🇪🇸 Cross-border drive · Spain → Italy 🇮🇹
Driving from Valencia to Rome
Drive from Valencia to Rome via the AP-7, A9, A54. Cross Spain and France, then Italy. Tolls, vignettes, and fuel tips.
- Drive time
- 18h 16m
- Distance
- 1,701 km
- Same day?
- Split it
- 12 h+, plan a stop
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €228
- petrol · diesel ≈ €203
- Tolls
- ≈ €146
- per-km
- EV charging
- Unknown
- not yet surveyed
On this page
Route map
Route options
Other paths OSRM found between the two cities — handy when traffic, tolls, or scenery matter more than raw speed.
Alternative
+1h 41m- Distance:
- 1,894 km (+193 km)
- Duration:
- 19h 57m
Via: AP-7 · A1var · A 9 · A1
How else can you make this trip?
Driving is the focus of this guide; here's how cycling, coach, and (soon) train and plane stack up for the same pair.
18h 16m
1.701 km · €228 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
1.701 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
No direct service
Our coach data (FlixBus + BlaBlaCar) doesn't list a direct service for this pair. National operators (e.g., National Express in the UK, Eurolines feeders) may still cover it — check their site directly.
2h 48m
from €40
See details ↓
22h 37m
RENFE OPERADORA · TRENITALIA
See details ↓
What the drive is like
Drafted from the route's computed data on April 24, 2026 and reviewed against the route summary card. Read our methodology.
The first miles out of Valencia will likely see you on the V-21 before joining the A-7 and then the AP-7 motorway, the primary artery for heading north along Spain's eastern coast. This Spanish toll road, the AP-7, will carry you for a significant stretch, hugging the Mediterranean coastline for much of its length. Be prepared for tolls in Spain; they are frequent and add up, but generally keep traffic flowing smoothly. As you approach the French border, the road signs will transition, and you'll soon find yourself on the A9, often referred to as the 'Languedocienne'. This French autoroute is also a tolled road, so keep your payment methods handy. You’ll stay on the A9 for a considerable distance through the south of France, a region known for its vineyards and sunny climate. Your route will then veer towards Italy, guided by signs for the A54 and eventually the A7 in Italy. Crossing into Italy means a change in tolling systems; Italy primarily uses a 'pay as you go' barrier system on its autostrade, rather than a vignette. Watch out for speed limit changes between countries and be aware that fuel prices can fluctuate significantly, often being higher in France and Italy compared to Spain. The final leg into Rome will involve navigating the Italian autostrada network, which is generally well-maintained and direct. Consider downloading offline maps, as mobile signal can be intermittent in some rural stretches, especially in the Pyrenees if your route takes you inland slightly. Budget for regular fuel stops and rest breaks, as the distance is substantial, even if the driving time is less than 24 hours. This is a drive that encompasses diverse landscapes, from Spanish Mediterranean shores to the French Riviera and finally into the heart of Italy.
Route highlights
- AP-7 coastal views in Spain
- A9 autoroute through Southern France
- Transitioning from Spanish to French road signage
- Italian autostrada toll barriers
- Potential for diverse culinary stops en route
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Overnight recommended
Too long for a single-driver day. Plan on 2 overnight stop(s) to do this trip right.
A natural overnight stop near the halfway point: Brignoles (fr).
- Distance:
- 1,701 km
- Duration:
- 18h 16m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Mont-roig del Camp 🇪🇸 es
≈213 km≈ 21.5 km detour from the main route
-
Santa Coloma de Farners 🇪🇸 es
≈425 km≈ 9.4 km detour from the main route
-
Agde 🇫🇷 fr
≈638 km≈ 8.4 km detour from the main route
-
Trets 🇫🇷 fr
≈850 km≈ 3.2 km detour from the main route
-
Taggia 🇮🇹 it
≈1,063 km≈ 3.8 km detour from the main route
-
La Spezia 🇮🇹 it
≈1,276 km≈ 13.1 km detour from the main route
-
Arezzo 🇮🇹 it
≈1,488 km≈ 14.2 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Multi-country chain · ES → FR → IT
You'll cross 3 countries on this drive — each with its own toll system, fuel pricing, and motorway rules. Skim the must-know section below before you set off, and have your registration plus insurance card in the door pocket for any roadside check.
Tolls on motorways in ES / FR / IT
Budget for motorway tolls — France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal charge per-km, Croatia and Greece by section. Contactless cards work almost everywhere; have one loaded.
