Driving to Aosta - the Grand Saint Bernard Tunnel road

A snowHead

Hi all,

We've been to Aosta a number of times, but in the past when driving we've done a stopover in Chamonix (just because we love Chamonix too) and so have always taken the Mont Blanc tunnel route.

Going out in early February, we'll be going to Aosta direct and obviously the other route via the Grand Saint Bernard tunnel is quite a bit shorter/ quicker. Although not any cheaper once the Swiss vignette and tunnel fee are added up.

Just wondering what others' experience of that road is? Specifically, due to how high it runs whether the road is decent or can be a bit tricksy in winter? And whether the tunnel itself gets less queued up than the nightmare that is the Mont Blanc Tunnel? I'm guessing the road is always cleared pretty quickly if it snows and not too concerned as we'll be in a 4x4 with decent all-season (but not full winter) tyres with chains obviously in the (unlikely) event those are needed.

Just wondering how much we need to check for any conditions en route before committing to going that way as it's a long way to turn back around Geneva!

Thanks.

A snowHead

@magicskis, in our limited experience (travelling from Geneva or Chamonix) - the road isn't that high and is a major artery so it's cleared well. We've only gone that way when the TMB has been closed or really busy and the GSB has always been quieter.

I assume there's a site showing traffic and I assume there's a site for Swiss road conditions? (There must be cos I drove Geneva to Zurich in a snowstorm and my (live) satnag kept diverting me onto increasingly small roads cos of blockages).

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Cheers - good to know that the GSB is usually quieter (although why the queue for the Mont Blanc Tunnel is always twice as bad on the French side as it is coming from Italy is something I've never worked out).

And yes, have just found the website for the GSB which has a useful road conditions summary and a live webcam which we can check https://letunnel.com/#webcam

Thanks again.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@magicskis, The main benefit of going this route is turning left at Dijon through the Jura arriving just behind Lausanne missing out on the Geneva area . I have travelled between the Valais and Aosta without problem in winter .

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I did the GSB back in March, just for a change really, on my way to Genoa. It was very non-snowy at the time, so no problem with the road up and there was no queue, but it wasn't a busy day. But there had been quite a bit of traffic and some delays coming down towards the lake from the route down from Dijon. I wasn't in a hurry, and not 100% paying attention to the route, and am not sure I went the most logical way.

Certainly seemed quick coming down into Aosta on the Italian side..

You'll need to Register first of course.

Yes, done this a couple of times for family trips to Aosta Valley. It’s really a quick quiet road up the mountain, through the tunnel without any queues and then not far down into Aosta. The other side. It’s a lovely drive across the Jura. The main issue is if there’s a queue to get in Switzerland at vallorbe.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

In my experience, the Gd. St. Bernard tunnel seems to be less busy than the Mt. Blanc., all other things being equal.

We drive to Martigny to get to our apartment and go via Besançon and Pontarlier to Lausanne. We have to separately set the satnav to go to Besançon first, then switch it to Martigny and it'll route through Pontarlier. Our satnavs have always been a bit odd re Pontarlier - sometimes taking us through the centre of town if the ring road is a bit busy, which doesn't seem worth the hassle to us. There's a big Decathlon just off the ring road if you find you need to get any new winter clothing or equipment, and a SuperU next to it with cheap petrol.

However, if there was really heavy snow on the Jura, I'd be tempted to carry on south and turn off at Bourg-en-Bresse and turn eastwards to Geneva and the A9 around the lake to Lausanne. It's longer, but all autoroute. We've done this once or twice but in the main, take the Besançon/Pontarlier route.

After all it is free

I've done the GSB a few times, summer and winter, and never had any problems. As one of the major links it's cleared as quickly as possible, and a lot of the non-tunnel sections higher up are protected by galleries to avoid snow building up. As such it will only be closed very rarely, and temporarily, be heavy snowfall. Accidents can happen of course, so of course it's a good idea to check before and during your approach if you're in a hurry. (But a good rule of driving in the alps is to net be in a hurry).

