 Poster: A snowHead
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hi,
me and my boyfriend are planning to drive to tignes for christmas week to ski this year... never done it before though, is it a good idea or just better to fly? we want to see more of france so were going to take a couple of days either side of tignes, but what are the roads like in france, esp Tignes does any one know?
thanks loads,
Cate
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cate,
The roads in France are excellent, especially the Autoroutes (Motorways) - though you will have to pay for the privelage of using these. It's basically Autoroute all the way to Albertville (Savoie), then a main road through to Tignes (passing through Bourg St. Maurice. Dijon is nice palce to stop on the way down.
It may work out cheaper to fly depending on the deal you get, but if you want to see France, driving is the best way. I did a similar journey many years ago with friends and loved it - France is a beautiful country and it's a great way to spend a holiday. I enjoyed it so much I now live here!
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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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thanks red dave for replying - are the roads safe though in december? not too icy? worried about going over a cliff edge on black ice or something!! 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Cate, it's always wise to carry snow chains in the car (and know how to fit them). Generally speaking all the main routes are cleared very quickly over here (and you'll be on main routes) even in the mountains - it's not like in the south of the UK where a dusting of snow causes chaos. The resorts want to get their punters in and out after all.
December is not normally a problem, though you could always be faced with a freak storm. If you are worried, plan to arrive / leave the resort at mid-day and you should be fine.
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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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brilliant thankyou! i think ill go for it! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Well apart from the rockfalls.... had to climb over one last Feb near Ste Foy on way to Tignes, and take a taxi the rest of the way!
Roads are very good as Red Dave says, but try to avoid driving up the Tarentaise valley on Saturdays, the weekends either end of Christmas can get very busy - although nothing like Feb. Although you rarely use them, if there's heavy snow (we live in hope) the police can stop cars, even those equipped with winter tyres - from driving up to the resorts. So chains are advisable, even if the chances are you won't need them.
From Albertville there's a fast dual carriageway to Moutiers (they're extending it to Aimes, but it won't be finished for a while yet). From Moutiers it's an easy 20 min run to Bourg St Maurice, then the 30 min climb up to Tignes, again a very good road compared to some.
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Cate I'd echo Red Dave's comments the French autoroute system is far superior to our own motorways and well worth paying the tolls, the toll autoroutes are often empty for much of your journey through northern france, only getting busy arround cities such as Reims. By the way Calais to Tignes is about 620 miles according to my copy of Autoroute
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PG sounds like you were unlucky - I drove up at the beginning of Feb with no problems.
Good point about Saturdays. Also watch your speed around Moutiers - I believe there are speed camera around (plenty of signs to warn you of the fact though).
The other advantage of driving is that you stock up with plenty of excellent French wine as well the superb local produce such as chese and dried meats.
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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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cool - will avoid saturdays - anyone got any tips on where to stop en route? how do snow chains work out of interest? Neilson are going to supply them hopefully. oh and has anyone heard of the hotel le gentiana in tignes? (so many questions!!)
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We (me, partner, 2 kids) drove from London to Tignes and back last month; couldn't be easier. We crossed Dover - Calais on Fri evening and drove for about an hour (I'd go further next time), stopped overnight and had a long but easy day's drive to Tignes (Val Claret). It's motorway almost the whole way, busyish most of the way, but not too bad (I think it was a French hol as well as UK half term). The non-motorway bit at the end is of course slow.
On the way back, getting onto the motorway was very slow indeed, but once we were on it, no probs. Stopped near Lyon and had an easy drive up to Calais.
You could do the whole trip in on go, but there didn't seem much point; you can stay in very cheap motels (Formule 1) or make a virtue of it and stay somewhere decent, eat well and so on.
If you want a more leisurely trip you could avoid some of the motorways, in which case D roads are an excellent way to get around, as they're usually empty and pass through pleasant litle towns and villages. N roads, except those of motorway standard, are often very busy and slow. Bear in mind that the high altitude small roads could be tricky (or closed) at that time of year. We've had some great summer hols driving around France; the traffic is much lighter than in UK (in general).
