Driving from Calais to the Italian lakes
Discussion
We're planning to drive down from Eurostar to the Italian Lakes for a few days in the summer (yes it'll be crowded, but need a holiday !)
Thinking of taking 2-3 days to get down there, and maybe the same back again, and after inspiration about interesting routes to take or places to stop.
Any tips or thoughts? Planning to do the Stelvio Pass on the way
(M240i convertible in case it helps
)
Thinking of taking 2-3 days to get down there, and maybe the same back again, and after inspiration about interesting routes to take or places to stop.
Any tips or thoughts? Planning to do the Stelvio Pass on the way
(M240i convertible in case it helps
)I did it last year. French motorway tolls all add up; I came back through Switzerland (the vignette is cheap enough) and night stopped in Luxemburg.
If I was doing it tomorrow I would have lunch in Brugges and then combine a bit of autobahn action with a visit to Classis Remise, Dusseldorf. It's not far out of your way and is a superb day out. Have a quick google image search...everything you see is for sale...
If you are going to do that, then follow the 'German Fairytale Castle route' down. There are loads of guides online - it is breathtaking and takes you more than half the way.
If I was doing it tomorrow I would have lunch in Brugges and then combine a bit of autobahn action with a visit to Classis Remise, Dusseldorf. It's not far out of your way and is a superb day out. Have a quick google image search...everything you see is for sale...
If you are going to do that, then follow the 'German Fairytale Castle route' down. There are loads of guides online - it is breathtaking and takes you more than half the way.
Do not go through France. They are hot on speed enforcement these days and it will be too slow.
When I went I drove to Valenciennes just off the Belgian border for night 1, then for day 2 I went into Belgium, down into Luxembourg (cheap fuel!) and then into Germany for a high-speed autobahn blast down to Bregenz for night 2. Day 3 was over the Stelvio pass into Italy and then off to Como.
When I went I drove to Valenciennes just off the Belgian border for night 1, then for day 2 I went into Belgium, down into Luxembourg (cheap fuel!) and then into Germany for a high-speed autobahn blast down to Bregenz for night 2. Day 3 was over the Stelvio pass into Italy and then off to Como.
Done this a couple of times through Switzerland. First leg took in the old Grand Prix circuit (Reims-Gueux) in France and we stopped overnight near Strasbourg.
We then took the B500 down to Freudenstadt which was a bit crap simply because of the weather and poor visibility! I'd like to go back and do that again when the weather's nice.
We then headed towards Wassen at the foot of the Susten Pass and stayed in Hotel Gerig for one night - pricey for what it is. Did the Susten pass in the evening then Furka, Grimsel and Nufenen Pass the next day - simply epic. I avoided Stelvio as I'd read so many negative things about it. After that it was straight run to Lake Garda.
We then took the B500 down to Freudenstadt which was a bit crap simply because of the weather and poor visibility! I'd like to go back and do that again when the weather's nice.
We then headed towards Wassen at the foot of the Susten Pass and stayed in Hotel Gerig for one night - pricey for what it is. Did the Susten pass in the evening then Furka, Grimsel and Nufenen Pass the next day - simply epic. I avoided Stelvio as I'd read so many negative things about it. After that it was straight run to Lake Garda.
Edited by Boleros on Thursday 7th March 10:06
Research your dates thoroughly - crowded really doesn't even scratch the surface if you get your timing wrong.
I think that 15th August is the big one for Italy, and unlike the UK, bank holidays in Europe happen on whatever day of the week they fall on. All this means is that people "make the bridge" and extend the bank holiday to the closest weekend.
We were staying in Salo on Lake Garda on 14th August 2020, driving there via Austria. Waze was sending me round the southern tip of the lake and then north to Salo. I decided that I'd prefer the scenic route, so went round the north of the lake. Massive mistake - it took about 3 hours to drive maybe 10Km.
The route we took was Calais -> Cologne -> Neuschwanstein -> over the Timmelsjoch -> Salo.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with this route. Timmelsjoch was a bit "meh" and once you got off the toll route it was a very tedious drive into Italy. It was also in the middle of Covid, so everything was a bit weird.
I think that 15th August is the big one for Italy, and unlike the UK, bank holidays in Europe happen on whatever day of the week they fall on. All this means is that people "make the bridge" and extend the bank holiday to the closest weekend.
