Nice to Annecy driving route/stop

Idrewes,
I visited the South of France many years ago and I'm presently planning a return trip for May/June.

Our France trip will be starting in Annecy, then we plan to head South to Provence ;-)

Here are a few ideas of places you might want to visit en route to Annecy.

I've not visited any of these towns/villages, but have read about them & are considering them on our trip.

The following list is not in any particular order:

• Lourmarin

• Ménerbes

• Roussillon

• Apt

• L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

• Séguret

• St. Remy

Here are some websites that may be of interest to you:

• http://www.france-beautiful-villages.org/en/taxonomy/term/149
• http://www.beyond.fr/villages/plus-beaux-villages-france.html
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/minube/frances-10-most-enchantin_b_3377638.html
• http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/islesorg/islesorg.htm

I'm sure others will chime in with other ideas.

Have a wonderful trip!

Believe it or not, the preferred route is via Italy (over the bridges and through the tunnels), and Turin is about halfway. This one is an autoroute that goes through the mountains. The second choice is to go around to the west via Marseille, north on the autoroute and then turn back east at Valence into the Alps and Annecy. You are in the Cote du Rhone wine region there, so to find a small town is easy: Saint Symphorien, Beauchastel, Privas (not small), Hermitage. Just name your favorite Rhone wine and stop there. The first half is flat and easy to drive; once you turn east into the Alps it winds and goes up and down.
One other possibility take you via Aix-en-Provence to Gap, but from Gap to Grenoble you are on smaller, winding highways in the mountains--not advisable.
See viamichelin.com for the routes, costs, and distances. You need to get beyond Provence if you want to be halfway. It's about a six hour drive on the autoroutes either way.

Well it's a good thing Bets came to the rescue & corrected me...And ...Saved you from driving a round about way!

Since I'd traveled from Avignon to Nice in the past (via train), I just assumed you could drive past Avignon & then head NE from there to reach Annecy.

Looking at the map, I can see why going through Italy is a more direct way to travel.

I learned something new today, thanks Bets! I stand corrected :-)

The fastst route may be either east or west of the mountains, but I would not advise against going trough the mountains for a more scenic ride. Last summer we drove from the Gorge du Verdon to Annecy, with a stopover in Alpe D'Huez for the Tour de France. You could drive from Nice to Castellane and trough the Gorge (we did it the other way) and then head north towards Gap. Just take you time, the drive through the Gorge can be slow, since people drive in snails pace to get the best views. Also allow enough time to drive trough the mountains, the roads are good, but can be winding. We encountered a heavy rain storm, that slowed us down quite a bit, at one point we had to stop completely, since we could not see a thing, but in the end we got to our destination safe and sound.

Thanks everyone for your advice and for taking the time to respond.
Lisa