Road trip

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Gentabout

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Location
Iwade, Kent
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Looking for some thoughts from those that might have been.

We are planning a 10 day trip down to southern France and then in to the alps at the end of the month to play with the new toy and do a bit of geocaching. We have a bit of a plan of what roads we want to drive at the moment but with the recent snow in the alps our plans might need some serious tweaking.

Our first night is in Reims on the friday and then the Saturday in Jausiers, we want to try and drive the col da bonnette on the sunday and then head either down in to Monaco and along the coast in to Italy or straight in to Italy. No hotels are booked yet anywhere after Jausiers so our plans can be changed easily.

The plan is to drive as many of the high alps road ducking in and out of Switzerland along to Austria and then back through Lichenstien in to Germany before heading home.

The only other thing we would like to do is possibly visit the mercedes and porsche museums towards the end of the week.

So does any one have any suggestions of where to head, place to visit or roads that we should not miss?.

And also given the recent weather should I consider a set of snow chains? We had hoped that the end of May would have been fairly safe weather wise but I'm now having doubts.
 
Sounds like a great trip!

What's the focus of your break, the driving or the destinations?

We've done a very similar trip, stopping over in Reims, Monaco, Riva del Garda, Stuttgart then back to the UK. That means that each stint is relatively long, and accounted for 5 heavy driving days, and that was taking direct routes. Taking scenic driving roads will add significantly to the time required.

I would definitely visit Monaco and allow an extra day/night than you think it might need. There's nothing really to do there, but doing nothing is really addictive in Monaco, especially for someone who enjoys cars - there's so much to look at.

Grenoble to Monaco is a great driving road with lovely views, and is popular with those taking the "driving" route to Monaco from further North. It's a full day driving though.

Monaco to Genoa has a few options, and we always take the motorway, which is fantastic: tunnel, bridge, tunnel, bridge, tunnel with coastal views,

If you visit Garda, it's a great base for all sorts of mountain passes including Stelvio. If you drive it's length once, I prefer the Western route around Garda - stunning.
 
The plan is to drive as many of the high alps road ducking in and out of Switzerland along to Austria and then back through Lichenstien in to Germany before heading home.
All I can say is that my experience of the high passes is that the weather will choose to do what it does, and you need to be prepared for that either by way of changing your plans, or by having appropriate equipment or both! Frankly, driving the high passes in poor conditions isn't a great deal of fun in my view and there's normally a way of avoiding the high altitude roads which is what I'd be inclined to do if the weather closes in.

Pity that you're doing Reims to Jauniers in one day as you'll be getting to the good bits south of Grenoble by the time you'll have had enough driving. Personally, I'd consider an overnight in Grenoble instead which would allow you to have some fun twixt there and Jauniers the next morning when you're fresh.

The only other bit of advice I'd give is to drive like a nun while in Switzerland as the penalties for speeding are mahoosive. Remember also that camera-detected offences in France follow you back to the UK as of 7th May this year.

Have a great time and don't forget to post up the piccies when you get back :thumb:
 
Remember also that camera-detected offences in France follow you back to the UK as of 7th May this year.

I wonder how this will work out.

Just because the French authorities have access to DVLA records doesn't mean that will implement some kind of prosecution process.

If they had always had access which was temporarily withdrawn it would be a given but as they have never had access I wonder if they will be inclined to follow through?
 
I wonder how this will work out.

...I wonder if they will be inclined to follow through?
You can bet your a*se on it that they'll follow it through. The French whined for years that "foreign" drivers escaped their (s)camera fines and that they were responsible for a massive lost revenue opportunity road safety problem, so I'll be astonished if the first fines aren't already winging their way across the channel as I type :rolleyes:
 
Sounds like a great trip!

What's the focus of your break, the driving or the destinations?

The driving is the main purpose along with the geocaching in unusual locations. The high roads are also a big part of the appeal.
Sounds like a great trip!

We've done a very similar trip, stopping over in Reims, Monaco, Riva del Garda, Stuttgart then back to the UK. That means that each stint is relatively long, and accounted for 5 heavy driving days, and that was taking direct routes. Taking scenic driving roads will add significantly to the time required.
We decided to try and do the bulk of the distances at either end so that we can just play and explore during the week.

I would definitely visit Monaco and allow an extra day/night than you think it might need. There's nothing really to do there, but doing nothing is really addictive in Monaco, especially for someone who enjoys cars - there's so much to look at.

I think the weather might dictate whether we stay in monaco or not and also it is the grandprix the following weekend so there could be a lot going on in preparation the week before.