Long rural stretch on V-21 Avinguda de Catalunya
Plan for about 20 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Long rural stretch on Autostrada dei Fiori
Plan for about 19 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Must-know before you go
The things a driver from another country wouldn't think to ask about — fines, stickers, payment cards, opening hours.
City access & emission zones
Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla now run ZBE low-emission zones
Must knowSpain's Zonas de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE) cover central Madrid (24/7), Barcelona inside the Rondes (weekdays 7:00–20:00), Sevilla, Valencia and a growing list. Foreign plates need to register at the city portal in advance — your Euro emission class determines whether you get in. Without registration, cameras log entry and the fine reaches your home address.
Order your Crit'Air sticker before the trip
Must knowParis, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Toulouse and a growing list of cities require a Crit'Air air-quality sticker visible on your windscreen — even for a single drive-through. It's €4.51 from the official site and ships by post (allow 2–6 weeks abroad). Without it, expect on-the-spot fines from €68. Your registration document tells the issuer your emission class.
ZTL cameras read your plate from any country
Must knowItalian historic centres (Florence, Rome, Milan, Bologna, Pisa, Siena, Verona, Naples, Turin, Palermo and dozens more) are ringed by automatic Zona Traffico Limitato cameras. Driving in without a permit triggers €80–120 per crossing, and the fine reaches your home address up to a year later via cross-border collection. Treat any city centre as off-limits unless you've confirmed your hotel offers a permit, and ask the hotel to register your plate the day you arrive.
Centro Storico ZTL is permit-only, day and night
Must knowRome
Rome's historic centre ZTL operates Mon–Fri 06:30–19:00, Sat 14:00–19:00, plus Fri/Sat night party hours. Cameras at every entrance, no booth. Hotels inside the ZTL register your plate for the duration of your stay — but only if you ask, the day you arrive, with the registration document. Trastevere and Testaccio have their own night ZTLs.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
Contactless works at every autoroute booth
UsefulFrench autoroutes use a ticket system: take a card on entry, pay on exit. Every barrier accepts contactless tap-to-pay — pull into the "CB / bank card" lane (orange "t" logo means Liber-T transponder only, avoid those). For frequent EU travellers a Bip&Go transponder pays itself off in two trips by skipping the queue.
Telepass saves you the toll-booth queue
UsefulItalian autostrade work like France: ticket on entry, pay on exit. Contactless cards work at most modern lanes (look for "Carte" — avoid yellow "Telepass" lanes without the device). For long routes, a Telepass EU transponder works in IT/FR/ES/PT and pays for itself across two days; at minimum, keep your insurance card and registration in the door pocket — booth attendants occasionally ask.
Most Spanish tolls were abolished in 2024
TipThe AP-1, AP-7 (Bilbao stretch) and most of the Mediterranean coast highways are now toll-free. A handful remain: AP-9 (Galicia), AP-66 (León–Asturias), Catalonia's C-32/C-16 tunnel approach. Spain is no longer a high-toll country for cars — your fuel + a few specific bridge fees is the realistic budget.
What your car must carry
Hi-vis vest in the cabin, triangle in the boot
Must knowA reflective vest must be reachable without leaving the vehicle (in the door pocket or under your seat — boot is too late). One warning triangle is also mandatory. The 2012 breathalyzer rule was scrapped in 2020 but is still nice to keep. No spare-bulb requirement.
Hi-vis vest mandatory before stepping out
Must knowItalian law requires you to wear a reflective vest before exiting the vehicle on a motorway shoulder, day or night. One warning triangle in the boot is also required. Both items are typically €15 at any Autogrill or fuel station — don't arrive without them.
Driving rules & habits
Priorité à droite still applies in towns
UsefulOn urban streets without signs, traffic from your right has priority — even from a side street that looks subordinate. Outside cities the rule is mostly retired, but in residential French villages it survives. Slow at every right-hand junction unless a yellow diamond on your road tells you you're on the priority road.
Plan your stops, not just your finish time
UsefulOSRM gives you free-flow drive time. Realistic add: 10% on motorway-heavy routes, 25% if you're crossing two cities. Eat at off-peak hours (11:30 lunch, 18:00 dinner) — service-area queues at noon kill 20 minutes. EU fatigue research is consistent: 15-minute break every 2 hours, full 45-minute break before 6 hours. The drive between hours 7 and 9 is where avoidable accidents cluster.
