My Suggestion.ÌýRheims to Chalons en Champagne [the only bit of toll road]Challons. to St Dizier - normal road [not dual carriageway, but with overtaking lanes at times]St Diziere to Nancy - dual carriagewayNancy to Colmar - dual carriageway, then normal road, but with overtaking lanes in placesColmar to Mulhouse then turn left into Germany - dual carriagewayDown German autobahn towards Basel - pick up Swiss Motorway Carnet at Bad Bellingen servicesBefore reacing Basel, take turn to Lorrach, and on into Switzerland - avoids Basel [possible traffic delays at Border] - dual carriage way throughoutTake Swiss motorway to Lucerne and on to Gotthard Tunnel [or Gotthard Pass], and on into Italy and autostradaÌýEasy route to take- done it many times
FilterÌýYou should be able, once the listing has come up, filter the answers by specifying which year[s] you wish to see.Ìý [filter is on RHS of the answers listingÌýpage]
Probably nearer 100Km, if thatÌý- but you save a ton in toll charges and time paying toll charges (plus border queues [if you go through Basel), so the overall time diifference won't be massive.Ìý Plus cheap petrol.Still its up to youÌý [and the route planner you use]
Standard Answer from meDover - Dunkirk [DFDS] is usually cheapestCalais -Dunkirk,ÌýLille - into Belgium - Charleroi, Namur, and on to Luxemburg - all toll free motorway.ÌýFill up with petrol in Luxemburg [at services entering or leaving the country - cheapest on your route.ÌýThen toll free motorway to Metz, Nancy and towards Colmar [becomes single carriageway for part ner Colmar].ÌýToll free motorway from Colmar to Mulhouse, then over to Germany and down towards Basle.Ìý Take turning off to Lorrach to avoid Basle [can be bad]Ìý So far, still no chargesÌýTravel through Switzerland needs a vignetteÌý - about 35 Euros [I think]Ìýat the services on the German motorway [at Bad Bellingen] - but thats the only charge [vignette lasts one calendar year - actually Dec to January (14 months)]Through Gotthard Tunnel [no charge] and down into Italy and on to ½ûÂþÌìÌà autostrada and toll chargesÌýGood luck
If all else fails - try 'Google Translate' on it has a 'listen' facilty, so you can hear how the words are pronounced,Ìýand isn't too bad on basic phrases
I tend to go via Switzerland as it avoids french toll roads, and roadÌýtunnel charges.ÌýÌýÌýI recommend cutting up to Belgium [via Lille] and on to Luxemburg, then down to Metz, Nancy and then Colmar and Basle bypass into Switzerland.It is a wee bit further than blasting down to Metz on the french autoroute, but is totally toll free and Luxembourg petrol is cheap [motorway petrolÌýprice is the same as off the motorway]You do need a Swiss Vignette [buy it at the German services at Bad Bellingen], but you have saved on French road toll charges - and it lasts until the end of Jan next yearNo further charges in switzerland [fill up with fuel before getting to Italy,Ìýon the Locarno road, just off the motorway - motrway petrol prices are high]Only toll charges will be on the ½ûÂþÌìÌà autostrada
About 750 miles - 11 or 12 hours driving time [excluding all stops]ÌýSo you could, in theory,Ìýhave a kip in a hotel [just] before the Mont Blanc tunnel [depending on your route] and have about 3 hrs [or so] driving left the next morningI'd probably go into Italy and leave a shorter drive [say 60 - 90 mins] in the morning
The route planner on the Drive Alive website is pretty goodÌý ÌýIt allows you to 'drag' your route to vary it, gives a running time total for the journey [useful for booking overnight stops], and also has lots of hotels/campsites etc shown on the map.The website also has plenty of additional info on driving abroad
Comments posted
My Suggestion.ÌýRheims to Chalons en Champagne [the only bit of toll road]Challons. to St Dizier - normal road [not dual carriageway, but with overtaking lanes at times]St Diziere to Nancy - dual carriagewayNancy to Colmar - dual carriageway, then normal road, but with overtaking lanes in placesColmar to Mulhouse then turn left into Germany - dual carriagewayDown German autobahn towards Basel - pick up Swiss Motorway Carnet at Bad Bellingen servicesBefore reacing Basel, take turn to Lorrach, and on into Switzerland - avoids Basel [possible traffic delays at Border] - dual carriage way throughoutTake Swiss motorway to Lucerne and on to Gotthard Tunnel [or Gotthard Pass], and on into Italy and autostradaÌýEasy route to take- done it many times
Get a couple more quotes as a comparison.Ìý Then bargain the price down
FilterÌýYou should be able, once the listing has come up, filter the answers by specifying which year[s] you wish to see.Ìý [filter is on RHS of the answers listingÌýpage]
Probably nearer 100Km, if thatÌý- but you save a ton in toll charges and time paying toll charges (plus border queues [if you go through Basel), so the overall time diifference won't be massive.Ìý Plus cheap petrol.Still its up to youÌý [and the route planner you use]
Standard Answer from meDover - Dunkirk [DFDS] is usually cheapestCalais -Dunkirk,ÌýLille - into Belgium - Charleroi, Namur, and on to Luxemburg - all toll free motorway.ÌýFill up with petrol in Luxemburg [at services entering or leaving the country - cheapest on your route.ÌýThen toll free motorway to Metz, Nancy and towards Colmar [becomes single carriageway for part ner Colmar].ÌýToll free motorway from Colmar to Mulhouse, then over to Germany and down towards Basle.Ìý Take turning off to Lorrach to avoid Basle [can be bad]Ìý So far, still no chargesÌýTravel through Switzerland needs a vignetteÌý - about 35 Euros [I think]Ìýat the services on the German motorway [at Bad Bellingen] - but thats the only charge [vignette lasts one calendar year - actually Dec to January (14 months)]Through Gotthard Tunnel [no charge] and down into Italy and on to ½ûÂþÌìÌà autostrada and toll chargesÌýGood luck
If all else fails - try 'Google Translate' on it has a 'listen' facilty, so you can hear how the words are pronounced,Ìýand isn't too bad on basic phrases
You could look at
I tend to go via Switzerland as it avoids french toll roads, and roadÌýtunnel charges.ÌýÌýÌýI recommend cutting up to Belgium [via Lille] and on to Luxemburg, then down to Metz, Nancy and then Colmar and Basle bypass into Switzerland.It is a wee bit further than blasting down to Metz on the french autoroute, but is totally toll free and Luxembourg petrol is cheap [motorway petrolÌýprice is the same as off the motorway]You do need a Swiss Vignette [buy it at the German services at Bad Bellingen], but you have saved on French road toll charges - and it lasts until the end of Jan next yearNo further charges in switzerland [fill up with fuel before getting to Italy,Ìýon the Locarno road, just off the motorway - motrway petrol prices are high]Only toll charges will be on the ½ûÂþÌìÌà autostrada
About 750 miles - 11 or 12 hours driving time [excluding all stops]ÌýSo you could, in theory,Ìýhave a kip in a hotel [just] before the Mont Blanc tunnel [depending on your route] and have about 3 hrs [or so] driving left the next morningI'd probably go into Italy and leave a shorter drive [say 60 - 90 mins] in the morning
The route planner on the Drive Alive website is pretty goodÌý ÌýIt allows you to 'drag' your route to vary it, gives a running time total for the journey [useful for booking overnight stops], and also has lots of hotels/campsites etc shown on the map.The website also has plenty of additional info on driving abroad