Holly (ukashi_goshi) wrote in little_details,
Holly
ukashi_goshi
little_details

travel in 1810: private coach from France to Italy

In the story I'm writing, two characters travel by private coach from Paris to Lucca, Italy, and from there to the east coast of Italy (either Ancona or Brindisi) to sail to Patra, Greece.  They leave Paris in July of ~1810.  Coach and horses can be top of the line; money is no object.  Only two passengers, and they're traveling fairly light.

Here are the things I'm trying to figure out:

-Roughly how far, on average, can they travel per day?  (They're not sightseeing, but they're in no great hurry either.)

-How would the driver take care of the horses, since they're not changing teams as on a stagecoach route?  (How often do they have to stop and rest, etc?)

-Would I assume a coach drawn by two horses, or more?

Search terms I've used in many combinations: road travel, speed, time, private coach, road transport, types of coach, carriage, grand tour, 18th century, 19th century, 1700s, 1800s, France, Italy, history of road travel, history of road transport...  I've also tried -stage and -England, since a lot of what I've turned up deals with the advent of stagecoaches in England.
Tags: 1810-1819, ~travel: pre-modern overland
Subscribe

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    switch
    default userpic
    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
    Help
  • 12 comments