I know, we’re in the middle of a pandemic, most of us can’t go on a fancy vegan road trip through Italy and France. But we CAN plan future vacations, right?
For me, remembering past vacations and daydreaming of the ones yet to come, does help with the wanderlust.
Our riviera tour took place in 2016 so just a heads up, some of the restaurants we went to have closed down in the meantime, and visiting some of the sites might be a bit different post-covid.
Nonetheless, I think this travel diary could serve as inspiration in case you’re planning a similar trip and I do have a few general vegan road trip tips in store for you!
Oh, one more thing: since our Italy / France road trip happened 4 years before I started blogging, I don’t have photos of everything we saw, did, or ate. But I do have a ton of BEAUTIFUL pictures of architecture, nature, and art. Especially if you’re into the Greco-roman-inspired aesthetic, you’ll love this post.
I’ve divided the Vegan Road Trip Though Italy and France into two general parts. Italy and France, duh.
Part 1: Italy
Bergamo
Verona
Gardaland
Bologna
Florence
Cinque Terre / La Spezia
Val di Tara
Ameno
Bergamo, Verona, Gardaland, Bologna
We started our trip by flying from Vienna to Bergamo. If I’d do the same road trip again, I’d go by night train this time because it’s much less harmful to the environment and the difference in travel time is negligible. Especially when you’re sleeping.
We got a rental car at Bergamo Airport and went straight to Gardaland – an amusement park in Castelnuovo del Garda. Sadly, no photos (I want the public to see :)) because we were busy having a ton of fun and riding all the rollercoasters.
But Gardaland is actually very vegan-friendly. Every other food stall has at least one vegan item on the menu and there’s even a fully vegan restaurant in the park!
After that, we went to Verona, where we had an AMAZING vegan dinner at La Lanterna (sadly no pictures!) and then went straight to bed (at an insignificant, but ok Hotel with an hourly rate close to the Airport).
The next day we were off to Florence but stopped in Bologna for lunch. It actually wasn’t all that easy to find a vegan restaurant that was open, because it was Ferragosto. We ended up eating at a diner called America Graffiti and then had the most amazing vegan gelato at Gelateria Stefino.
Florence
I’ve been to Florence quite a few times already because it’s truly always worth a visit. I’ve seen most of the must-see sights already, which why on my last (very short) visit I only got to visit Palazzo Pitti and Gucci Museo.
What to See:
Palazzo Pitti
The palace and gardens are, without a doubt, one of my favorite places on earth. Such a truly beautiful, serene, and inspiring place.
At the time of my last visit in 2016 I was working on my fashion school thesis and collection which heavily inspired by Greco-Roman imagery and Mediterranean nature so strolling the gardens on my own was heaven.
The Pitti Palace also holds the Museum of Costume and Fashion, which is usually my first stop in ANY city I visit. If you’re a fashion, costume or textile aficionado like me, you absolutely have to visit!
Gucci Museo
Similarly, the Gucci Museum should be on your itinerary. It’s since been re-imagined by Alessandro Michele and re-named Gucci Garden.
Divided into a series of themed rooms, the Gucci Garden Galleria narrates the House’s new vision while celebrating the archives including old advertising campaigns, artisans’ images, retro objects.
https://www.gucci.com/us/en/st/stories/inspirations-and-codes/article/gucci_garden
The journey inside the exhibition space that spans across two floors begins inside ‘Guccification’, the room where the Double G motif features in many forms up until its transgressive state created by artist Trouble Andrew for Gucci Ghost and the latest ways of writing the House’s name—Guccy, Guccify and Guccification—found by Alessandro Michele through tags on Instagram. ‘Paraphernalia’ is a room dedicated to signature codes and symbols that define Gucci’s identity while ‘Cosmorama’ reveals the historical jet-set customer of Gucci and the evolution of the Crest. The gallery continues on the second floor with ‘De Rerum Natura’, two rooms that recall natural history museums and explore Alessandro Michele’s curiosity for animals and gardens—a vital part of the new Gucci narrative. The sensory journey ends with ‘Ephemera’, an environment where the gaze of the present composes landscapes of objects, videos and memorabilia that retrace the history of the House. The Gucci Garden Galleria also includes a small, red-velvet tented cinema auditorium, featuring a preview of Zeus Machine/Phoenix, a short film by the ZAPRUDER filmmakersgroup.