There's not much opportunity for driving over cliffs between here and Tignes (although the A20 between Folkestone and Dover is pretty high). The road up to Tignes from the valley is a genuine mountain road, but its short and I believe is well cleared. We needed snow chains in Tignes, for about 10 mins only, but couldn't have done without them. Spikes Spiders (or possibly Spider Spikes) are very easy indeed to put on.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| cate500 wrote: |
| cool - will avoid saturdays - anyone got any tips on where to stop en route? how do snow chains work out of interest? Neilson are going to supply them hopefully. oh and has anyone heard of the hotel le gentiana in tignes? (so many questions!!) |
I think I stayed there once, it's in Tignes Le Lac I think ? If it's the place I'm thinking of I stayed there a few years back in October for some glacier skiing, I can't recall much about it though. If there had been anything terribly bad I'm fairly sure I'd remember.
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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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Three times in one month, Nick? That's a lot of driving!
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cate500, snow chains, easy when you know how! Depends on the make - best thing to do is practice a couple of times before you set off, just in case. And remember to take a torch, a pair of old gloves, and a small shovel! But like I say, I've driven up to Tignes, Val d'Isère and Les Arcs maybe 50 times this season so far, there's been plenty of snow, but I've not needed the chains once. (A couple of times I might have, but with snow tyres there's no problem).
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You know it makes sense.
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thanks nick - that was all very helpful - think time to get a detailed map of france to plan routes! will most probably do a dummy run to paris or so to get an idea of driving in france during autumn time. any tips for handling the french roads?!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Red Dave, actually I think I was pretty lucky! We were on our way from a race in Serre Che, got held up for an age on that *§#¤dy road from Briancon to Grenoble (I loathe that ringroad and the jams before you get anywhere hear it), arrived at Ste Foy about 45 minutes after 100 tons of boulders came crashing down, blocking the whole road. So who knows, if we'd been on time?! Taxi charged me £50 to Tignes, he was doing a roaring trade. Cost me another £50 to go back the next afternoon when they'd finally cleared half the road to get my car too.
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Poster: A snowHead
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ise - yup Tignes Le Lac - I think youre right - bad things always stick in the mind so must have been okay! PG - cool, will rent them in advance to practice - is there anything I need for french roads - red triangle thingy etc?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cate, We are booked into the Le Gentiana a week on sat, so will report back in April, it looks good on the web though so fingers crossed. We are also driving down, so I'll let you know how it goes.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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cate500, Don't forget the occasional "priority to traffic from the right".... Ok less of a problem these days, but when you enter a built-up area a yellow sign with a black line diagonally through it means that now and again, before the delimit sign as you leave the conurbation, traffic arriving from the silliest little road on your right *might* have right of way. So keep your eyes peeled. There's no indication on the main road itself that you're driving along that this is the case. (A yellow sign with no black line as you enter the town/village means there are no give way to traffic from the right priorities).
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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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sarah L - that would be great, thanks! have a gd time. homphomp - cheers
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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pg - thanks for that, will def do a practise run - whats a delimit sign?
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Cate, be careful at roundabouts - the French still haven't got an idea of how to negociate them. And don't expect the majority of French people to indicate - indicators are purely fashion accessories on most French cars!
PG, sounds like you were lucky then - £50 isn't too bad. Incidently, stay well away from Grenoble at the moment - they are building a 3rd tramway, and upgrading many of the bridges over the rivers - the roads are HELL; it should be great when it's finished though. I've noticed Bourd d'Oisan is about to get a bypass too - should be fun on that road for the next 3 years!
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| cate500 wrote: |
| pg - thanks for that, will def do a practise run - whats a delimit sign? |
In France it's the same sign as the one you see when you enter a town or village (name in black letters on white sign), but on the way out it has a black line through it telling you you've just left the limits of the town/village.
