# Pawarrant's third ED thread



## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

Ok it is time to get this started. I will be placing my order for my third ED with my CA at Bobby Rahal BMW on April 1st to reserve my September delivery date during the opening weekend of Oktoberfest again. 

On my first ED, I went from Munich to Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Mittenwald, Stelvio Pass, Lake Como, and Fussen and back to Munich for drop off. On my second ED, I went from Munich to Fussen, Lindau & Bergenz, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nuremberg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Brugges, and Amsterdam for drop off. This time, I want to head south into Italy and drop off in Nice. 

Below is the tentative itinerary I have been working on. Tentative, in that each ED so far I have employed the suggestions of those of you on this forum to tweak it to the final itinerary I end up booking. Each ED so far has been beyond a success and have been epic adventures. To give you a better idea of what I like to help with your input you can check out my reports from my last two EDs in my signature. Basically, I enjoy checking out the historical sites and love trying amazing restaurants and experiencing the local culture. Nightlife is a plus as well. As in the past, I'm looking for input on things to do or see, hotel and restaurant recommendations. If my itinerary can be improved in any way, I'm up for suggestions. I just can not extend the trip any more days. I could shorten it though.


Wednesday September 19 – depart LAS via PHL on AA using miles for business class

Thursday September 20 – arrive Munich

Accommodations: undecided

Friday September 21 – Munich - BMW delivery, Munich sites

Saturday September 22 – Munich – Oktoberfest parade

Sunday September 23 – Munich – Oktoberfest tent in evening

Monday September 24 – drive to Schwangau (1.75 hours) for obligatory Castle photo, drive to Zugspitze (1 hour) (If weather is bad drive to Innsbruck instead for lunch) , drive to Merano, Italy (3.25 hours)

Accommodations: Meisters Irma Hotel

Tuesday September 25 – Merano

Wednesday September 26 – drive to Venice (3 Hours) (ditch car outside of the city in garage and train in to city)

Accommodations: undecided

Thursday September 27 – Venice

Friday September 28 – Venice

Saturday September 29 – drive to Florence (3 hours)

Accommodations: undecided

Sunday September 30 – Florence

Monday October 1 – Florence

Tuesday October 2 – drive to Cinque Terre (La Spezia) (2 hours)

Accommodations: undecided

Wednesday October 3 - Cinque Terre

Thursday October 4 - Cinque Terre

Friday October 5 – drive to Nice (3.5 hours) (must drop off car)

Accommodations: undecided

Saturday October 6 – Nice (day trip to Eze and Monaco)

Sunday October 7 – Nice

Monday October 8 – depart NCE via LHR on BA to arrive home in LAS


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## Trinitony (Feb 10, 2010)

Here are a few suggestions.

*Vienna*: Consider staying in the The Ring Hotel. We liked it. Fairly modern, nice, helpful staff and not too expensive. It is located near the Opera and the Hofburg Palace. So it's also near Demels and the Sacher if you are "into" pastry.

*Nice*: I would not dump your car on arrival. Eze is easily reached by car, although the village is pedestrian only. The view is spectacular. Monaco is also aeasily reached by car and it has extensive underground parking.

While in Nice you might also consider visiting *Arles*. It's about a 3 hour drive from Nice. Arles has a well preserved Roman Amphitheater. Another place that is easy to reach by car is St. Tropez - mostly yachts and beaches.

The three Corniches are also worth a drive just to say you've done it/them. The lowest will take you through all the towns along the coast, while the middle offers the best views and the top is the quickest way to get from one end to the other.

I enjoyed your ED travelogues and especially your photos. Looking forward to seeing this year's trip write up.


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## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

Florence- awesome place, terrifying to drive in the city.


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## mconley3 (Jun 24, 2015)

I will look forward to your trip report, I may follow part of your itinerary, at least to Vienna and Tuscany. Will try to help a little, it has been 15 years since I was last in Tuscany.

Florence, very busy city, lots of diesel smoke. I'm not really into museums, of which there a lot, but I did have a nice day walking around the city. Not sure I would stay there and parking outside of the wall was interesting.

Castellina in Chianti, this is where I stayed the whole time I was in Tuscany, I don't think the guest house I stayed in is still in operation. Great town to visit, even if you don't stay here.

Sienna, liked this a lot more than Florence, would recommend spending a day here. Great ancient city.