Grenoble to Monaco is a great driving road with lovely views, and is popular with those taking the "driving" route to Monaco from further North. It's a full day driving though.

Monaco to Genoa has a few options, and we always take the motorway, which is fantastic: tunnel, bridge, tunnel, bridge, tunnel with coastal views,

If you visit Garda, it's a great base for all sorts of mountain passes including Stelvio. If you drive it's length once, I prefer the Western route around Garda - stunning.

Stelvio is on the list but it's not one of the important ones and on checking the webcams there at the moment it is looking very white, but they do seem to be clearing it today. STELVIO PASS WEBCAM

All I can say is that my experience of the high passes is that the weather will choose to do what it does, and you need to be prepared for that either by way of changing your plans, or by having appropriate equipment or both! Frankly, driving the high passes in poor conditions isn't a great deal of fun in my view and there's normally a way of avoiding the high altitude roads which is what I'd be inclined to do if the weather closes in.

The weather is my biggest concern at the moment as I don't expect the car to be that good in the snow. Been looking at snow chains but to fit the 19" wheels on the E-Class they are a bit of a pricey insurance for the trip.

Pity that you're doing Reims to Jauniers in one day as you'll be getting to the good bits south of Grenoble by the time you'll have had enough driving. Personally, I'd consider an overnight in Grenoble instead which would allow you to have some fun twixt there and Jauniers the next morning when you're fresh.
I am regretting a little booking the Jausiers hotel but we wanted to get as far south as quick as possible. We might end up staying in Grenoble a couple of days later so maybe we will have more of a play then.

The only other bit of advice I'd give is to drive like a nun while in Switzerland as the penalties for speeding are mahoosive. Remember also that camera-detected offences in France follow you back to the UK as of 7th May this year.

Have a great time and don't forget to post up the piccies when you get back :thumb:

Going to be driving as sensible as you can in a E350 :rock:
 
Looking for some thoughts from those that might have been.

We are planning a 10 day trip down to southern France and then in to the alps at the end of the month to play with the new toy and do a bit of geocaching. We have a bit of a plan of what roads we want to drive at the moment but with the recent snow in the alps our plans might need some serious tweaking.

Our first night is in Reims on the friday and then the Saturday in Jausiers, we want to try and drive the col da bonnette on the sunday and then head either down in to Monaco and along the coast in to Italy or straight in to Italy. No hotels are booked yet anywhere after Jausiers so our plans can be changed easily.

The plan is to drive as many of the high alps road ducking in and out of Switzerland along to Austria and then back through Lichenstien in to Germany before heading home.

The only other thing we would like to do is possibly visit the mercedes and porsche museums towards the end of the week.

So does any one have any suggestions of where to head, place to visit or roads that we should not miss?.

And also given the recent weather should I consider a set of snow chains? We had hoped that the end of May would have been fairly safe weather wise but I'm now having doubts.
Funnily enough I'm doing an almost identical trip starting next Wednesday (2 weeks to Northern Italy counter-clockwise passing through MB in Stuttgart). Some recommendations, biased of course!

* Stop on the way down
Orval (BE) for beer or Colmar (FR) for untouched medieval​ town.

I'd also recommend going over the Massif Centrale and then the Millau bridge to Carcassonne, but that's out of your way so can wait for another to trip ;-)

* Italian lakes
eg Como. With a strip for a fee days, of not drive through. Also close to Milan.

* Italian passes
Stelvio or others or this route, the Grande Strada della Dolomiti described as one of the Italy's six best road trips

Florence and Venice are in range, but personally, I'll avoiding cities on my tour. They'll slow us down and best scored over a long weekend without car, by plane or Orient Express! (kidding )

* Gear
Easy to forget a fire extinguisher and copies of all documents (ownership, insurance, etc) in the car. I also take the originals, like registration, so they can see it but take a copy.

* Book MB ahead
Sindelfingen was so busy, they only had a slot on the tour on one day for the two of us. They are strict with numbers and would not expand 1 free place into 2, so we had to get there two days earlier than anticipated.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

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Don't forget checking Crit'Air requirements, depending upon your route in France. If passing through Lyon on the motorway you don't actually need the sticker, but for £5 or so I would get one anyway. The website says they take a month to arrive but ours arrived in less than a week.

Also, check out getting a Sanef toll tag and hiring a Telepass tag for passing through the French and Italian toll plazas with ease and speed. Well worth it.
 
