The tolls will gouge you big time they are a rip off. One of the reasons the French, Italian and Spainish economys are as slow as ducks in the mud. Nobody visits the small little towns, it cost to much when you add up tolls and the price of gas with all the gas taxes stacked on them. Stay in Switzerland, go to Interlaken.

Hi |dawn, id go a bit further south if  I were you . Follow the coast down there are some great places, . Genoa area is a real tourist trp, and full of Italian families on holiday at this time of year. Just 50 -100k south of this are , brings you to a much quieter and prettier places. Follow the coas road towards LIvorno , the smaller villages like la spezia, and sestri  levante are much quieter.

K

I recommend:

- Portofino and Santa Margarita (small beaches, great seafood)

- Cinque Terre (5 beautiful villages in a row, on the cliffs above the sea, great if you  like hiking, otherwise pick 1-2 villages to visit).

Thanks Guys, all useful info.  Now my challenge is to find a holiday rental,  I guess that will determine where I end up.  Thanks again.

I just came back from Genova-Portofino-Firenze-Elba. Can echo most comments above. Portofino although is very expensive, high class tourist trap. Recommend Sestri Levante, very beautiful place. I stayed a few days on Isola d'Elba. Very nice, but currently crowded with tourists. Costs quite a bit to get there, you have to take a ferry (very expensive on weekends), but living there is much cheaper than on the other places mentioned above.

Try a little village called Spotorno, not far from Genoa (port city of little beauty) and an hour from Ventimiglia on the Italy / France border.

Gas is now actually cheaper in France than in Switzerland (exept on French autoroutes).  The drive down through Italy is more interesting than to the Cote d'Azur, unless you take the route Napolean.

Buon viaggio

As I'm in Genova, it's fairly easy to reply... although i'm not sure I'm on time. Most famous beach resorts are Varigotti to the west of Genova, Camogli/S.Margherita Ligure to the east. I would add Bonassola/Framura, which are untouristic and almost unknown, and yet have a not less stunning sea.

If you enjoy hiking, you'll find plenty of spectacular mountains over the sea, especially in the Sestri Levante-Portovenere part. Cinque Terre are the most famous resort, but Portovenere is visually even more striking. 

Well, that's my 2 cents. Cheers from Genova!

  Andy

PS: If you're looking for some hiking ideas, you're welcome to visit our den (where we organize hikes every couple of weeks) on http://liguriah.wordpress.com

 PPS: An alternative to the car is the train: book it in advance a you may find that a trip from Zurich to Milano costs 22 EUR or 28(?) CHF. Then from Milano to the seaside you might manage to land a 9 euro ticket