I have driven through Europe a number of times and in fact our last trip was from Paris to Italy. How you travel is of course a personal preference but I believe you get the best out of a trip if you drive and just as important you plan before you go. Half of the fun of a trip is planning before you go. This includes getting maps of the cities (Barnes and Noble) you will be in and study them, understand the sites and whether you should use public transportation of walk between them. I was told by one of my employees in Paris that there are 3 rules an American should follow when driving in Europe. 1. Remember the car on the right always has the right away, 2. Don't keep looking back over your shoulder as the car behind you is responsible for you and 3. Don't use the left lane unless you are passing. You can get great road maps of Europe (again Barnes & Noble)which helps you plan your driving. In planning distances you should remember the distances you can drive in Europe is not as far as in the US. I think a good rule of thumb is to plan no more than 250 Km per day which is aout 150 miles. It makes the tirp more fun and relaxing. If driving in Italy you must have an International Driving Licence which is easy to get by just going to the nearest AAA office. It is much more fun to drive in Europe than the US as the cars are smaller and more fun to drive. As I mentioned I have driven a number of times in Europe and never had a problem. One time I returned to Paris on a Sunday evening and was
in the traffic jam around the Arce de Triump. True to form, the traffic just kept flowing to the right and within a few minutes I was at the side street that I wanted to go down. That is a great example of how easy it is in Europe and the dance they do in traffic.
For first time planning a good way to start is to buy a big map of Europe (road map) with the cities. Tack it to a foam board and plan the trip from city to city. Have separate maps of cities and study what you want to see.
I always got a kick out of seeing a tourist standing on the corner in some city trying to decide what they will see next. That could have been done before they traveled and they will see twice as much as waiting until they get there.
Just some thoughts.