 Poster: A snowHead
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I have driven to various French resorts including Morzine. I have driven to Austria via the Amsterdam ferry. I have driven to Italy and Switzerland. however, in the past I have always been "dad" taking the children skiing and I haven't really bothered about making plans as to where to stop and when.
But the children are all grown up now and in a couple of weeks I am going to Chatel with some adult friends. We are driving from Cumbria and picking up someone in Leicester on the way South. This basically means that we will try to get a train through the tunnel at about 4.30pm local time, arriving in France at about 6.30 or so local time.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to a stop-over around Calais / St Omer / Bethune / Arras / St Quentin / Laon / Reims ???
How far should we try to go on the Friday evening? Ought we to book ahead bearing in mind it is a weekend?
As regards the route to take, SatNav seems to suggest two main variations. Either we go Calais - Dijon - Dole - Champagnole - Lausanne - Montreux - Morgins - Chatel which takes us North and East of Geneva, or alternatively we go Calais - Dijon - Dole - Lons le Saunier - Bourg en Bresse - Thonon les Bains - Chatel which takes us West and South of Geneva.
Any views on the best route?
We will be using Eurotunnel on Friday 19th at about 16.30 going out and driving down through France on the Saturday
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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20th February will be super busy - Paris holidays. Yes, definitely book overnight accommodation.
Unless you can be in the resort very early (say, before 9 am) it's best to leave it until 6pm or later, to avoid spending time stuck in traffic. So why not have an earlyish stop on the Friday night, enjoy a good meal, then be a bit behind the bulk of the traffic on Saturday.
People who know Chatel will advise on routes but Dole/Lons le Saunier, Bourg on Bresse sounds a bit odd. Dijon - Bourg en Bresse is direct down the motorway, isn't LlS a bit of a dog leg?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thank you pam w. Yes, I agree on route. But Google / theaa.com / viamichelin seem to offer the two routes. i don't know which would be best. It seems to depend on whether you are going North of Geneva and East round Lausanne / Morgins or South and West via Thonon les Bains. My concern was whether either of these might be better / worse in Winter. We will be in a Skoda Octavia 4x4 with Winter tyres and carrying chains and we do have alpine Winter driving experience.
As for timings we are pretty well stuck with a Leicester pick up around lunch time on Friday so Chunnel around 4.00 - 6.00 and somewhere to stay in Northern France I guess
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@JohnHSmith, re. Stopovers... Depends how much further you want to drive on the Friday night but I've overnighted in Calais, Arras and Reims and happy to recommend hotels in any of those.
I would book ahead. I might try and get to Reims based on the timings you give.
Either of those routes is good. The Swiss route is a bit shorter and more scenic. We take that route unless we are importing a season's worth of bacon and sausages and are avoiding Swiss customs!!
Re. arrival time into Chatel. From experience on busy changeover Saturdays the town is rammed between around 4 and 7pm.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@JohnHSmith, I still don't understand the Bourg en Bresse route. The obvious way from Dijon to B en B is straight down the A39. Why detour into either Dole or Lons le Saunier? 
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| pam w wrote: |
| @JohnHSmith, I still don't understand the Bourg en Bresse route. The obvious way from Dijon to B en B is straight down the A39. Why detour into either Dole or Lons le Saunier? |
I agree. One friend who lives in the Perigord is driving across to join us and it was he who said that his SatNav suggested we travel via Thonon les Bains. When I checked his suggested route (I honestly can't remember which website) then the suggested route came back as via Bourg en Bresse and swinging South of Geneva then East.
The logical route seems to me to be to stay travelling South but keeping slightly to the East and coming through Switzerland near Lausanne.
Sarah any suggestions around St Quentin / Laon / Reims would be much appreciated. Otherwise I would tend to go for a "Logis de France" closest to the route
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Looks to me that the Dijon dole lons Le saunier route actually cuts off the corner of bourg en bresse so would work. Otherwise just stay on the motorway to b en b then come across. I honestly can't remember my exact route if I travel via Thonon. Sure I've done various. As I say approaching from the North and east of the lake is quicker and preferable on busy changeover days. Oh and if there's a queue at Vallorbe border point there is a bit of a shortcut if you use the satnav.
Reims stopovers, yes we always stay at Novotel Tinqueux. It's reliable. The restaurant is good and should still be open when you arrive but check. It's got easy parking often really close to your room. Tinqueux is right off the motorway and has a big commercial centre too if you need anything. Also McDonald's and Carrefour with fuel. There is also an Ibis on the same site and maybe a Formula One too.
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Thank you. I will have a look at Novotel and Ibis and see if I can pre-book
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We always go Dole - Besancon - Pontarlier - Lausanne.
As it is the start of Paris holidays the further you keep from the Paris -Alps routes the better so I would stay clear of the Bourg en Bresse route and the area near Annemasse will be rammed.
Agree with Sarah about Vallorbe border - there will be a long queue but avoidable on country roads.
I would be amazed if you had any difficulties on the roads with that vehicle unless there is a major dump. You are of course prone to being stuck in other peoples dramas but the car will cope with the roads (I have an Octavian Scout and it was trouble free round the resort following last week's snow).
Reims is only about 2-2.5 hours from the tunnel so perfect for a single stint behind the wheel after a rest on the tunnel. We used the Novotel when the kids were small and it is fine. If you just want a bed there are cheaper options. If on a 16.30 crossing and with no delays you would be checking in around 20.30 so still time for dinner.
Final thought. Once you get to where the Paris traffic joins the motorway (Troyes) it will be busy (listen to 107.7fm for traffic reports). It grieves me to pay a toll to sit in stationary traffic. You could go Reims -St Dizier - Chaumont - Gray - Besancon and avoid the tolls. Slower but more interesting than the inside of a Parisian's exhaust pipe.
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@JohnHSmith, ...we stay in b&b hotel group - st quentin has one. Basic but good.
Re routes - we do Calais-Crans Montana in CH a dozen times a year, including deep winter - Chatel from swiss side is RH off our route. I have done almost every route to check it out, but as with DJL above we now use a similar route to him - but ours to be exact is Calais-Dijon-Besancon-Pontarlier-Jougne (border)-Lausanne.
This avoids all the queues in France. If there is a queue going down to the border point in Jougne (unusual) you just turn off left into the villages and use you nose or the sat nav to track parallel to the main route, and pop up back onto he main road 200m from the border point. You will need a motorway vignette (buy in post) and make sure you follow 'simplon' signs going towards Lausanne; his cuts off a big corner.
This route is by far the quickest.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thank you all.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Hotel B&B are great places to stay. Cheap, welcoming, located by motorways, free wifi and normally do a decent continental breakfast as well. Dotted all over France....
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