Thoughts on Driving Northeastern France in Winter

You want someone to validate your decision to drive instead of taking a train that will travel at twice the speed a car can go in the best conditions.
Why do you need anybody's validation? If that is what you want to do, do it.

Do you really want to drive that many hours after arriving jet lagged from a transatlantic flight??? And in (possibly) winter driving conditions? I wouldn't recommend it.

Charles de Gaulle airport - Strasbourg - Colmar - Basel is Autoroute all the way. These roads are rarely affected by snow in winter - like 2-3 days of problems per year, mostly in January of February. Should have no problems in December.

But, where else are you going with your car? Are you planning to (for example) visit the Alsatian wine villages? If so the roads are windy and hilly, and you might encounter ice.

Other things to allow for:

• If your Driving Licence is NOT from an EU/EEA country, you will need an IDP (International Driving Permit) for France.
• Make sure you research French driving rules and road signs before you leave home.
• The A4 between Paris and Strasbourg has tolls. The A35 Strasbourg - Colmar - Basel border is toll free. But, all Swiss Autobahns require a toll in the form of a "Vignette" which costs CHF 40. If you want to avoid this for the ~3 Km from the border to Basel, you need to get off the Autoroute before the border and cross on a normal road.
• Big cities have pedestrianised centres, no driving or parking. You have to park on the edge (pay), and walk or use public transport into the centre. This, plus the fact that the TGV from Paris to Strasbourg travels at 320 Km/Hr (200 mph), from there to Basel is at 200 Km/Hr (125 mph), a lot faster than you can drive, makes it better to use the train if you are only going to these 3 cities.
• Some shops and restaurants in Basel take Euros, due to the number of visitors from over the border. Others don't, and those that do, all give change in Franks, and may not give a good exchange rate. You may need to get some Franks from an ATM.

P.S.: All 3 cities have Christmas Markets. Do not miss

You want someone to validate your decision to drive instead of taking a train that will travel at twice the speed a car can go in the best conditions.

Indeed. In jet-lagged condition, as well!

I would certainly take the train. It's much faster, and also easier, than driving. Not to mention cheaper (since you're going to be able to buy tickets ahead of time) and way less hassle when you arrive in Strasbourg. You couldn't pay me to drive in that town at Christmastime. It's gorgeous, but it's packed!!! Factor in cost of parking however many nights you're there, as well.

We're not the ones to convince you to drive that route!

We have rented a car a few times now in France. We are so much more comfortable driving in the smaller villages, interstate and in the rural areas than the bigger cities. When itinerary offers convenient train travel, we take the train, especially after a 12 hour flight. One time we spent the first night in Paris and then took the train the next morning to Colmar, and there was a stop in Strasbourg. We picked up a rental car in Colmar and kept it to explore Alsace, Burgundy and Loire and then returned the car in Tours and took the train back to Paris, thus avoiding any driving in or around Paris. I believe the Strasbourg train station has rental cars.

I was in France, Switzerland and Austria in January of 2017. There was no snow cover Luzern or Bern, or any I could see between Geneva and Paris. When it did snow, it seemed to melt on the roads pretty quickly.

I used public transportation in Basel and would have felt to no need and probably hindered by a car.

For long straight city to city trips my preference is train up to a four hour ride, after that I look at a hop by air on a cheap European carrier. I usually rent a car but that's because I want to make numerous stops along the way, which is usually somewhere between really inconvenient and impossible using public transport.

If you're already at CDG, why not connect to a flight there and arrive in Strasbourg quickly?

Weather is out of your control. If it's a bad storm, everything will be affected car, train, plane. If it's normal winter weather, everything moves but possibly slower. A lot of auto routes in northeastern France have two speed limits, one for normal weather and a lower one for inclement weather.

A lot of auto routes in northeastern France have two speed limits, one for normal weather and a lower one for inclement weather.

The criteria are one speed for dry conditions, a lower speed for precipitation conditions, and 50 kilometers per hour for foggy conditions where visibility is less than 50 meters. It's not just limited to autoroutes and it's not just limited to northeastern France -- it's nationwide.

Personally, I'd use a train for this trip because of parking hassles (especially around Strasbourg) but I don't know Dianal6's full plan.

If you drive, spend some time learning about French driving rules and etiquette (lots of online resources -- many geared toward drivers from the UK). Especially learn about roundabout protocols (particularly multi-lane roundabouts) and the concept of la priorité de droite.

