Top tip - if stopping at the first services after the Austrian border in high summer, allow about 30 minutes to queue for the Austrian road vignette (8 days for €8.70).

Italy by car: traffic lights >

If you're in a hurry, then travelling via Switzerland is a good option and best value if you are likely to use it more than once (see below re autobahn ticket). One route we've tried successfully is staying in France's Grand Est region (Alsace) and we did Colmar, then drove through Basel-Lucerne-Gotthard Pass-Chiasso and then past Milano. Colmar-Como (just past the Chiasso Italian border) is a very do-able 358k (222 miles) and you can continue on the Italian autostrada network (our next stay was Piacenza, from Colmar being 473k/295 miles and about 6 1/2 hours of driving including a few short stops and traffic).

The Swiss autobahn toll for the year is currently 40 CHFs = GBP 36 = €40.50. Presuming you're driving to and from Italy at least once, this is a reasonable 20 CHFs a trip. Also remember that there are no extra tunnel charges - compare using the France-Italy Mont Blanc tunnel which is currently €51.50 for a standard car one way, and due to rise in May 2023.

A less expensive and more leisurely version is Colmar/Strasbourg-Black Forest (Villingen)-Fredrichshafen-Passo Resia (or Innsbruck if the weather is bad on the pass - check the webcams). We did Offenburg-Trento in late July/August, with the main congestion being around Fredrichshafen. Once you leave the French autoroute, the next road payment is for the Austrian motorway system.