With a combination of a few fabulous Alpine passes, lots of gentle cruising along wonderful coastal scenery, beautiful empty countryside, a museum and a couple of rest days along the way, we have catered for the preferences of everyone on this spectacular Giuliettta Register 40th anniversary tour. Average daily distance is 190 miles which is shorter than previous tours, helped by the train journey and overnight ferry crossing all contributing to a magnificent yet relaxing 2019 European tour!

We will meet on the afternoon of Monday 24 June for a welcome dinner and a hotel close to the channel tunnel.

Tuesday 25: 10am train to Calais and a 250 mile motorway cruise through Belgium and the southern Netherlands into Germany and our destination at Dusseldorf central station in time to have dinner and take the evening sleeper train service to Innsbruck. From there we loosely follow the Alpa Adria long distance hiking trail from the Grossglockner to the Adriatic, before continuing south to Dubrovnik.

Wednesday 26 – 160 miles : having unloaded the cars, we’ll get to warm them up on about 40 miles of motorway before turning south, through Kitsbuhel to Zell am Zee, and then across the Grossglockner pass to our stop for the night near Kotschach.

Thursday 27 - 200 miles : leaving Kotschach, we start with a gentle drive south east along the banks of the Gail river, before crossing briefly into Italy, and then into Slovenia. The going gets tougher as we climb into the hills of the Triglavski national park, before heading south to our overnight stops on the banks of the Adriatic near Rijeka. 6

Friday 28 – 189 miles : the first 60 miles out of Rijeka see us travelling south along the main motorway inland, before climbing the Dinarides massif and descending westbound to the Adriatic with stunning views of the Adriatic coastline and the Croatian islands beyond. From there, its a quick drive along the coast to Prizna where we’ll get the short ferry crossing to Pag island, famous for its barren moonscape scenery and a gentle drive south along the coast. We’ll cross the bridge at the southern part of Pag to rejoin the mainland and our overnight stop on the coast near Zadar. 8

Saturday 29 – 236 miles : a slightly longer day but, along with stretches of beautiful southern Adriatic coast road, there are decent stretches of motorway, ensuring an easy late afternoon arrival into Dubrovnik for our 2 night stay.

Sunday 30 – day at leisure

Monday 1 July – leave after lunch for 140 miles mixing coast with motorway north to Split, where we board the 8pm overnight ferry to Ancona in Italy.

Tuesday 2 – 193 miles : leaving the ferry early in the morning we head inland to the hills of Umbria via Assisi Perugia and Lake Trasimeno. We then turn north, passing Arezzo before on the motorway before a final run through the hills to our hotel in Florence.

Wednesday 3 - 204 miles : Leaving our hotel we head on the motorway to Pistoia, before turning north into the hills once again. Staying off the beaten track, we’ll wind our way through the Tuscan hills, descending to Maranello and joining the motorway to Milan.

Thursday 4 : day at leisure to explore Milan or to head to the reopened Alfa museum at Arese.

Friday 5 – 151 miles : from Milan we head north on the motorway via the lakes, crossing the border into Switzerland. From there we continue north on the motorway, passing Lugano until we reach Airolo, where we leave the motorway before the Gotthard Tunnel and take instead the old cobbled Gotthard pass for a picnic lunch, then a short drive down to Andermatt. From Andermatt we head to our lakeside hotel near Brienz, via the Sustenpass.

Saturday 6 – 166 miles : from Brienz we have a short section of scenic motorway to Giswil, before turning west and driving through the hills of the UNESCO Entlebuch Biosphere. At Sursee, we’ll pick up the motorway once again for a scenic drive to Basel, then across the border into France where we’ll continue north along the motorway to our overnight stop in the Alsace near Obernai. The itinerary will allow those who wish the short diversion into Mulhouse to see the Musee Nationale de l’Automobile which needs no introduction to those that have been and is a must-see for those who have not.

Sunday 7 – 241 miles. This is the only long day of the trip, starting with a route through the northern Alsace mountains then take the motorway close to Metz, before leaving it once again to enjoy fast, open country driving to our destination in near Rethel, and a final group meal.

24 June - 7 July 2019 - Giulietta Register Event - Croatia and Italy Tour