Dievole Winery, they had a shop in Castellina in Chianti, not sure if they still do. Did a nice tour here. Also did a BBQ at the winery one night, great time, fantastic food grill over giant wood fires. I brought several bottles of wine home from here, and I'm not a wine guy. Also the best olive oil I've ever tasted, brought some of that home too.
https://www.dievole.it/en/

Volpaia, did a tasting here, great little hill top town, everyone in the town works at the winery. Well worth a visit, wine and olive oil was a little on the expensive side. Stopped in Radda in Chianti for lunch on the way, nice little town.
https://www.volpaia.info/

San Gimignano, must see town. Really stands out in my memory.
http://www.sangimignano.com/en/

We did do one bus tour, a loop just south of Sienna. I only really remember two of the towns, not sure you will get that far south, but it may be worth a loop. Pienza, really nice town, but what I remember most is the cheese shop. Had a few small wheels of cheese vacuum packed to take home.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract...24-Reviews-Zazzeri_Pienza-Pienza_Tuscany.html
I also remember Bagno Vignoni, we had lunch in a cafe overlooking the hot springs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagno_Vignoni
Other towns on that loop that sound familiar, but I don't specifically remember are 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montepulciano
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montalcino

This will give you the idea
http://www.florenceprivatetoursyour...a-San-Quirico-DOrcia-Bagno-Vignoni-3-Day.html

Can't recall anything else right now, but I will post if I remember any more. Sorry we will miss you, you will be on your way to Vienna when I arrive in Munich.


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## AggieKnight (Dec 26, 2008)

Looks good. Highly suggest you stay outside of Florence and take the train in. I wouldn't drive there ever. 

Also recommend you get reservations to park the car in Venice ahead of time. When we went there ten years ago, if you didn't have reservations you didn't get a spot. May have changed.


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## Trinitony (Feb 10, 2010)

I would not recommend driving in Florence either - but I did. I stayed in the Hotel Silla which is an easy walk to the Uffisi Gallery and close to pretty much everything else in Florence that you might want to see. I was allowed to leave my car beside a small park that was close to the hotel. If I had been a Bimmerfester back then I would have known better than to drive in Florence, but I was not even aware of Bimmerfest back then. Any way I drove to the hotel and they found me this spot to leave my car. As it happened the car was a rental (not ED) and I didn't worry about what I had just done, and it all worked out just fine.

Hotel Silla serves breakfast on an upper deck with a view of the River Arno and the city. My wife remembers the breakfast as not being that great but the view obviously colored my memory as I thought it was OK. If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive hotel that is well placed for seeing the sights, and you are not concerned about the parking arrangements you might take a look at the Silla. Also the hotel may be able to offer more secure parking if you contact them!


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

I remember more than few Bimmerfest members stay in Hotel Golf in Florence. It has private parking.

Viale Fratelli Rosselli, 56, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
hotelgolf.it
+39 055 281818

map

instead of Nice - stay in VILLEFRANCH-SUR-MER or Cap-d'Ail.
Search this forum for this two places.


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

Trinitony said:


> Here are a few suggestions.
> 
> *Vienna*: Consider staying in the The Ring Hotel. We liked it. Fairly modern, nice, helpful staff and not too expensive. It is located near the Opera and the Hofburg Palace. So it's also near Demels and the Sacher if you are "into" pastry.
> 
> *Nice*: I would not dump your car on arrival. Eze is easily reached by car, although the village is pedestrian only. The view is spectacular. Monaco is also aeasily reached by car and it has extensive underground parking.


I was in Vienna on my first ED. I'm doing Venice this one. As far as dumping the car on arrival to Nice, the only reason is I will be at 14 days. I think BMW only pays for 14 days of insurance now? I'm not sure because I never went over 14 days. Thanks for the other suggestions. How far are the three Corniches from Nice?


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

mconley3 said:


> Florence, very busy city, lots of diesel smoke. I'm not really into museums, of which there a lot, but I did have a nice day walking around the city. Not sure I would stay there and parking outside of the wall was interesting..


Thank you and Me530, MB330, AggieKnight and Trinity for the info about Florence. I could substitute staying somewhere else. Definitely look into those suggestions. Maybe just a stop through of Florence?


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## Trinitony (Feb 10, 2010)

pawarrant said:


> How far are the three Corniches from Nice?


The three Corniches run more or less east to west from approximately cannes to Menton. The Lower Corniche is the road that is right on the the coast and goes through Nice and most of the other cities on the French Riviera. The Middle Corniche and the Upper either go through Nice and most of the other Riviera cities or come awfully close - with the Middle Corniche being a mile or two north of the Lower, and the Upper Corniche being a mile or two north of the Middle Corniche.

