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[QUOTE=adriatica]so just a word of warning to anyone planning the drive down ...it might well be worth while using one of the many other routes suggested on this forum in the past... but for a while they will all be that much busier[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that, I had heard about the Frejus fire, but not about the Mont Blanc disputes. We're driving over in a few days so the information is a big help.

Thanks John. We're travelling in two weeks time and have booked a night in Aix-les Bains before crossing into Italy, I'll be checking the roadmaps for alternative routes.

I live just at the start of the Aosta Valley and since the Frejus closure, the heavy traffic through the Mont Blanc tunnel has increased from an average of 1000 lorries a day to 4000 per day. Today there have been a number of protests which effectively closed the tunnel for some time.
So if you're travelling in the next few days, expect delays.

An alternative which is not so far from Mont Blanc is the Grand St Bernard Tunnel, which also brings you to Aosta, and then down the same autostrada towards Torino / Milano.

Check the traffic websites before setting off.

Looking for alternatives - has anyone driven the N6 over the Col du Mont Cenis and then picking up the A32/E70 near Borgone Susa? Is this a feasible route?

all the col routes are feasable but take a long time ... one advantage is they have weight limits on in general so no heavy traffic.... but if attempting these routes make sure you give yourself almost a half day extra travelling time....

the other alternative that has also been suggested is the southern route in ... ie autoroute in france all the way to the south and then coming into italy via the coat motorway... however here again the lorry factor will be a problem ... there will be lots... but the coastal motorway is pretty spectacular

... i think they are also trying to force more lorries to use the train link... the amount of lorry traffic and the restrictions on how they pass thru the tunnels becuse of the amounts of fires in the past is always a headache on the trans alpino tunnel routes....

people have often suggested some of the further east crossings via switzerland... they are also subject to traffic delays.....

there are alternatives via austria and the brenner... no tunnels..

and even further east if you are heading out to that side of ialy there is a route down i think thru graz in austria where you go via salzburg.. and come out at the top of the adriatic... the problem is its all extra mileage

much as people talk about congestion in england the trans alpino routes to and from italy are becoming saturated...even more so with the opening up of the eastern european side... heavy transport will often make a ferry crossing into italy and then use the motorway network to head north or west....

the best thing is to always check for the red days in italy ... especially around the beginning and end of august holidays... last weekend because it was italia day they bridged from thursday thru to sunday... there were 200 km queues on the a1 milan naples route and almost the same along the a14 bologna / adriatic coastal route

all i can say is good luck to anyone taking the trip... my solution in the past was to have a relaxing and normal journey down into southern france... i like the jura area...stop a couple of days and then do a night drive down from there... its generally much quieter... you get that whole part out of the way in about half the time and arrive in italy without the stress ... but you have to be used to driving all night and its helpful either having two drivers for when those sleepy bits get to you ....or at least someone who is going to chat away... lots of stops too...

Ok I am confused as to which tunnel is which - i am heading over by car in 5 weeks to do some biulding work on my property {and certainly do not need delays !!!}

We are going in via Bolougne and then through Switzerland using entering Italy on the A9 - Which tunnel would this bring us through ?

i am also driving across with the dog in August - entering and exiting via the A32 - once agian which tunnel would this be ?

Thanks for any help

Thanks again John, just checked on the [url]www.viamichelin.com[/url] route planner and their suggested route is the N6 over the Col du Mont Cenis - this road also has a 12 tonne weight limit so shouldn't get too clogged up.

I've looked at going further south and picking up the coastal road but it was going to add too much to the journey - the kids will have started rebelling long before we hit Italy.

Interestingly the length of time the tunnel is expected to be closed varies on who you listen to. The ½ûÂþÌìÌà Transport ministry expects it to be open in two to three months whereas the Transport News Network is reporting a closure of up to a year!!

[QUOTE=Forza Brescia] i am also driving across with the dog in August [/QUOTE]

Where are you planning to stop over on the way? We were thinking of going over with our dog sometime soon, but I haven't started looking for a place that will be happy to accommodate the dog.

[QUOTE=Licciana]Where are you planning to stop over on the way? We were thinking of going over with our dog sometime soon, but I haven't started looking for a place that will be happy to accommodate the dog.[/QUOTE]

The plan at the moment is to make two stops en-route one at the ETAP in Troyes {Cheap anbd cheerful but happy to take dogs and loads of them in France} - then to drive into Italy and stay at [url]http://www.laminiera.it/[/url] - It was recomended to us by another Forum user and having spoken to the owners they are fine about dogs

Now if someone can just tell me which blooming tunnel is which ........

[QUOTE=adriatica]the best thing is to always check for the red days in italy ... especially around the beginning and end of august holidays... last weekend because it was italia day they bridged from thursday thru to sunday... there were 200 km queues on the a1 milan naples route and almost the same along the a14 bologna / adriatic coastal route[/QUOTE]

Yep, I made the mistake last year of driving over just before easter and tryingto return to the UK on Easter Monday. All togther now... hahahaha haha ha heeee... (etc). I got onto the A14 at Mosciano and then sat in a traffic queue for several hours. After many, many hours we got to somewhere between Rimini and Hell, possibly the city of Dis. OTOH I may have been hallucinating by that point. So I pulled off the A14, foudn a hotel had a nice brodo and a bottle of good white wine and went to sleep. Next day we drove all the way through to Reims and were at the ferry in plenty of time the next day.

