Driving from Annecy to Saint Remy on a Monday in early July. We like our drive days to be eventful with sightseeing or activities along the way. So a 4 hr drive is a full day at a relaxed pace. What’s the best route to make that a reality? Take the A7 or cut down through Grenoble and the hill towns? What interesting towns should we see along the way? Tia!
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
That's a tricky one. Any route not involving the A7 will be much longer, so I would stick to that for the most part.
A town I like, which would make a reasonable detour, is Pont en Royans: the fastest wat is to get off the A49 at Jct. 9, join back at Jct. 8. It is very cute, also fairly quick to walk around.
If you are in for a scenic drive, instead of immediately rejoining the A49, you could drive towards St Jean en Royans, then Crest via the d70, and back on the A7 at Loriol. It takes about 45 minutes longer, and takes you up into the Vercors, then down. The way down is a bit narrow, but nothing too tricky IMO.
Also, between Annecy and the A7: the GPS will recommend that you drive on the A43 all the way west to the A48, then southeast. It only takes a few min longer and it is much more scenic to exit the A43 at Jct. 12 (immediately after a long tunnel, do not miss it), then head SW to La Bridoire, St Béron, Chirens and the outskirts of Voiron where you rejoin the highway. I have used that route once or twice, it is easy and relaxing.
I do not recommend the routes through Grenoble: Grenoble traffic can be bad, and the d1075 south of Grenoble has dense traffic in summer so, despite being scenic, it is not a very relaxing drive. Afterwards, the roads cutting SW towards Avignon / St Remy are very slow, so all in all, Grenoble to St Rémy would take 5+ hours that way.
Posted by
OP
19 posts
That’s exactly the type of information I’d hoped for. Thank you.