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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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cate500, Wow! I wish I had had all this wonderful advice before I first drove to the Alps. As everyone has emphasised: don't worry, you'll have lots of fun and real sense of adventure.
Some points can not be emphasised too much:
1. Definitely practice puting those chains on. Sods Law will apply: practice and you won't use them; don't practice and you'll be puting them on half way up the road to Tignes in a blizzard. To really get the full effect of this, practice at the side of a local busy road while your friend throws buckets of cold water over you.
2. Vital you take the "Original vehicle registration document" in case the police stop you for speeding. If you do get caught, talk to them in French (however bad your French is) as they tend to be less sadistic then (you'll still have to pay the fine).
How you go across the channel depends on where you live. If out west the Portsmouth-Le Havre overnight ferry might be better than the Dover route. We live in London and prefer the overnight ferry. Always book a cabin, and ask for an outside porthole.
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Make sure you have European breakdown cover. We broke down in France, (luckily it was summer), and, having had the car towed to 2 different garages, they couldn't find out what was wrong with it. Green Flag had to transport it home. If we had had to pay for it all it would have cost over £1000 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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PS It was a Citroen and the English garage we had it towed to fixed it straitaway 
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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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maggi, On the subject of Citroens, I was in town last summer when an ancient Brit-owned GS literally steamed in to the local garage (Malaucène, near Orange). I helped out with the interpreting - the garage owner thought it was hilarious that anyone should venture abroad in such a car. He spent a good half hour replacing the radiator hose and fiddling around with the fan that refused to cut in. He was still laughing when he had finished fixing it, and refused to accept payment. In the end, you just have to get lucky!
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I always drive to ski in the Alpes and have done it in the last 6 years, sometime twice a year each lasting typically two weeks. Living in the NE I use the ferry at Newcastle to Amsterdam and blast down the German Autobhans along the Rhine arteries to avoid toll. Had used the Channel tunnels and ferry at Dover before but the Newcastle route is quite civilised. The ferry leaves Newcastle at 6pm and docks Holland at 9:30am (departure/arrival time similar on return journey) to allow a good night sleep before the hard driving.
I went to Tignes in March this year staying in Boug St. Maurice for only four nights doing day trips to Tignes, La Rosiere, La Plagne, Valmorel and Les Arc, the last being within walking distance. Boug St. Maurice is a good location as it is strategically ideal for raiding all the resorts within Tarentaise. Tignes/Val D'lsere is about 20 miles away. Moutier is a better choice for the 3-Valleys while in Abertville is ideal for those need to shop.
Economic hotel in Boug St. Maurice is about 50 Euro per room per night. The nearest Formula 1 or the equivalent cheaper hotel is either in Mountier or Albertville but Boug St. Maurice is a lot closer for Tignes. The roads between Boug St. Maurice to Tignes are narrower while the section to Albertville is a lot wider (twin carriage between Mountier and Albertville).
For self drive I recommend a good set of tyres biased to snow ( if not 100% snow tyre) as the first line of defence and a set of chain as the second line of defence. When you have the need to put the chains on there isn't always plenty room around the vehicle to do it. Thus a set of self-sufficient and able tyres is very important in tackling roads covered by snow. Most resorts need visitors as life blood and will do everything to clear the road but one must plan for the time when a sudden large dump of snow could not be cleared in time.
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You know it makes sense.
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saikee, No time to check out the renowned off-piste at Ste Foy?
You pretty much sum up why we moved to Bourg St Maurice in the first place. Even Meribel is only a 30 minute drive. Living up in the resorts themselves is alright during the season but the likes of Tignes is a ghost town in the summer - quite a lot of the locals are looking to move down into the valley. And 7 mins up the funicular to Arcs 1600 means you can be on the piste as quickly as from some of the buildings at Arcs 1800.... And in BSM self-catering can be a lot cheaper than the room only hotel rates ...
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