Youtube has several videos of the Corniches here:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+three+corniches+france

and Rick Steves has one of his travelogues of the Riviera here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er2tS8vWXHs

My personal choice, if you have time for only two of the Corniches, would be to do the Lower and the Middle. I think the Middle has the best views while the Lower takes you through all the "action". The Upper is just another fast road!


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## Gluhwein (Aug 21, 2011)

On your way from Innsbruck to Merano I highly recommend detouring for a stop in Bressanone/Brixen, Italy. The town has been Austrian at times, Italian at other times. Hence the two names. The pedestrian-only Old Town is interesting and picturesque. It was an important Medieval trading town because of the salt trade between Italy and Austria.







And I second stopping in San Gimignano in Tuscany. Best gelato in the world.


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## Trinitony (Feb 10, 2010)

pawarrant;I could substitute staying somewhere else. Definitely look into those suggestions. Maybe just a stop through of Florence?[/QUOTE said:


> You could probably see most of the architecture and all of the Uffisi gallery in one full day - but it would be a really full day. If you decide to skip Florence you might consider Tuscany or Provence as alternatives. Either would fit into your itinerary reasonably well.


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## mconley3 (Jun 24, 2015)

I did enjoy my day in Florence, but I have to say I'm just not a city person. The only exception I've found is Munich. I do love Munich. Perhaps you could stay close, hit Florence one day and if you feel it warrants another day leave some flexibility. I personally liked Sienna better, but that is just a personal preference.



pawarrant said:


> Thank you and Me530, MB330, AggieKnight and Trinity for the info about Florence. I could substitute staying somewhere else. Definitely look into those suggestions. Maybe just a stop through of Florence?


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## mconley3 (Jun 24, 2015)

Second the gelato, it is one of the things I remember most from San Gimignano other than the towers an trying to park. There is a electronic car park, you have to wait in line for other people to leave before you can get in when it is full. That may have changed in the last 15 years...

Bressanone/Brixen sounds interesting, making a note...



Gluhwein said:


> On your way from Innsbruck to Merano I highly recommend detouring for a stop in Bressanone/Brixen, Italy. The town has been Austrian at times, Italian at other times. Hence the two names. The pedestrian-only Old Town is interesting and picturesque. It was an important Medieval trading town because of the salt trade between Italy and Austria.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Asteroid (Aug 17, 2005)

Florence is a special city worth spending several days. But if you're not into museums or old buildings, then just stop for 1 day to check your bucket list. The area around Florence is fantastic and having a car is a great way to see it all. Check out the different hill towns that you can visit like San Gimignano, and Volterra, and bigger towns like Siena and Lucca.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

pawarrant said:


> Thank you and Me530, MB330, AggieKnight and Trinity for the info about Florence. I could substitute staying somewhere else. Definitely look into those suggestions. Maybe just a stop through of Florence?


maybe this post will help you - http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1235849


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## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

Gluhwein said:


> And I second stopping in San Gimignano in Tuscany.


I third that.


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## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

Oh yes, I notice Merano on your list. I love it there, a great town. Well worth a visit. They have an excellent botanic garden there. https://www.trauttmansdorff.it/en/the-gardens-of-trauttmansdorff-castle.html


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## Ibiza (Jun 15, 2007)

Regarding Firenze, book your David and Uffizi tickets online now. I was recently there in January 2018, and reservations were required for Ibizaswife (I passed since I have seen all the sites many times before and had the flu). Don’t recommend the St Regis Florence to stay at either, butler service is not like the US properties. 

Try Villa Cora or Il Salviatino.

Plenty of winery’s in the Chianti region, thus why I would stay outside the city and explore with you BMW. Recently visited San Michele a Touri (Scandicci). Banfi has a great lunch and can be booked in advance. 

One can spend weeks in the Tuscany region, it’s what your interests are.


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

Great stuff so far! Thank you everyone! Bressanone/Brixen looks interesting. That may be a lunch stop now on the way from the Castle photo to Merano instead of Innsbruck? I think I may heed many of your suggestions and just do a day in Florence to hit the main museums and check it off the list. What about a day in Siena instead of the extra day in Florence? On the way from Siena to Cinque Terre a lunch stop in San Gimignano and a photo stop in Pisa?


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