The Gucci Eye is the designated symbol of the Gucci Garden, a hypnotic territory that alters the state of consciousness and perception. A place full of magnetism, dispersed in the gallery rooms, Osteria da Massimo Bottura—the new restaurant by the three-Michelin-star chef and the boutique. The visitor can choose whether to let themselves go inside, drifting around, or look carefully and take in the surrounds.
To Eat:
In all honesty, I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the restaurant where we had our lunch. I also can’t find it on Happy Cow, but it was actually quite underwhelming. You’re MUCH better off just going to any traditional Pizzeria and ordering a Marinara.
Where to Stay:
We stayed at a darling AirBnB that actually included breakfast (with vegan options, as we wrote them beforehand). But next time we’re in Florence planning on staying at Velona’s Jungle Luxury Suites. This eclectic boutique hotel offers an amazing vegan breakfast including croissants! Count. Me. In.
Montecatini Terme
On our way to our next stop in Italy, we made a little detour to Montecatini Terme to take a walk and savor the beauty of this Art Nouveau town.
We went to see the beautiful Tetuccio Spa and it took my breath away.
Cinque Terre
I think Cinque Terre is one of those places that should be on any Italy bucket lists. Just don’t go during Ferragosto like we did (Mid August) 😀
It was pretty overrun and we didn’t plan enough time for each of the towns, so we felt a bit rushed and crushed.
The 5 colorful coastal towns Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore are best traveled by train from La Spezia. The train basically functions as a sort of underground railway directly through the mountain connecting the towns with just a few minutes between each stop.
You can also take the train from Genua. Either way, just get there early in the morning if you want to park at the train station and get a day pass.
What to See:
The beautiful coast line and colorful houses.
What To Eat:
Farinata and Focaccia
You’ll find small shops and kiosks all sell Farinata, a traditional flat bread made from chickpea flour and olive oil, that is usually vegan by default. The chickpea flour gives it a bit of an eggy flavor and texture, it’s amazing!
And Focaccia of course being the traditional bread of Liguria can be plain or topped with onions, herbs or tomato.
Where to Stay:
We chose La Spezia as our home base as it made it super easy to visit Cinque Terre by train. Our stay at Le Rondini which wasn’t all too fancy but the owners were the sweetest hosts ever. After messaging them about vegan breakfast options beforehand (as we always do), they went to the store to buy all sorts of vegan treats for us. From different kinds of plant milk and yogurts to vegan cookies. We’ll never forget their incredible hospitality!
Val di Tara
Our next stop was a 100% vegan Agriturismo in the mountains of Val di Tara. We met a few adorable animals such as Camillo, the blind Siamese cat, and Mr. Cane, the dog with the coolest name ever. (what does it say about me that I have to Google the names of the Hotels we stayed at, but I can perfectly recall the names of all the animals I met 5 years later?)
What to see:
A good book. There’s no internet or reception, so just enjoy the quiet.
What to eat:
Whatever beautiful thing the hostess is cooking for you.
Where to Stay:
Vegan Agriturismo Borgo di Val di Tara
Ameno:
After Cinque Terre, we actually went all the way back north to Bergamo to return our rental car and instead pick up my mom, who was on her way Ameno to visit friends. We dropped her off at her friend’s house (oh, how the tables have turned :D) and stayed next door at Da Giacomone before continuing our journey to the Cote d’Azur.
We also wanted to have coffee at Villa Crespi on Lago d’Orta but even though we asked beforehand if we could visit the café without staying at the hotel, we were rudely kicked out upon arrival. I’m still pissed about it to this day, because I would have loved to admire the unique architecture!
What to eat:
Pizza Marinara. Personally, I’m happy with consuming nothing but Pizza Marinara, Insalata mista and Venezianos for a whole e week in Italy.
What to see:
Lago d’Orta
Where to Stay:
BnB Da Giacomone
Part 2: France & Monaco
Nice
Contes
Monaco
Cap Ferrat
Nice
Our first destination in France was Nice, where we stayed for 3 nights. To be completely honest, I was a bit underwhelmed by Nice in general. It’s a beautiful city and I’m glad I got to see it but it was not very vegan-friendly and quite expensive. Although looking at Happy Cow, it seems like vegan-friendly restaurants have at least doubled within the past 5 years.
Something that also contributed to my feelings about Nice was that I hated our AirBnB. It was an actual nightmare and eventually became the reason we decided to never again cut corners when it comes to accommodation. I’d rather have a shorter vacation in a nice hotel than a long one in a crappy apartment.
