Famous road · 0 km off the route
← All routes
Road trip route · France · Italy
Nice to Milan drive time, distance, costs & the best stops
- Drive time
- 3 hr 42 min
- Distance
- 318 km
- Fuel (est.)
- €41
- Tolls (est.)
- €19
The Nice to Milan drive
The drive from Nice to Milan covers 198 miles (318 km) and takes about 3 hr 42 min without stops. That makes it a comfortable one-day drive. Leave in the morning and you'll arrive with the day ahead of you.
Two roads do the work. Roughly 43% is on the A10 and another 23% on the A7. On the way you go past Monaco, Sanremo and Albenga, and you'll be near Savona roughly 1 h 43 min in. It crosses 2 borders: France to Monaco near Monaco and Monaco to Italy near Sanremo.
It never gets very high, around 433 m at most near Savona, but it's rarely flat: something like 1,758 m of climbing over the whole drive, much of it short and steep. The Grande Corniche (D2564) is 0 km off the route if you have time for a detour.
Expect fuel for a typical petrol car (~40 mpg) to cost around €41 one-way plus roughly €19 in motorway tolls. Prices shift monthly, so treat these as ballpark figures.
At 198 miles this is longer than 54% of the 144 routes covered here. Even in a single day it crosses 2 countries, so keep documents where you can reach them.
The road, kilometre by kilometre
Towns within a few kilometres of the fastest route, with the time it takes to reach them without stopping, plus where you cross the border.
- StartNice
- 8 kmInto Monaco
- 16 kmMonaco11 min in
- 35 kmInto Italy
- 54 kmSanremo38 min in
- 107 kmAlbenga1 h 16 min in
- 147 kmSavona1 h 43 min ingood place to stop
- 229 kmNovi Ligure2 h 41 min in
- 318 kmMilan
How high it goes
Roads you'll be on
- A10134 km · 43%
- A773 km · 23%
- A2644 km · 14%
- A826 km · 8%
Famous roads on or near the drive
From the 500-plus passes and driving roads drivers collect in the Plan Your Road Trips app. None are on the fastest route, but these are close enough for a detour.
Mountain pass · 15 km off the route
Col de Vence
- Summit
- 963 m summit
Mountain pass · 21 km off the route
Col de Turini
- Summit
- 1,607 m summit
Best stops between Nice and Milan
Within ~30 km of the driving route, worth the detour.
Coastal Drives
Sanremo
The 'City of Flowers' on the Riviera di Ponente, with belle-époque casino, palm promenade and a famous song festival.
Photo Spots
Bussana Vecchia
Ligurian hill village wrecked by the 1887 earthquake and left empty for decades until international artists squatted the ruins in the 1960s. Today ateliers, gardens and a roofless baroque church share lanes still half-collapsed.
Landmarks
Aquarium of Genoa
Italy's largest and Europe's second-largest aquarium in the old port of Genoa with over 70 tanks.
Beaches
Finale Ligure
A sandy-bayed Riviera resort backed by limestone crags beloved of climbers and mountain bikers.
Landmarks
Genoa Old Port (Porto Antico)
Italy's grand maritime city offers a Renzo Piano-revamped harbour, big aquarium and a UNESCO palace quarter.
What you need for this drive
Rules for each country on the route, in the order you meet them.
France
- Motorway
- 130 km/h · 50 in town
- Tolls
- Autoroute à péage
- Must carry
- warning triangle, hi-vis vest
- Winter tyres
- 1 November - 31 March
Low-emission zones: ZFE (Zones à Faibles Émissions) — needs a Crit'Air (Certificat qualité de l'air).
Italy
- Motorway
- 130 km/h · 50 in town
- Tolls
- Autostrade
- Must carry
- warning triangle, hi-vis vest
- Winter tyres
- 15 November - 15 April
Low-emission zones: ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato).
Checked against national road authorities and the ECB reference rates. Rules change — confirm before you travel.
Famous drives in France and Italy
Legendary routes you could bolt onto this trip, with real distances and stop counts.
Amalfi Coast Drive
30 miles of stomach-churning sea-cliff hairpins, lemon groves, and pastel villages
68 km · 1.4h driving · 5 stops · 3 days
Verdon Gorge: Route des Crêtes
Europe's deepest canyon, turquoise water 700m below, and a clifftop road with no barriers
104 km · 3h driving · 5 stops · 2 days
Route Napoléon: Cannes to Grenoble
The road Napoleon took from exile back to Paris, now a 325 km drive through pre-Alps
325 km · 5.7h driving · 7 stops · 3 days
Stelvio Pass + Dolomites Loop
48 hairpins to 2,757m then a tour of UNESCO-listed Dolomite peaks
332 km · 6.2h driving · 8 stops · 4 days
Nice to Milan FAQs
How long is the drive from Nice to Milan?
Driving from Nice to Milan takes about 3 hr 42 min nonstop, covering 198 miles (318 km). Add time for breaks: most drivers stop every 2 hours.
How much does it cost to drive from Nice to Milan?
Fuel for a typical petrol car (~40 mpg) costs roughly €41 one-way. Expect around €19 in motorway tolls. Estimates are indicative: prices change monthly.
Can I drive from Nice to Milan in one day?
Yes, at about 3 hr 42 min of driving, Nice to Milan is a comfortable one-day drive with a couple of breaks.
Which roads do you take from Nice to Milan?
The fastest route uses the A10 (about 134 km), the A7 (about 73 km), the A26 (about 44 km), the A8 (about 26 km). It passes Monaco, Sanremo, Albenga, Savona.
Where should I stop on the way from Nice to Milan?
If you stop every couple of hours, Savona comes up about 2 h in. All are just off the main road.
What other drives can I plan on Plan Your Road Trips?
We publish drive times, distances and fuel estimates for 144 routes across Europe and beyond, including 19 other drives in the same country. Browse them all on the routes index.
What are the best stops between Nice and Milan?
Top-rated stops in the drive corridor include Sanremo, Bussana Vecchia, Aquarium of Genoa: see the full list of 5 stops on this page.
More drives from Nice & Milan
London → NiceMilan → FlorenceMilan → Lake ComoMilan → VeniceNice → LyonNice → MarseilleParis → NiceRome → MilanZurich → Milan
Planning a bigger trip? Try the free France road trip planner, browse every destination we cover or the Italy planner, take it with you on the road, or read the driving in Italy guide.