 Poster: A snowHead
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Having been snarled up at Lyon, Chambery and on is there another route to VT anyone can recommend? Looking at the map it looks like I could duck out of that nightmare by heading towards Geneva -> Annecy -> Albertville, I'm just worried that I'm heading for the same nightmare just somewhere else. Any advice\alternate routes much appreciated 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It can very much depend on what date and time of the day you are travelling. Do you know your travel dates?
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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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Yup Sat 16/04 leaving Troyes at 7-8am
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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TotallyBoard, We divert at Dijon and go via Bourge en Bresse, its not a massive change but cuts out the main peage issues that can happen north of Lyon. We then go past Lyon Saint Exupery and than on via Chambery and Albertville. To help with the possible delays we go a day earlier and overnight in Albertville then return from resort after a last day skiing.
I've also encountered the Lyons area 'car park' on several earlier trips. Although delays are not restricted to there. When we last travelled at half term and came back from Switzerland everything was OK until we arrived at the autoroute at Reims, huge tail backs. For your outward journey, I'd suggest you leave Troyes much earlier if you can, and get some easy miles under your belt. There is a new link road that means you don't have to go as far into Lyons, this may also help.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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TotallyBoard, BMF Skier is right about the new link road on the outskirts of Lyon it does help and it would very much help to leave Troyes before 6. The 16th April is the middle weekend of the Paris Spring Hols so it could be busy from Lyon onwards, altho the majority of Parisians will have taken their ski hols during the Feb half term.....hopefully 
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When we travelled down, we used the new section of the A432 from Villefranche towards St Exupery (airport). Compared to the Dijon-Bourg en Bresse section, the road between Dijon and Villfranche peage was quite congested, and any gains we may have made on the new road section were removed. We returned via Bourg en Bresse, and made good time as usual.
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Cheers for the info all. I'd like to leave Troyes a bit earlier but it all depends what time get there the night before. We're leaving South Wales at 2pm on the 15th so a lot depends on the traffic down to Kent. Usually do Wales to the Alps in one go so even if we hit traffic it's going to be easier than we're used to
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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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TotallyBoard, I wouldn't have thought you'd encounter anything like the traffic you would expect at half term - mid April is a bit late for many Parisians to be going skiing. You could certainly try Annecy - I'd always tend to try to avoid Lyon at busy times, though I've not tried that new road.
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TotallyBoard,
Think you might just have been unlucky - going east just north of Lyon to avoid Lyon itself is the right route.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hells Bells, if you go home via Bourg en Bresse, whereabouts do you join the autoroute? Do you go via Albertville and Annecy?
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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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Once you get to Albertville you can opt either for the long, fast, autoroute or the much slower, shorter, drive up the lake - the latter is much more pleasant if it's daylight and a pleasant day and saves significant fuel and toll costs. Go up the eastern shore of the lake via Talloires - it's quieter, no slower and much more straightforward to get onto the motorway than heading up the western (signposted) shore. Now that the motorway north of Annecy, to join with a A40 just south of the Swiss border, is complete, it's very tenable route as an alternative.
One of my friends always drives here via Lyon - I never do. We do get into habits and one of these days I'll give Lyon another go. My other alternative is to head across the Jura rather than taking the A40 west to Bourg en Bresse. But if you don't have a Swiss motorway vignette that probably doesn't make too much sense, as you need to get out past the airport on the motorway towards Lausanne and it would be a bit of a fiddle to avoid it. But again, on a decent day, it takes very little longer than the motorway and saves a lot of tolls and fuel. Some of the previous urban hold ups have been by-passed and the road (signposted to Dijon all the way off the Swiss motorway) is generally well engineered and a pleasure to drive.
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If you do end up going through Annecy follow the advice of pam w and travel along the Talloire side of the lake. The opposite side has a good chance of being very busy the weekend before Good Friday. Note also the Annecy marathon and half marathon are on Sunday 17Apr which will attract even more people to the area.
Easter weekend itslef will also be busy. Of course it is a nice drive around the lake and would not be a bad place to be trapped on a nice spring day.
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You know it makes sense.
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Albertville is less of a pain than in the past - new road - I think the French call it a "voie sur berges" along the river. Annecy sounds pretty busy that weekend.
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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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No the Talloire side is dreadful, with narrow lanes and roadworks now to add an extra cycle lane at the expense of the traffic lanes.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I drove to Geneva airport that way last Sunday - didn't notice a new cycle lane, I must say, or significant roadworks - where are they? There were a few cyclists around, though the road wasn't busy. The other side is speed limited nearly all the way, generally busier, and with fewer views of the lake. And I find it easier and quicker to get out onto the motorway from the eastern side - don't have to go right through central Albertville, for a start, and I think the signposting is clearer. The whole lake area does get quite busy at weekends in spring/summer though, even without special events. I think it's probably preferably to a long and expensive motorway motorway detour though, except for people who can't bear to travel at less than warp speed.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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though it would be nice to have a decent cycle lane - might persuade me to cycle round the lake in the summer. The hill out of Talloires is a bit of a killer though.
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