Driving tips to Germany AMG

[Alps]

Me and my son are doing a little road trip to AMG HQ for their xmas gathering in affalterbach leaving tomorrow morning.

got two main options on routes

1. via france - pros; nicer roads, cons- tolls (£100-150 each way)
2. via Luxembourg - pros - no tolls , cons - roads not as nice

any advice appreciated as its been nearly 15 years since driving over the pond.

thanks
Alps

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Me and my son are doing a little road trip to AMG HQ for their xmas gathering in affalterbach leaving tomorrow morning.

got two main options on routes

1. via france - pros; nicer roads, cons- tolls (£100-150 each way)
2. via Luxembourg - pros - no tolls , cons - roads not as nice

any advice appreciated as its been nearly 15 years since driving over the pond.

thanks
Alps

I would go France. Its such a treat to have nice roads for a change. Also, i always find the French routes super efficient to cover ground. Depending on how much time you'll have Baden-Baden is very nice and the Schlumpf Museum a bit further south in Mulhouse is well worth the effort. The Zeppelin Museum is also really nice but that's maybe a bit far away in Friedrichshafen.

 

[st13phil]

Personally, I’d go Belgium / Luxembourg with an overnight in (say) Clervaux or Vianden then cross the border into Germany around Bitburg, filling the tank just before the border to take advantage of the cheap fuel. The right roads through Luxembourg are good and pretty picturesque.

PM me if you want ideas for decent hotels with parking.

 

[rich1068]

I would go France. Its such a treat to have nice roads for a change. Also, i always find the French routes super efficient to cover ground.

Agreed. We did Sheffield to St Tropez a little while back. On the return run landing back in the UK it felt like I was running off road with 4 flat tyres.

 

[GeeJayW]

I would go France. Its such a treat to have nice roads for a change. Also, i always find the French routes super efficient to cover ground. Depending on how much time you'll have Baden-Baden is very nice and the Schlumpf Museum a bit further south in Mulhouse is well worth the effort. The Zeppelin Museum is also really nice but that's maybe a bit far away in Friedrichshafen.

The Schlumpf Collection is definitely worthy of a visit.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

The Schlumpf Collection is definitely worthy of a visit.

I don't think anything can quite prepare you for it! I'd read loads of reports but i was still blown away. And to think it used to be a private collection! My favourite story was when the brothers wrote to the Bugatti Owners Club offering to buy everyone's car. That's some serious buying power.

 

[st13phil]

We did Sheffield to St Tropez a little while back. On the return run landing back in the UK it felt like I was running off road with 4 flat tyres.

While I agree that the French autoroute road surfaces are amongst the very best in Europe, the sad thing is that 30 years ago Belgian road surfaces were thought of as very poor by UK standards yet today it's the other way around

 

[Boxer70]

I’ve just returned from an 8 day trip to Strasbourg and around Switzerland so very close to where you’re going. Having been to south of France many times before, this time we went via Belgium / Luxembourg and saved approx £150 on tolls and found the roads fine. The journey was about 30 minutes longer this way but I thought it was worth it. As for cheaper fuel, I drove through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland as part of the tour and felt it was cheaper back in the UK I know motorways etc you pay higher prices but we’re taking in all areas and still no cheaper

 

[SmartAmg]

Sounds like a great trip. You and your Son, have a great time.

 

[st13phil]

Having been to south of France many times before, this time we went via Belgium / Luxembourg and saved approx £150 on tolls and found the roads fine. The journey was about 30 minutes longer this way but I thought it was worth it.

^ Matches my experience. Once clear of the traffic around the Brussels Ring it's fine, and the savings in tolls is significant.

As for cheaper fuel, I drove through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland

As a general point, fuel is currently more expensive over much of Europe than it is in the UK, but out of the countries listed Luxembourg is cheapest by quite a margin. In June this year we were paying up to €2.20 / litre for Aral 102 in Germany, while Shell V-Power 98 was €1.79 / litre in Luxembourg.

 

[keith of kent]

Went Calais to Koblenz in March this year via Mons/Liege through Belgium. Terrible potholes everywhere on the Belgium autoroute. Returned Via Brussels that was the same.
Pay the French tolls, cheaper and less hassle than damaging your car

 

[Alps]

Thanks all that have responded, all really useful, I guess route wise we will have more time on route there and in daylight so will take the Belgium/luxembourg route there and see how that goes, always have the option of taking the return route via France if we start to run out of time.

Will post some pics afterwards! there are a few Mbclub members going I believe.

@st13phil for the offer of hotels, we will be doing a direct drive to Stuttgart, with a few short breaks in between. Hotels all sorted, thanks!.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Enjoy and stay safe!

 

[markjay]

Driving tips to Germany AMG

Don't tell them your name, Alps.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Have a great trip. At this time of year, I’d just keep an eye on the real time traffic feed, to make sure you don’t get caught in unexpected blockages if you’re avoiding the empty route via Reims. It’s a long journey for a short day with wet conditions.

It’s unclear whether you know about it, but there’s plenty to entertain in Stuttgart: the Factory tour, the Museum, MB Classics, the V8 Hotel / MotorWorld at Boblingen and even the Porsche Museum and Factory tour.

Affalterbach do an excellent job of hosting visitors - right down to putting out a British flag for you. - you’ll have a grand time.

Stay safe on those derestricted roads and share some photos when you get back.

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

Have a safe and enjoyable trip…

 

[Skd884]

Thanks all that have responded, all really useful, I guess route wise we will have more time on route there and in daylight so will take the Belgium/luxembourg route there and see how that goes, always have the option of taking the return route via France if we start to run out of time.

Will post some pics afterwards! there are a few Mbclub members going I believe.

@st13phil for the offer of hotels, we will be doing a direct drive to Stuttgart, with a few short breaks in between. Hotels all sorted, thanks!.

See you tomorrow slim

 

[kcsun]

Do you need an "eco" sticker when you go to Stuttgart or are you just outside?

kc

 

[BTB 500]

Do you need an "eco" sticker when you go to Stuttgart or are you just outside?

kc

If you mean the museum, it's inside the Stuttgart low emission zone so you should have a disk. IIRC there are other zones to the north that directly border the Stuttgart one, so a pretty big area is covered.

 

[BTB 500]

It’s unclear whether you know about it, but there’s plenty to entertain in Stuttgart: the Factory tour, the Museum, MB Classics, the V8 Hotel / MotorWorld at Boblingen and even the Porsche Museum and Factory tour.

The Sinsheim museum is just to the north of Stuttgart and definitely worth a visit if you have time (it's huge):

Technik Museum Sinsheim | Germany

Visit the full-accessable CONCORDE, hundreds of classic cars, locomotives, formula-1 cars and much more!

sinsheim.technik-museum.de

They have another site at Speyer (fairly close), although I've not been to that one:

Technik Museum Speyer

Erleben Sie im Technik Museum Speyer Europas größte Raumfahrtausstellung, das Space Shuttle BURAN, die begehbare Boeing 747 und vieles mehr!

speyer.technik-museum.de