We were staying in Salo on Lake Garda on 14th August 2020, driving there via Austria. Waze was sending me round the southern tip of the lake and then north to Salo. I decided that I'd prefer the scenic route, so went round the north of the lake. Massive mistake - it took about 3 hours to drive maybe 10Km.
The route we took was Calais -> Cologne -> Neuschwanstein -> over the Timmelsjoch -> Salo.
Personally, I wouldn't bother with this route. Timmelsjoch was a bit "meh" and once you got off the toll route it was a very tedious drive into Italy. It was also in the middle of Covid, so everything was a bit weird.
You've got about 10 hours of driving time there. I used to live in the lakes so did this journey more times than I care to remember.
I'd skip much of Northern France, its mostly flat and fast open motorway. You can go miles without seeing another car on perfectly surfaced 130kmh roads. Its brilliant. You could stop in the WW1 battlefields about 4 hours down if that interests you. You also go near the old Reims circuit but I never made it there to see that. A worthwhile option would be to head into Germany around the Strasbourg area and go down to Switzerland from there.
I'd aim for Switzerland on day 1 and spend the spare time around the various Alpine passes. In the summer there is no need to go for the Gotthard Tunnel. All around Interlaken and Lucerne will be stunning at that time of year.
I'd skip much of Northern France, its mostly flat and fast open motorway. You can go miles without seeing another car on perfectly surfaced 130kmh roads. Its brilliant. You could stop in the WW1 battlefields about 4 hours down if that interests you. You also go near the old Reims circuit but I never made it there to see that. A worthwhile option would be to head into Germany around the Strasbourg area and go down to Switzerland from there.
I'd aim for Switzerland on day 1 and spend the spare time around the various Alpine passes. In the summer there is no need to go for the Gotthard Tunnel. All around Interlaken and Lucerne will be stunning at that time of year.
Edited by CLK-GTR on Thursday 7th March 09:43
Did this many years ago but took about 3-4 days. Stayed in Strasbourg and took ourselves off for sightseeing and Gerwurtztraminer around Alsace and countered that with a visit to the only WWII concentration camp in France.
Next headed through Basel and stayed at Lucerne, before scooting over the Furka Pass to Como.
I remember it being -4C at the top of the Pass and having a snowball fight at lunchtime, before pitching up on the shores of Lake Como and 28C later that day.
Next headed through Basel and stayed at Lucerne, before scooting over the Furka Pass to Como.
I remember it being -4C at the top of the Pass and having a snowball fight at lunchtime, before pitching up on the shores of Lake Como and 28C later that day.
CLK-GTR said:
You've got about 10 hours of driving time there. I used to live in the lakes so did this journey more times than I care to remember.
I'd skip much of Northern France, its mostly flat and fast open motorway. You can go miles without seeing another car on perfectly surfaced 130kmh roads. Its brilliant. You could stop in the WW1 battlefields about 4 hours down if that interests you. You also go near the old Reims circuit but I never made it there to see that. A worthwhile option would be to head into Germany around the Strasbourg area and go down to Switzerland from there.
I'd aim for Switzerland on day 1 and spend the spare time around the various Alpine passes. In the summer there is no need to go for the Gotthard Tunnel. All around Interlaken and Lucerne will be stunning at that time of year.
I echo part of the above. I did alot of France downwards on a motorbike and it was soo dull that I wanted to throw my bike down in boredom and frustration. The Drivers were very courteous to me but the straight, flat or even gentle undulations was a killer. I'd skip much of Northern France, its mostly flat and fast open motorway. You can go miles without seeing another car on perfectly surfaced 130kmh roads. Its brilliant. You could stop in the WW1 battlefields about 4 hours down if that interests you. You also go near the old Reims circuit but I never made it there to see that. A worthwhile option would be to head into Germany around the Strasbourg area and go down to Switzerland from there.
I'd aim for Switzerland on day 1 and spend the spare time around the various Alpine passes. In the summer there is no need to go for the Gotthard Tunnel. All around Interlaken and Lucerne will be stunning at that time of year.
