Northern Italy by Car

Itchyness

Hi guys, i'll be driving across Northern Italy over the course of a week in September with my girlfriend. We will be travelling East to West so I was thinking of taking 2 nights in Venice, lake Garda, Lake Como, Genoa and over to Monaco.

Ill have the car so I can be flexible in the places we go. Other than Venice we have fixed plans. No major drive for Milan but maybe Bergamo. Any recommendations as regards places to stay/sights etc. Will it be more of a hassle with the car? Parking etc.

josip

We've just crossed Italy West to East. Stayed in Frejus the night before at a camp site, visited a French hospital to have a tick removed (in and out in an hour on a Sunday). Stopped for a little in Monaco including a swim at a (stony) beach under the museum car park. We then drove on to Savona where we stayed in a friend's apartment and his parents brought us Focaccia for breakfast, before we had our morning swim on one of the city beaches.
Next day we went to Lake Garda to stay in another (recommended) camp site near Peschira. The lake was a big disappointment, the water was fairly dirty and the dead fish floating by wasn't a great sign. A few years ago we stopped in Como on a west to East traverse. It was May so was a lot quieter and was a much more enjoyable experience. Fairly anecdotal but if you like swimming, the Italian med will be better than the lakes I think. This time we skipped Venice and headed on to Lubljana and did Postojna cave on a day trip the next day. Really mind blowing that. We'd done Venice a few years back, drove across the cause way, paid the €20 for parking Most people park before the causeway and take a shuttle across. But Venice was well worth the half day.
On yet another trip we went along by Cinque Terre on the West coast. That was special too, especially if you have a bit of time. Wonderfully friendly and accommodating people in the towns there.