Don't forget checking Crit'Air requirements, depending upon your route in France. If passing through Lyon on the motorway you don't actually need the sticker, but for £5 or so I would get one anyway. The website says they take a month to arrive but ours arrived in less than a week.

Also, check out getting a Sanef toll tag and hiring a Telepass tag for passing through the French and Italian toll plazas with ease and speed. Well worth it.

Crit'air sticker already done (well the second is stuck in as i screwed up the first!)

German emission sticker in the car as well.

Sanef tag done on a deal when I booked the tunnel

telepass... didn't know about that one. Will investigate
 
I think the weather might dictate whether we stay in monaco or not and also it is the grandprix the following weekend so there could be a lot going on in preparation the week before.

STELVIO PASS WEBCAM

It is the Historic Grand Prix at Monaco the week before the F1 GP, Monaco will be closed I'm afraid.:cool:
 
It is the Historic Grand Prix at Monaco the week before the F1 GP, Monaco will be closed I'm afraid.:cool:

Yep that will be a good enough reason not to try and get to close. Might have to see if we can maybe go and watch a bit, more investigating required.


Im looking forward to getting some nice photo's of the new toy up in the mountains and maybe down by the coast. This one was taken on the way home the day after collection on a minor detour via Cheddar gorge.

 
Yep that will be a good enough reason not to try and get to close. Might have to see if we can maybe go and watch a bit, more investigating required.
You will struggle to see anything without a ticket, unless you happen to know someone who lives there and can view from their apartment.
 
Our first night is in Reims on the friday and then the Saturday in Jausiers, we want to try and drive the col da bonnette on the sunday and then head either down in to Monaco and along the coast in to Italy or straight in to Italy.

At the other extreme from snow chains, make sure the air conditioning is working! (I'm sure it is on a newly acquired car.)

I remember driving down to Nimes one year and watching the car thermometer go up and up the further south we got. We finally got out of the car at the house of some friends with the temperature showing 38. But we were nice and comfortably cool, unlike the people we were visiting who were hiding indoors from the afternoon heat.

The journey would have been very unpleasant without the air conditioning.

It won't be that hot even at the lower altitudes. But it was 30 in Nice in the first week of June a couple of years ago. And 30 in a car with poor air conditioning is a lot less pleasant than 30 beside a shady beach with sea breezes.

It may, of course, be rainy and 16. But you might see some higher temperatures at lower altitudes.
 
There are also lots of pretty places in the area between the Col de la Bonette and Nice, such as Grasse, St Paul de Vence and St Martin Vésubie.
 
You will struggle to see anything without a ticket, unless you happen to know someone who lives there and can view from their apartment.

You might be able to find a hotel room with a view. A couple of weeks ago the Fairmont still had rooms available with a hairpin view.
 
You might be able to find a hotel room with a view. A couple of weeks ago the Fairmont still had rooms available with a hairpin view.

Had a quick look this morning but as we are already booked and paid for in Jausiers on the Saturday night we will give Monaco a miss this time.

I think we might try and do the Col Lombarde after the Bonnette if they are both open and that should put us somewhere near the coast to enter Italy.
 
Forget Monaco, it's pants unless you like looking at expensive boats. Down that way then you have to go here

Verdon Gorge : Touristic guide to the Verdon

For scenic roads it takes some beating. Best driven from Castellane to Moustiers-St-Marie as you're on the best side of the road for the views. Loads of places to take pics tho
 

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Ambitious timings

I'm returning to Provence this weekend as well, and the first reaction is that you're being VERY ambitious with those timings.

Fine if you're seriously planning to do 700 miles (14 driving hours) a day to get you South and back, but let's just check that you're happy to invest that time.

Once down there, those roads are slow in themselves, let alone with time out to investigate minor distractions like Sindelfingen (worth a day in itself).

If you have American genes, and can do all of Europe in seven days, then all fine. If you hope to spend time relishing the Stelvio, or Mercedes Museum, shorten the overall itinerary and focus on what's important. If it's geocaching you need to "give it some time."

As previously discussed, Monaco is a waste of space if you're not there for a "Race" or "Corbyn hedging."
 
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Looking for some thoughts from those that might have been.

We are planning a 10 day trip down to southern France and then in to the alps at the end of the month to play with the new toy and do a bit of geocaching.

Not sure if you're a seasoned driver in France or if this is the first time you've driven there. Either way here's a youtube video with some helpful tips on driving in France.

I posted it in a different thread yesterday but as you're actually going to France it will help in your planning.
 
If you have American genes, and can do all of Europe in seven days
Hahaha :D :D :D

Love it :bannana:
 

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