Driving to Italy

[Howdidthathappen1]

I've booked a lovely Airbnb near Lake Como with the intention of driving there over 2 days using the Chunnel - July 2024

Now starting research on routes and places to stay en routes am becoming overwhelmed.
I think I'm just looking for reassurance that I'm being ridiculous and that two fully grown adults with over 60 years driving experience between us can do this! And also any suggestions of stops etc would be fully appreciated

We drove to Lake Maggiore and Garda a couple of years ago via France - stopping at Macon on the way out and Chalons Sur Saone on the way back. It was relatively simple and meant we didn't need the vignettes for driving through Switzerland and / or Austria. We drove back from Lake Como via the San Gottardo tunnel years ago and queues were awful and roads terrifying in places. Mont Blanc seemed much easier. The motorway through Aosta valley is stunning and traffic only got bad around Milan. We came from Brussels though, so probably equal to Calais in driving terms. It depends how far you have to drive in UK first I guess...

Of course you can. Besancon and Dijon both make a lovely stop for an overnight en route if you need it. And be relaxed - accept that Italians don't drive the same way as Brits do, give them plenty of space until you are ready to go with the flow.

We drive to Tuscany most years. Normally we stop just before Chamonix - anywhere we can find between Sallanches and Les Bossons in our price range. If you're going at the height of summer this gives you a head start on the Mont Blanc tunnel which queues can form at later through the day. (Obviously this is assuming your crossing into Italy via Mont Blanc)
If you go via Switzerland (remember to pay the car tax thingymajig) then Lucerne is a beautiful place to stop over. Or during Covid when we couldn't stop in France, we stopped just over the French/German border in Frieburg - but to be honest we saw very little of it because of, you know, Covid
Going home we always stay around Dijon
Would advise getting the Liber T tag for the toll booths if your going via France - Italy, works in both countries and means no queues at the tolls, you just pootle on through and get an invoice when you get home. IIRC it's a 20€ annual fee - but if you're only doing it once, you can send back after you get back and stop the annual fee

We stayed at Titisee, Germany en route