All,

Thank you for the wonderful and quick replies. My concerns are not necessarily the expediency of train versus car travel. My biggest concern is/was the probability of hazardous road conditions. Enduring a transatlantic flight and jumping right into the driver's seat is usually not an issue for me. Typically I have no issues sleeping on those long flights, but I will put safety first if I find myself too exhausted to start a 5 hour drive.

I absolutely love traveling by rail through Europe when possible, but I wanted to explore the idea of having a car in order to travel at leisure between the beautiful cities and villages of Alsace. The time required to drive between Paris and Strasbourg (and back) is not a concern. My concerns are focused on travel interruptions due to weather. I've researched the parking options/scarcity in Strasbourg and the surrounding areas, but nothing I have read is giving me second thoughts...as yet. I realize that struggling with parking is the "opportunity cost" of having a rental.

I will be purchasing an atlas prior to departure and will study it thoroughly along with the many online resources dedicated to French driving rules and customs.

I visited many of the Christmas markets along the Danube back in 2016 and am very excited to visit the markets of Alsace!!

...moderate winter season with frequent snow....

Its easier to drive in very cold snow than snow covered roads at plus or minus freezing. And the worst conditions are black ice when melted snow or water freezes with overnight low temparatures with a thin layer of new snow over the black ice. Under those conditions the french authorities may post compulsury snow chain requirements. Given that snow tires are not required in franxe, the auto rental agencies are not likely to equip rentals with winter tires. That you mean you either get off the road or aquire and mount snow chains. (Apply the snow chains to your drive wheels. If you have an AWD or 4WD, you will need four chains.)

As an aside, I was on the job west of Fort Worth a number of decade ago when we got hit with on over night snowstorm. The usual 2 hour drive to DFW took us more then 4 hours in our rental. We drove the highway at 25 mph without chains and were often passed by drivers going twice as fast on the snow covered highway. We typically saw them off the pavement pointed in the wrong direction several miles down the road. At least Texas (west of Ft. Worth) is relatively flat.

Consider studying french rules of the road:
https://www.justlanded.com/english/France/Articles/Travel-Leisure/Rules-of-the-road

All motorists in France must be familiar with the highway code ( Code
de la Route), available from bookshops throughout France (around €15),
when they take their test, but most promptly ignore it as soon as
they’ve passed. Note that there isn’t a single official highway code,
but numerous versions of it produced by different publishers (e.g.
Ediser and Rousseau)!

The Prévention Routière produces a leaflet in English called Keep
Right highlighting the major rules and conventions, and a similar
guide, entitled Welcome on [ sic] France’s Roads, including a list of
common fines, is downloadable from the Sécurité Routière website
(www.securiteroutiere.gouv.fr – click on ‘ Les dépliants thématiques’
under ‘ Ressources’).

It is worth considering since you will be in an area of three countries - France, Germany and Switzerland - that if you cross the border you will be liable for the car to comply with the national law of the country you have just entered.

You have heard of the IDP requirement in France, the Vignette requirement on motorways in Switzerland, and that French laws do not require snow or M&S tyres.

A couple more - if you cross into Germany, in the winter months you are required to comply with the weather tyre requirements, most easily met by M&S or snow tyres.

You will have the yellow French pollution sticker on your car but you will not likely have the green German Umweltplakette which is required for driving into most German cities and large towns. A specific example is Freiburg im Breisgau, just a short jump across the Rhine from Colmar. You will need to park well out of town and train or tram in.

I had the same thought as Nigel about the Swiss and German winter tire requirement. I’d pick the car up and drop off in Germany where the car will be legally equipped.

I’ve hit light snowfall in late December driving back to Paris from the in-laws in Northern Burgundy, and was surprised how much we slid on the autoroute. Winter tires aren’t required in France.

A lot of all (four) season tires are "M+S" rated. (American rentals are commonly factory tired with M+S all season tires. The German law requires "M+S" tires between October and Easter. However, the better winter tires are the Severe Snow and Winter Traction with the Three Peak Mountain/Snowflake symbol. The Mud and Snow (M+S) tires are tested for snow traction. The "Snowflake" winter tires are tested for ice traction.

If your rental has M+S tires, you may want to either "chain-up" or not drive if roads are icy and temperatures are between -2C and +2c. Bridges decks will commonly be colder than roadways and are more prone to icing.

If you are driving in Germany, Austria and/or Switzerland, here is a good primer:
https://www.german-way.com/travel-and-tourism/driving-in-europe/driving/snow-tires-winter-driving/