We are just starting to plan a two week road trip to include the Loire region and Chamonix and ending in Dijon to drop off the car before taking a train to Basel. We begin in Rotterdam (after a transatlantic cruise),
We want to take a train to The Loire (Tours?) pick up a car and spend five days or so before heading to the French Alps. Does anyone have suggestions for travel between Ambois and Chamonix? We were thinking of breaking it into two days. Will two nights be enough to take a ski lift ride? Then we will end with three or four nights in the Dijon area. Any other suggestions? We have driven in France four times and visited the Loire almost ten years ago but there was so much we missed.
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Paris
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To avoid backtracking, I would do Loire > Dijon > Chamonix, and look into returning the car in Annemasse across the border from Geneva. You could then take the train or the tram from Annemasse to Geneva, and a Swiss train to Basel.
It does limit your car rental options, though. Avis is definitely available, not sure about other companies.
Another option: drive from Chamonix to Basel airport through Switzerland, and drop off there (French section), then take airport bus to Basel. You need a $50 toll sticker for the drive through Switzerland, though. It's only a 4-hour drive.
Edit: in theory you could also use the French side of Geneva airport, but you would need to drive through Geneva and signage to the French side is really quite bad, plus unlike in Basel you cannot walk back to the Swiss side so I think you would need a taxi...
Definitely allow three nights in Chamonix - if you do change the order of your trip, you save the need for a stopover so you have a spare night.