Alps. What roads?

Okay so going down to the French Alps at the end of the month. Staying nr Briancon.

Everything is sorted just trying to decide which way to go. Previously have stuck to the main toll roads. But wondering if it is worth having a go at avoiding them and taking a slower but cheaper?? router.

Anyone done this? Experinces / horror stories?

Cheers!

I wouldn’t – used to scrimp and go non toll in years gone by but now I just hoof it down the motorway. Split between a few of you it’s no real issue.

Via michelin is good for planning a route – you can compare a few sections and costs. You can also split it – cut out some toll sections etc where feasible.

Reims/Troyes/Dijon is the quickest toll way about £90 each way, if you want to split it going via paris makes the tolls about £40 and puts an extra 45mins or so on the journey. If you go totally non tolls it’s going to be 3-4hours longer than the quickest route depending on traffic. Diesel price has taken out a lot of the cost benefit of doing this though.

Toll roads are much faster door to door. The non toll road way is very do-able but may require a stopover enroute depending on how many drivers you have and what time you leave Calais. France is now covered with speed cameras (inc on Toll roads) but its easier to accidently break fhe speed limit on the non-toll roads.

They talk nonsense, dont trust me either.
I head East Belgium Eastern France the motorways are free and from Calais the mileage is nearly the same use google maps to source a route when I hit the Alps Might do last 50 miles on Tolls

France is now covered with speed cameras (inc on Toll roads) but its easier to accidently break fhe speed limit on the non-toll roads.

True and not true. I’ve had tickets on all of them and the threshold is the same, 5kmh.

If you want to avoid the tolls, you can do: Calais -> Luxembourg (either via Lille or Brussels, former longer, latter busier) -> Nancy -> Epinal -> Switzerland -> Alps. Brim the fuel tank in Luxembourg (diesel is under a quid a litre currently). My trip to Morzine from Luxembourg is 20 mins longer going the non-toll route than the toll route but saves me 35e each way.

GPS apps that alert for speed cameras are illegal in France but PocketGPSWorld has a handy app for this. There are mobile cameras mind you which don’t always appear, however static ones have a sign up to 1km before the camera to get you aware. That said, UK drivers don’t get tickets from the cameras in France anyway.

Calais -> Alps avoid Paris (go via Reims)
Pay the tolls, very easy drive. Set the cruise and keep going.

chancing my luck but what about from amsterdam to lyon/Gap ?

trail_rat: Via Luxembourg again.

soundo. Going to get a sat nav anyway for the job , the mrs although a geog teacher is not huge good for navigator.

Try this Mappy

We usually just use motorways/tolls. However, one trip we were in no hurry so travelled back the other side of Paris (from AdH we had an overnight stay in Orleans). We still used motorways in places, but also more N roads. Took us a bit longer overall but not by much.

It’s a nice place to drive generally.

As a rough guide I missed a junction when the missus was asleep and ended up doing 200km on N roads trying to get back to the motorway, went from averaging 110kph to about 50.

If you want to avoid the tolls, you can do: Calais -> Luxembourg (either via Lille or Brussels, former longer, latter busier) -> Nancy -> Epinal -> Switzerland -> Alps. Brim the fuel tank in Luxembourg (diesel is under a quid a litre currently). My trip to Morzine from Luxembourg is 20 mins longer going the non-toll route than the toll route but saves me 35e each way.

If you’re going via Switzerland, you may have to buy an autobahn vignette – currently about 35 euros.

Some good N roads through central France which I found pretty quick and not as boring as the tolls. As you reach the hilly stuff though go on the tolls as the N roads become twisty and slow (and easy to get lost as I found out!).

Hull – rotterdam/zeebrugge makes for a quicker crossing if you are in the North and heading Alps, mileage is less no tolls heading east and an overnights accomadation.
As a few of us have said head East and enjoy your travel spend the tolls on a nice meal makes it a lot better than “Thrasing the toll roads” just to get there.
Try looking at taking in the Black Forest as a stop it only adds a few miles.with a bike it gives you a taste of germany cake nad all 🙂

Toll roads for me on the outward journey, really rather spend the few quid to not spend another day driving. Slower more scenic route home via some new to me mountains.

onehundredthidiot – Member

Toll roads for me on the outward journey, really rather spend the few quid to not spend another day driving.

Not sure how slightly shorter route without using tolls and 2.5 hours more = 1 day, thats on an 8 hour journey where its going to cost £72 for tolls.

That amount of driving is heading towards a “might as well stop, giving the time we will arrive” way of thinking, especially with the need to find reserved emplacement and set up camp.

To go to briancon, I would go Calais>Reims>Grenoble on the autoroute>Bourg d’Oisans on the n65? and from there the d1091 through la grave and serre chavalier. N roads take loads more time and IME will double the trip time compared to an autoroute (and this is in a Bongo, so not gassing it on the motorways)

If you’re going via Switzerland, you may have to buy an autobahn vignette – currently about 35 euros.

True. I have a few trips down there planned so for me it’s a saving anyway.