Planning a road trip to France and Italy

[sidpinup]

Hi all,

I am planning a trip in the Tamora through France, down to the alps and into Italy the first week of October. Does anyone have any suggestions on good routes and places to stay?

Thanks for your help.

[spartridge]

...worth considering taking the DBAutozug car train from Dusseldorf into Innsbruck or an Italian station...you get to the good stuff in about the same amount of time but save miles on the car, fuel and hotels (if you don't plan to do it one hit that is) - costs work out a bit cheaper depending on how many travelling. we are going on the 19th and taking this option for the 2nd time.

[sidpinup]

Thanks for the heads up on this but I was thinking more along the lines of an interesting drive staying in some nice little spots on the way. I Have 9 days to do it in so can take it at a leisurely pace.

[gutu12]

Leave early drive right the way through France and have your night stop in Basle not the most beautiful pleace but fairly nice and a bot of life at night. We did a trip down to Rome some time ago and happened to find Hotel Europe which certainly used to have a fantastic restaurant. Really A+++

[RUSSELLM]

I've only done it in the motor Once. B'ham-Reims-Milan-San Remo-Reims-B'ham.

Not sure if I as unlucky or not, but the satnav took me from Reims through Switzerland & through that long tunnel in to Italy. I believe there was a fire in there some years back & it was controlled by traffic lights when we went. We were stuck at those lights for an absolute eternity.

Coming back from San Remo, was along the Italian/French riviera & North past Lyon etc... Which was much better.

As I say, maybe I went at the wrong time of year, but I'd never risk the queues at that tunnel again.

[sidpinup]

RUSSELLM said:

I've only done it in the motor Once. B'ham-Reims-Milan-San Remo-Reims-B'ham.

Not sure if I as unlucky or not, but the satnav took me from Reims through Switzerland & through that long tunnel in to Italy. I believe there was a fire in there some years back & it was controlled by traffic lights when we went. We were stuck at those lights for an absolute eternity.

Coming back from San Remo, was along the Italian/French riviera & North past Lyon etc... Which was much better.

As I say, maybe I went at the wrong time of year, but I'd never risk the queues at that tunnel again.

You mean the Mt Blanc tunnel that goes from Chamonix into Italy. It can be a pig but will sound good with the roof down. They are a bit anal about speed now after the fire but I think it was horrific.

[RUSSELLM]

Yeh, stuck before it & in it. 40C or higher, burnt my hand on the gear stick & my air con decided to give up. The cabin temperature was such, that we felt physically sick.

In the tunnel was fun, as everyone started sounding their horns, where as I gave the throttle a blip. As the exhaust threw out a few notes, the rest of the tunnel stopped beeping. When I stopped on the throttle, they all started beeping again until you gave it some revs

That said, as good as that was, I still wouldn't risk that tunnel again.

[truck71]

sidpinup said:

Hi all,

I am planning a trip in the Tamora through France, down to the alps and into Italy the first week of October. Does anyone have any suggestions on good routes and places to stay?

Thanks for your help.

Hi, I did this last September. My advice would be-

Ignore northern France in terms of scenic roads and head on the autoroute towards Reims, don't forget to take a look at the old circuit. Once at Reims plan to take N roads south east toward Dijon and then further down to the base of the Alps. We stayed just north of Dijon on the first night and then in a superb Chateux (crap spelling) in Challes Les Eaux just south of Chambery. An alternative is to head for Beaune in one hit.

From there head over the Col d isran and then a few others into Italy via Mont Cenis, Susa and stop in Turin.

All depends where you want to go from there, in October you might want to check the mountain passes are open. We headed south to Maranello and then on to Florence via a cracking road SS10 I think- better than the alps. Others will have other possibly better ideas but this is a starter. Oh, on the way back make sure you use the Route Napoleon- epic and very fast road.

Have a good trip.

[sidpinup]

Cheers Truck, this sounds along my thoughts. I think all but the highest passes stay open in early October so should get some good bends in.

[ChimpofDarkness]

I've just done that trip in my Chimaera, in fact the old Tiv has done it every year for the last three years.

A good tip is to drive west through Belgium as you don't pay toll charges, stop for fuel in Luxembourg as it's the cheapest in Europe.

From there drop into France & head for Stasbourg, it's a great city with an Ibis that has secure parking, the hotel is a 5 minutes walk from the old town.

Follow the Alsace wine rout to Mulhouse where you can enjoy one of the worlds best car museums, the Schlumph museum.

From there it's just a short dash to Switzerland where you can take your pick of amazing routs to Italy.

I could go on & on, but TBH the best tip is to get on Google maps and set a rout based on stops that aren't going to leave you exhausted when you arrive.

Once you have a general idea of where you'll be at the end of every day, use Google images to find a nice town or city in the area.

Don't be afraid to find hotels along the way without pre-booking in the UK, there is always availability on the continent at realistic prices, and free styling is all part of the adventure.

There's nothing that competes with a multi country road trip in a TVR, you'll get a lot attention and have the adventure of a lifetime.

It's what these cars are made for.

[D_G]

^ as above.

We did a two week trip through Spain, the Med, Italy, Switzerland. Before we went I had it in my head not to overdo the driving, the alps routes will be very slow going so I would get to the area as quick as possible (autoroute) and then enjoy your time there with no time pressure.
We only had one hotel booked (1st night) and then winged it, you'll be amazed how many great places you will find, just stay out of the main cities unless you can secure decent parking.
One of the best holidays ever

[sidpinup]

All good advise, thank you.

So basically get down to the alps as fast as you can and don't worry too much about accommodation.

Cheers

[Cats]

Just come back from a week in Lake Como and stayed at the Hotel Villa Linda in Griante. Right on the shores of the lake with easy access to Switzerland. Small privately run hotel with car parking which doesn't have any pedestrian traffic.
Fantastic restaurant that the locals love to use.
Wasn't there in the car but thought it would make a good stopover and Lake Como is stunning with lots of tunnels around.


There is car parking the other side of the building for residents and the lake is on the other side of the road.

[sidpinup]

Thanks Cats, that look like a perfect location. I really like that style of place that run by people who care.

Cheers