[QUOTE=Forza Brescia]We are going in via Bolougne and then through Switzerland using entering Italy on the A9 - Which tunnel would this bring us through ?[/quote]

Umm, as far as I recall,having once lived and worked in Nyon just off the A1 (between Geneva and the A9), the Swiss A9 does not enter Italy at all. The closest that it gets to Italy is Valais before turning off east towards Sierre. You must leave the A9 at Valais and take the E27/1921 via the St Bernard Pass/Tunnel to get to Aosta. Using the A9 seems a bizarre choice of route, it takes you into Switzerland hence you have to pay for a Swiss vignette but you *could* use the A40 - Mont Blanc - A5 to avoid Switzerland completely.

[Quote]i am also driving across with the dog in August - entering and exiting via the A32 - once agian which tunnel would this be ?[/QUOTE]

the A32 goes via the (closed) Frejus Tunnel. You will ned to check if it is open in August. Don't hold your breath, the Mont Blanc tunnel was closed for ages after the fire. They may well implement the same speed limits and sped cameras/tailgating cameras in the Frejus tunnel.

You may wish to consider buying Autoroute (or simiar) for your computer. It's a big benefit for planning long distance routes.

[QUOTE=lotaresco]

You may wish to consider buying Autoroute (or simiar) for your computer. It's a big benefit for planning long distance routes.[/QUOTE]

The Directions were from autoroute !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

looks like i am back into planning stage - cheers for the info

[QUOTE=Forza Brescia]The Directions were from autoroute !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

looks like i am back into planning stage - cheers for the info[/QUOTE]

How odd, did you change the driving speeds from the Autoroute defaults? Because my copy gives the route as Boulogne - Basel - St Gotthard Tunnel - Como - Milan - Brescia in 11h 6 minutes (taking a guess about your intended destination).

If you intend to avoid Switzerland then it gives A16 (Paris) - A6 (Macon) - A40 (Mont Blanc) - A5 (Ivrea) - A4/A5->A4 (Brescia via Milan) in 11 hours 19 minutes.

"La Miniera" is just down the road from where I live (it is about 5km from here). The motorway you want is the A5 Aosta-Torino, exit at Ivrea. The best ways to get to Ivrea by road from the UK are either through the Mont Blanc tunnel or through the Grand St Bernard tunnel.

The Mt Blanc tunnel connects France (Chamonix) to the Aosta Valley (autostrada A5), while the Gran St Bernard connects Switzerland (Lausanne-Martigny) to the Aosta Valley.

Even if it were open, the Frejus tunnel, which connects France (Lyon-Modane) to Torino, is a long way round and I wouldn't use it to get to Ivrea.

The current problems with the Mt Blanc tunnel are due to the fact that most of the Frejus traffic has now switched to Mt Blanc, and both on the French side and the ½ûÂþÌìÌà side the locals don't like all the extra traffic.

If I were you, I would still use the Mt Blanc tunnel, as it is connected better to the French motorway system.

In order to use the St Bernard, you would have to come into the northern side of Lake Geneva. This is okay if arriving from Germany, but not so good from France.

Hope this helps.

regards
John Lomas

[QUOTE=lotaresco]How odd, did you change the driving speeds from the Autoroute defaults? Because my copy gives the route as Boulogne - Basel - St Gotthard Tunnel - Como - Milan - Brescia in 11h 6 minutes (taking a guess about your intended destination).

If you intend to avoid Switzerland then it gives A16 (Paris) - A6 (Macon) - A40 (Mont Blanc) - A5 (Ivrea) - A4/A5->A4 (Brescia via Milan) in 11 hours 19 minutes.[/QUOTE]

On plan 1 - we are arriving in Calais and my version is suggesting the fastest route is via Switzerland

On plan 2 - we deliberately went a long way round to avoid Switzerland as we will have the dog with us and it is outside the EU so i wanted to avoid complications

PS - final destination is Casa Balocchi - nr Reggio Emilia which is where the house is.

We usually arrive in Dunkirk and the route we take is via Belgium/Luxembourg/Basel/Como then as you were on the ½ûÂþÌìÌà autostrade. When I have used the chunnel we follow the same route, driving to Dunkirk from Calais. IMO it's a decent way to go with only a short stretch of road tolls until you get to Switzerland.

If avoiding Switzerland we would take Mont Blanc or Frejus routes.

HTH.

Mmmmmmm intresting - how long is the journey roughly ?

I have been a strong advocate of the Belgium/Luxemburg/France/Switzerland route,

BUT
I went down that route 3 weeks ago, and they seem to be digging up Belgium [or at least that what it seemed like to me], and the Swiss still can't manage the tunnel traffic at all [coming back from Italy, the 'control' was a man in the middle of the motorway letting 1 lorry through, and then 10 cars ad infinitum, [massive delays]].

My next trip in September will be via the autoroutes in France and then onto the N5 [near Dijon] to cross into Switzerland [mountain pass] and run round the North shore of Lake Geneva and on into Italy [mountain pass]

The route seems to be about 50 miles shorter [for me] than the BLFS route, but it does cost about 80 Euros return - and more if you decide to Tunnel it from France to Italy.

Out of interest - cross channel ferry prices have fallen dramatically - I have just booked a 14 day return for September on Sea France for £65 return

I wonder if anyone can help. We are driving to Italy at the end of next week. We have a night booked in Chamonix and then on to Lucca the next day. Having read about all the problems in the MB tunnel I was wondering if there are any alternatives close to the Chamonix area without too many detours. Or should we just resign ourselves to possible queues as we will be going through on a Saturday morning. The other thing is, can anyone recommend a good place to eat in Lucca.
Thanks
Helen