London to Pisa

[jr1312]

How long would it take to drive from London to Pisa, Italy? Is it a nice drive?

[Buenchico]

ViaMichelin's recommended route from London to Pisa gives the driving distance as 1484km (= 922 miles). That includes 1401km (= 871 miles) on (boring) motorways and just 121km (= 75 miles) on designated scenic roads.

The total driving time is given as 15 hours 19 minutes (including 12 hours 33 minutes on motorways). However, that total only includes 1 hour 16 minutes for the ferry. Allowing for checking in, you need to add at least 2 hours to that total time.

So, with just one person doing the driving, it could be done in 2 days if the driver simply wanted to get there as quickly as possible (and not do any sight-seeing en route).

Sticking mainly to the motorway route, but with some detours to explore local towns, 4 days might be more sensible.

Switching ViaMichelin's preferences from 'recommended route' to 'discovery route' changes the total driving distance to 1352km (= 840 miles), with only 380km (= 236 miles) on motorways and 352km (= 219 miles) on scenic roads. Taking the slower roads increases the total driving time to 24 hours 42 minutes (with 3 hours 38 minutes on motorways). Once again, add a few extra hours for the ferry.

Taking the 'discovery route' would thus require a minimum of 3 days driving but that would seem to negate the point of 'discovery'. (i.e. there'd be no time for sightseeing). 5 or 6 days would be more sensible.

http://www.viamichelin.com/

Chris

[jno]

like Chris says, it's two days of solid driving, three days more relaxed. The autoroutes aren't very scenic but it is nice when you feel the warm air of the south of France start to blow. As I recall, last time I drove that way I had to stop in Dijon on the first night, having lost an hour with the time zone. Next night, if it's a three-day journey, probably somewhere Genoaish. Driving back was kind of depressing, though; there's not much pleasurable anticipation to be had thinking of getting back to the M25.