The road itself is not particularly twisty or narrow, particularly the Italian side which has two lanes for much of the higher sections. Swiss side not quite so good, mostly just one lane each way. There have been some roadworks the last couple of times I've done it (most recently in September) but never enough tp cause more than a 15 minute or so delay.

Unlike the St. Gotthard, the col over the top is not a viable option in winter, even with winter tyres and 4wd, and realistically not much of an option in summer either. I confess I've never done it, but routings show it as always being a _lot_ slower and I understand that at >2000m it's usually going to be shut for most of the winter anyway.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@Chaletbeauroc, I’d imagine it’s properly closed in winter? We’ve driven over the top once, very pretty, hundreds of very squeaky marmottes!

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Thanks all for the helpful replies and route options. We won't be in any massive rush as we'll probably stop on the way down just south of Dijon and so only (in theory) about a 4 hour drive down to Aosta.

snow reports

It's a beautiful scenic road, wide, lots of avalanche galleries on the Swiss, side, and at least half of the Italian side is 4 lanes. Driving leasurely, you will do about 60-70 kmh average between Martigny and Aosta.

There's quite a bit where you can do 100 kmh, even uphill. Don't know if that is still allowed, and the Swiss fines for speeding are not for the faint hearted.

I have also driven it in snowy weather, no problem at all.

Great info all round, many thanks.

And a massive thank you in advance if anyone can advise on the following.

Booked Eurotunnel for Sunday 03 March 2024 at 13:18, arrive in Calais at 14:53

Based on the info here we're looking to get to Besancon and spend the night there.

Outskirts most probably just to put our head down, unless there's somewhere really worth eating or something really worth seeing.

Anyone???

Or is there a better choice roughly the same driving time somewhere between Dijon and Besancon?

Then Monday 04 March the choice is to ski somewhere in Switzerland on the way to Aosta or drive to Crevacol in the Aosta Valley and ski there and then the short drop to Aosta after skiing.

I've skied Leysin and it looks like Villars is a short drive off the route to Aosta but the lift ticket is almost double that of Crevacol and the conditions look far better in the Aosta (hence the choice to spend the week there).

Thoughts?

And if we choose the Calais to Aosta route via SBT can anyone give a rough cost on petrol costs and toll costs?

Do we pay the tolls as we go by credit card or is there a better/cheaper way to do something online before we leave?

Once again many thanks in advance if anyone can help us with this.

You know it makes sense.

@Mike Pow, Just two thoughts the south side of the Alpine ridge is going to see massive snow over the next 48hrs with some of the largest predictions to fall at Crevecol and the Italian side of the Gd Bernard pass tunnel . Whilst I have said previously that the roads will be fine I might want to add it might take some. Time to clear up from the storm , so will the tunnel/pass be open on Monday morning and will Crevecol be open ?
Might to a good idea to just stall going into Italy till after skiing Monday so with that in mind Vallorcine that connects to La Tour is just up from Martigny might be a cheaper option from the Swiss resorts .

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Or for a more "Swiss" experience, Les Marecottes? 15 mins from Martigny?

A snowHead

Be aware that the cente of Besançon is pedestrianised, and it can be a bit circuitous getting to the hotels in or around the centre. There are more budget-type hotels in the zone around the hospital that are just off the ring road.

Well, Verbier is the obvious stop-off en route as it’s barely off the Martigny->St.Bernard road. You’d park in the big car park at Le Chable then hop on the télépherique to the centre of Verbier at Médran.

If you’re using Swiss autoroutes then you’ll neede a motorway vignette, available in electronic form online at the official website www.e-vignette.ch or buy a physical one at the border or a petrol station. You can get these on the approach to the border at French petrol stations and some shops. On a long journey I wouldn’t opt for non-vignette routes given the inconvenience, but not everyone would agree.

If you take autoroutes south then come off to go to Pontarlier -> Besançon -> Lausanne -> Martigny then the tolls one way from Calais should be about £55 or so. The St. Bernard tunnel is CHF 50 or so return.

A snowHead

Brilliant. Thanks all.

Food for thought, especially the incoming snow.

But that's why we're going Smile

Help!!

Driving to Aosta - the Grand Saint Bernard Tunnel road

snowHeads Forum Index >>> The Piste