Fuel stations
"Servito" pumps cost about €0.20/L more
UsefulItalian fuel stations split between fai-da-te (self-service) and servito (attended). The same station typically offers both, with attended pumps charging a 10–15% premium. Off-hours, attended turns into self-service automatically. If a pump is out of paper or won't take your card, try the next station — Italian banking sometimes refuses foreign chip cards on first attempt.
Off-motorway stations close late evening
TipSpanish provincial fuel stations often close 22:00–07:00, especially in the south. Motorway services (Cepsa, Repsol on the autovía) run 24/7. If you're routing through an Andalusian backroad, fuel before sunset and don't bank on a small-town pump.
Contactless cards work at virtually every motorway pump
TipMajor brand stations (Shell, Total, BP, Repsol, Cepsa, OMV, Eni, Esso) take Visa and Mastercard contactless without an issue. American Express and Diners are spotty south of the Alps. A €100 pre-authorisation hold is normal — it releases within 5 days. Carry €50 cash for the rare independent station.
Rules, fees, and thresholds change. Always verify against the official source the day before you drive — this page is a checklist, not a legal reference.
Main roads
The highways this route spends the most kilometres on.
-
AP-7 Autopista de la Mediterrània / Autopista del Mediterráneo471 km
-
A1 Autostrada del Sole272 km
-
A 9 La Catalane225 km
-
A 8 La Provençale223 km
-
A10 Autostrada dei Fiori134 km
-
A12 A12 dir. Livorno - Raccordo A7/Genova Est124 km
-
A 54 —72 km
-
A11 Autostrada Firenze-Mare61 km
-
V-21 Avinguda de Catalunya20 km
-
A11/A12 Diramazione Lucca ovest - Viareggio19 km
-
A 7 Autoroute du Soleil11 km
-
A-7 Autovia de la Mediterrània8 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 96%
- Secondary
- 0%
- Other / rural
- 4%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Demanding
Tough drive — multiple complicating factors compound fatigue. Strongly recommend splitting across days.
- Long drive: 18h 16m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
- Cross-border: ES → IT. Keep documents accessible and check border rules.
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €228
127.6 L × €1.79 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €203
102 L × €1.99 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €185
298 kWh × €0.62 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €146
- ES — €0.09/km on the motorway network (≈ 482 km in-country ≈ €43) Toll-free on the A-network; charged only on AP roads.
- FR — €0.10/km on the motorway network (≈ 457 km in-country ≈ €46)
- IT — €0.08/km on the motorway network (≈ 762 km in-country ≈ €57)
Prices last refreshed 2026-05-04.
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇪🇸 Valencia
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
17°
8°
|
17°
8°
|
20°
10°
|
22°
12°
|
24°
15°
|
28°
20°
|
31°
23°
|
32°
23°
|
27°
20°
|
25°
17°
|
21°
12°
|
17°
8°
|
| 14mm | 23mm | 62mm | 10mm | 35mm | 15mm | 17mm | 19mm | 105mm | 114mm | 44mm | 45mm |
hot mild cold
🇮🇹 Rome
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
14°
6°
|
15°
5°
|
17°
8°
|
20°
9°
|
23°
13°
|
31°
19°
|
34°
22°
|
33°
22°
|
28°
18°
|
24°
14°
|
17°
9°
|
14°
6°
|
| 72mm | 73mm | 120mm | 63mm | 115mm | 48mm | 21mm | 57mm | 106mm | 106mm | 98mm | 62mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Rome
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Tue 12
⛅
16° / 16°
1mm
-
Wed 13
🌧️
20° / 14°
44.4mm
-
Thu 14
🌧️
20° / 12°
19.8mm
-
Fri 15
☀️
20° / 13°
2.1mm
-
Sat 16
🌧️
18° / 15°
21.7mm
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 53 manoeuvres
- Plaça de la Ciutat de Bruges 0.1 km
- Avinguda d'Aragó 0.2 km
- Avinguda de Catalunya (V-21)
- Avinguda de Catalunya (V-21) 20 km
- Autovia de la Mediterrània (A-7) 8 km
- Autopista de la Mediterrània / Autopista del Mediterráneo (AP-7) 308 km
- Autopista de la Mediterrània (AP-7) 163 km
- La Catalane (A 9) 52 km
- La Languedocienne (A 9) 120 km
- La Languedocienne (A 9) 53 km
- (A 54) 72 km
- — 0.6 km
- Autoroute du Soleil (A 7) 11 km
- La Provençale (A 8) 206 km
- La Provençale (A 8) 17 km
- Autostrada dei Fiori (A10) 134 km
- Autostrada dei Fiori 19 km
- (A7) 0.5 km