Edited by CLK-GTR on Thursday 7th March 09:43
We're going to the Dolomites in June and our chosen route is as follows:
Thirsk - Portsmouth - Caen, day 1
Caen - Verdun, day 2
Verdun - Memmingen, day 3
Memmingen - Valle di Cadore, day 4. Stay here for seven days, then,
Valle di Cadore - Winterthur
Winterthur - Clairvaux-les-Lacs via the Freddie Mercury statue at Montreux
Clairvaux-les-Lacs - Hotel de France (the famous one), Chatre-sur-le-Loire
Hotel de France - Caen
Caen - Portsmouth - Thirsk
Thirsk - Portsmouth - Caen, day 1
Caen - Verdun, day 2
Verdun - Memmingen, day 3
Memmingen - Valle di Cadore, day 4. Stay here for seven days, then,
Valle di Cadore - Winterthur
Winterthur - Clairvaux-les-Lacs via the Freddie Mercury statue at Montreux
Clairvaux-les-Lacs - Hotel de France (the famous one), Chatre-sur-le-Loire
Hotel de France - Caen
Caen - Portsmouth - Thirsk
We did this journey last year.
Day 1 was Calais to Dijon via Troyes. Come off the Autoroute at Troyes and stop for lunch and then head down the back roads to Dijon, quite enjoyable and scenic.
Day 2 - Dijon down to Lake Garda via Switzerland and the Great St Bernard Pass before picking up the Italian Motorways in the Aosta Valley, very fast flowing and quite happy sitting at 100mph on their motorways. Milan can be a bit of a sticking point.
Arrive into Lake Garda for Circa 5pm for a cold beer.
Day 1 was Calais to Dijon via Troyes. Come off the Autoroute at Troyes and stop for lunch and then head down the back roads to Dijon, quite enjoyable and scenic.
Day 2 - Dijon down to Lake Garda via Switzerland and the Great St Bernard Pass before picking up the Italian Motorways in the Aosta Valley, very fast flowing and quite happy sitting at 100mph on their motorways. Milan can be a bit of a sticking point.
Arrive into Lake Garda for Circa 5pm for a cold beer.
Thanks everybody I'll check all those out, some great ideas! Even ChatGPT was avoiding France 
I have a feeling Aug 15th is bad as well, so will look at the holiday dates. Def up for the passes - I suspect we'll have to do them all twice so we can both drive them or some sort of raffle system to decide who drives which ones
I have a feeling Aug 15th is bad as well, so will look at the holiday dates. Def up for the passes - I suspect we'll have to do them all twice so we can both drive them or some sort of raffle system to decide who drives which ones
I’ve driven to Lake Garda and central Italy a number of times. Contrary to what other people are saying I would stay in France and take the Mont Blanc Tunnel.
In August and I know from bitter experience, the queue for tunnels in Switzerland is extremely slow, frustrating and downright laborious. Moreover the motorways in Belgium and Luxembourg seem to be far slower than the French ones.
In August and I know from bitter experience, the queue for tunnels in Switzerland is extremely slow, frustrating and downright laborious. Moreover the motorways in Belgium and Luxembourg seem to be far slower than the French ones.
CLK-GTR said:
You've got about 10 hours of driving time there. I used to live in the lakes so did this journey more times than I care to remember.
I'd skip much of Northern France, its mostly flat and fast open motorway. You can go miles without seeing another car on perfectly surfaced 130kmh roads. Its brilliant. You could stop in the WW1 battlefields about 4 hours down if that interests you. You also go near the old Reims circuit but I never made it there to see that. A worthwhile option would be to head into Germany around the Strasbourg area and go down to Switzerland from there.
I'd aim for Switzerland on day 1 and spend the spare time around the various Alpine passes. In the summer there is no need to go for the Gotthard Tunnel. All around Interlaken and Lucerne will be stunning at that time of year.
Agree I’d skip france entirely. I was doing Rotterdam to Lausanne fairly often last year, took me about 8hrs if no stops. French speed cameras are literally signposted. I'd skip much of Northern France, its mostly flat and fast open motorway. You can go miles without seeing another car on perfectly surfaced 130kmh roads. Its brilliant. You could stop in the WW1 battlefields about 4 hours down if that interests you. You also go near the old Reims circuit but I never made it there to see that. A worthwhile option would be to head into Germany around the Strasbourg area and go down to Switzerland from there.
I'd aim for Switzerland on day 1 and spend the spare time around the various Alpine passes. In the summer there is no need to go for the Gotthard Tunnel. All around Interlaken and Lucerne will be stunning at that time of year.
Edited by CLK-GTR on Thursday 7th March 09:43
See the medium sized road trip thread for things to see and do en route.
Edited by shirt on Saturday 9th March 08:30
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