch any museums we missed the first time and probably take one more “paseggiata” near the fabulous Milan Duomo.

We will do our best to gather lots of travel information, observations, recommendations and reviews so that YOU also can plan an amazing European road-trip!  Follow us live on Facebook and Twitter!  

 Fab Travels!