- A7 dir. Milano - Genova Ovest/Genova Bolzaneto (A7) 2 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Raccordo A7/Genova Est (A12) 3 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Genova Est/Genova Nervi 7 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Genova Nervi/Recco (A12) 11 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Recco/Rapallo (A12) 6 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Rapallo/Chiavari (A12) 7 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Chiavari/Lavagna (A12) 3 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Lavagna/Sestri Levante (A12) 8 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Sestri Levante/Deiva Marina (A12) 11 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Deiva Marina/Carrodano Levanto (A12) 10 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Carrodano Levanto/Brugnato Borghetto Vara (A12) 5 km
- A12 dir Livorno - Brugnato Borghetto Vara/Bivio A15 Parma (A12) 18 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Bivio A15/Sarzana (A12) 15 km
- A12 dir. Livorno - Carrara/Massa (A12) 7 km
- Autostrada Azzurra (A12) 20 km
- Raccordo A11-A12 (A11/A12) 0.3 km
- Diramazione Lucca ovest - Viareggio (A11/A12) 19 km
- Diramazione Lucca ovest - Viareggio (A11/A12) 0.7 km
- Autostrada Firenze-Mare (A11) 61 km
- — 0.5 km
- Autostrada del Sole (A1) 249 km
- Diramazione Roma Nord (A1) 23 km
- — 1 km
- Grande Raccordo Anulare 0.2 km
- — 0.3 km
- — 0.6 km
- Via del Casale Redicicoli 0.2 km
- Via Elsa de' Giorgi
- Via delle Vigne Nuove 0.1 km
- Via delle Vigne Nuove
- Circonvallazione della Stazione Tiburtina 3 km
- Largo Settimio Passamonti 0.2 km
- —
- —
- Via Luigi Luzzatti
By plane from Valencia to Rome
Indicative travel time on a non-stop flight, based on great-circle distance, average commercial cruise speed (850 km/h), and a 90-minute allowance for taxi, security, and boarding.
- Total time
- 2h 48m
- Door-to-door from :from airport.
- In the air
- 79 min
- At ~850 km/h cruise speed.
- On the ground
- 90 min
- Taxi + security + boarding (typical short-haul).
- Route
- VLC → FCO
- 1.119 km great-circle.
Indicative fare: from €40 — fares vary by season, day of week, and how far ahead you book. Always check the airline or a meta-search before planning around this number.
Show flight path on map
Estimate-only. We don't pull live schedules or fares for flights — see the methodology page for how this number is computed.
Air travel emits roughly 5–10× the CO₂ per passenger-km of rail for the same distance.
By train from Valencia to Rome
Fastest cross-border rail itinerary from the public Transitous planner. Times reflect a typical Monday-morning departure on the next available service-day.
- Fastest journey
- 22h 37m
- 6 changes
- Lead operator
- RENFE OPERADORA
- + 1 more
- Alternatives
- 6
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- AVE INT 09725
- FA 8583
All operators across alternatives
- RENFE OPERADORA
- TRENITALIA
Includes a high-speed rail leg (TGV, ICE, AVE, Frecciarossa-class).
Show route on map
Routing via the public Transitous OTP planner (community-run MOTIS instance). Cached 24 hours; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Frequently asked
What are the main toll roads between Valencia and Rome?
You'll primarily use the AP-7 in Spain, the A9 in France, and the A7 and other autostrade in Italy. All of these are tolled roads.
How do tolls differ between Spain, France, and Italy?
Spain and France use a ticket-based toll system where you pay based on the distance traveled. Italy also uses a similar barrier-based system.
Do I need a vignette for this route?
No, a vignette is not required for this route. Spain, France, and Italy use toll booths or electronic toll collection systems rather than vignettes for their motorways.
Are there any low-emission zones (LEZs) to be aware of?
Major cities in France and Italy, including potentially cities along your route or near Rome, may have low-emission zones. Check specific city regulations before arrival.
How can I pay tolls in these countries?
Tolls can typically be paid with cash or credit/debit cards at toll booths. Many systems also offer electronic toll tags for faster passage.
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, Open-Meteo for monthly climate normals, EU Weekly Oil Bulletin for cross-border fuel-price bands, and Google Gemini drafts the narrative and FAQ from the computed route data. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.