What is the best route home from Rome via france, calais?

[theitalianj0b]

Hi

Planning to come hoem for christmas via Italy, need to know the best route home and safest regarding the snow in the alpes?

Got a few foughts on the route? need help planning?

Route1 - chambrey and fetjus tunnel into france

Route 2 - mont balnc way into france from aosta?

Route 3 - lake como, into switerland, gottard pass?

Route 4 - go around via italian rivera and cannes etc, nice

can anyone help?

[stuwalsh]

Driving back from Greece we always go to Como and through the Gotthard tunnels. Up to mulhouse and avoid toll roads in France takes you through Luxembourg & Belgium. There is a new 8km tunnel in the Vosges which has a Eur 7.90 toll, otherwise it's all free. Don't forget yopur vignette for Switzerland, they will pull you at the border if it's not on display.

We did this route two weeks ago.

[theitalianj0b]

Whats it like to drive through switerland and the Gottard Pass Tunnel in December?

I expect the roads have snow on? or are they adept at keeping the roads open in switerland, i would imagine the later?

Planning to look at como to mulhouse, freiburg in december, last week... home for hols

Any news on bad weather etc will help?

[chilistrucker]

what car will you be in?
i'd be tempted at aosta/mont blanc if you want quick,and easy, with some cracking views.

if you havesomething with a decent exhaust note, i'd def be thinking italy/cannes, just for the joy of the tunnels!!!, you could also, if you didn't mind abit of a detour, come back via milau

[theitalianj0b]

So the tunnel open in any weather, what will th eweather be like at that time of year up there? 40 euros one-way right!

so aosta, mont blanc and onto geneva right then into france, macon? - will i have to pay the switerland fee as well? 40 vignette?


any good stops off on route? aosta etc?

[speed8]

I came through MB tunnel a few days before Christmas a couple of years ago. It was fine on the French side but they were handing out gloves at the ticket office which means snow on the other side. They weren't kidding, heavy snow all the way down to Aosta. We also got caught in Geneva on the way back when the forecast was for clear skies and we woke up to 6 inches of snow on the ground.

I would say, if you don't have winter tyres then play it by ear and pick the route with the best forecast on the day you leave.

[chilistrucker]

theitalianj0b said:

So the tunnel open in any weather, what will th eweather be like at that time of year up there? 40 euros one-way right!

so aosta, mont blanc and onto geneva right then into france, macon? - will i have to pay the switerland fee as well? 40 vignette?


any good stops off on route? aosta etc?

i'd go with speed 8's advice, it will depend how the weather is when you travel.
i've hit some heavy snow a few times on the italien side, heading towards the tunnel for france,
but to be honest they deal with it so much better than we do in the uk, and i've not been stuck there yet, and thats in a 40 tonne artic.

yes, aosta, mont blanc, onto towards geneva, and then macon. you won't pay the swiss vignette, as you scoot around the edge of swiss not sure on tunnel price, as i'm always in the truck, and we pay by fuel card.
its a nice route, considering its motorway. from the mont blanc to macon, you'll see some stunning scenery,
i've done this journey alot, and never get tired of driving it, and always have the camera with me in the truck, as plenty of places to stop and get a decent pic or two.

as for stops, i can only tell you that the motorway services are all fine on this route, there is a big autoport at aosta, which is fine for fuel, food, shopping and the like, also near namur on the french side, there is a shell service station off the motorway, near the big lake, still hvn't managed to stop there yet myself, but have always wanted to, as it looks a very nice place to stop.

[Cheburator mk2]

Only one word of warning. Be very careful with the weather if you don't have snow tires. Granted, the Swiss, French and Italians are much better at clearing snow, but sometimes they are overwhelmed.

In 2008 I drove from the Ring to Chamonix on Easter Monday. The trip to Zurich was fine, but then it took me nearly 10hrs to make it to Chamonix in the Z4MC on summer tires. I had hoped that the Swiss will keep the M-ways clear, but that was not the case. Driving the Z in up to 6" of snow was not that much fun when I knew I had another 200 miles ahead of me...

[speed8]

In fact, if you're coming from Rome I doubt you'll be on winter tyres so play it safe and either do SS1-Livorno-Genova-Ventimiglia or A1-Firenze-Genova-Ventimiglia. Still a nice drive and driving through Genova makes me smile for just how mad it is in the tunnels.

It's a longer drive but I wouldn't want to be caught in the Alps on summer tyres when the weather turns.

[bm0p700f]

Coast road north from Rome is O.K, passing through Genoa then into southern France and taking in the Millau Bridge and then North.

Otherwise head for Braincon in France. There is an Alpine Route from Italy avoid motorways and Switzerland. Then pick your route North. I remember town like Epinal on way. Lovely scenery too. In fact we used "A" road all the way and it was a much more enjoyable journey than the toll route. It took longer but there were nice lunch stops and abundant places to camp, it was summer though.