At the time we were both still students and had a very tight budget. It was the best we could afford at the time since Nice is such an expensive destination.
Some things I loved about Nice: the promenade and the amazing Art Deco architecture, which is something we don’t really have in Vienna. And the Socca! It’s more or less the same thing as the Farinata we had in Cinque Terre and quickly became our main source of nutrition.
What to See:
Cimiez district with its roman ruins and the Matisse Museum, the old town and the promenade.
Éze: A darling mountain village about 10km east of Nice.
What to Eat:
Socca!
Where to Stay:
NOT AT A CRAPPY AIRBNB.
I’d actually stay somewhere outside the city and just visit for a day trip. Accommodation in Nice itself is just very expensive and not worth it, in my opinion.
After Nice and our AWFUL AirBnB, we went on our very first camping trip ever and it was absolutely gorgeous. I dream about it all the time and we have not dared to go camping ever since, because our experience and the camping ground at La Ferme Riola was so idyllic. We fear that we might be setting ourselves up for disappointment by comparing every camping trip with this perfect experience.
The camping ground wasn’t too crowded and we actually had our own terrace overlooking the olive tree-laden mountains all by ourselves. There was even a folk fest at the campgrounds including rosé and Socca and singing Chansons out of tune. It was just lovely.
Cap Ferrat
Cap Ferrat is mostly known for being home to a bunch of A-List celebrities and all sorts of rich people. Some of these rich people from back in the day however have since opened the gates of their Villas to the public. Two of these Villas are Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and Villa Kérylos.
We visited both of them and they were breathtakingly gorgeous.
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is a pink and frilly dream house modeled after Italian renaissance built in 1912 for Baronesse Béatrice de Rothschild.
I especially loved the HUGE and diverse garden attached to the villa. And the cat who lived there!
And Villa Kérylos was just a total dream. It was modeled after ancient greek villas by the archaeologist Théodore Reinach.
Monaco
I’m going to say something controversial: Monaco is ugly. I mean, the old town is cute, like most old towns in southern Europe, but Monaco is the most densely populated country in the whole world (hooray for being a tax haven, I guess). And that’s exactly what it looks like. Just row upon rows of depressing, beige, boxy buildings and a ton of yachts in the harbor.
We still had a good time. We visited Grace Kelly’s Grave, drank some overpriced cocktails, had lunch at Novak Djokovic’s vegan restaurant (which sadly has been closed last year) with him sitting at the table behind us.
We even went to the casino! We won a little bit of money at the slot machines, invested that in some wine at the bar, and went back to our hotel.
All in all, it was a satisfying finale to our fancy vegan road trip through Italy and France.
What to See:
Jardin Exotique, Casino de Montecarlo
What to Eat:
We only had one meal at a now-closed restaurant, so it’s best to check Happy Cow. Or act like a local and just stick to Champagne.
Where to Stay:
Unless you’re actually loaded or just want to spend a lot of money for a mediocre room, just get a room outside of Monaco. We stayed at Hôtel Le Roquebrune in Roquebrune Cap Martin.
The hotel is pretty 1990s but in a charming, romantic Laura Ashley kind of way.
We just bought our own breakfast and had it on our balcony, which had a heavenly view.
General Tips and Advice for a Vegan Road Trip Through Italy and France
- Snacks. You won’t always have time or energy or money to stop somewhere along the way and have lunch or dinner. We stocked up on vegan cheese, baguette or ciabatta, veggies, carottes rapées (my favorite convenience food, you can get it at any supermarket in France) and just picnicked a lot
Most vegans do this by default, but especially in the south of France, you might not find a restaurant with vegan options all of the time. Just bring snacks. Nobody likes a hangry road trip partner. - Plan ahead. This one’s a no-brainer. And if you’re traveling alone or never get into fights with your partner, you might be able to just wing it and still have a great time. But I think having a bit of a plan helps.
- BUT: stay flexible. We had to cancel a stop along the way or sight or two because we wanted to spend more time somewhere else or realized, we didn’t plan enough time for something.
- Travel Guidebooks: We had these two by Marco Polo:
- Speaking of books: I read Villa America by Liza Klaussmann during this vacation and it was perfect. It takes place on the Côte d’Azur in the 1920s and is based on true events.
- Take the Italian highway tolls into your budget calculations!
- Ferragosto: Kepp in mind when planning your vegan road trip to Italy and France that around August 15th a lot of shops might be closed.
If you liked this
vegan road trip to Italy, France, and Monaco guide,
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