Our family of four (parents, two kids ages 7 & 11) have one week in early June to drive from eastern Switzerland to Toulouse. We are looking for suggestions for beautiful drives and/or interesting places to visit or stay. Can't decide whether to travel: a) south through Italy and then along the Cote d'Azur from Nice to Arles, Carcassone, Toulouse, b) east through Geneva, Grenoble, Avignon, Carcassone, Toulouse, or c) northeast through Basel or Geneva to Clermont Ferrand, Brive la Gaillarde, Rocamadour, Toulouse. Tricky criteria: beautiful scenery for the parents, not too much time spent in the car for the kids, fun places to explore for all. We will have spent one month already in Italy, and are on our way to a canal boat hire in Agen. We're keen historians, good hikers, and game for most adventures. Any help most appreciated!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Mona, first be advised that dropping off a rental car in a different country can be quite expensive. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars. There is usually no drop off charge to pick up and drop off in the same country. Also be advised that if you drive a rental car in Switzerland, you must have a vignette (sticker) placed in the correct place on the window. About $40 if your rental car doesn't have one.
If you went via Geneva, you could drop off the car on the Swiss side of the airport and rent a new one on the French side of the airport. In the end, you may find that the rental cars on the French side are cheaper than on the Swiss side. You can check all of this out on www.autoeurope.com. They even have a USA toll-free number.
Again, should you be routing via Geneva, I would suggest driving about 90 minutes SE to Chamonix-Mt. Blanc. Wonderful drive and a beautiful place to stay. You may find that the Hotel L'Oustalet may have rooms for all four of you. Our room had at least one extra built in side bed for one. They may have rooms for four. Hotel L'Oustalet is 2 blocks from the lift to Aiguille du Midi. These are the gondolas that take you up to 12,600' to a peak on Mt. Blanc. Your children will not forget the ride or the views. Here's a snapshot of where you would be going. http://gyazo.com/881147f4cd571d35b9c2481e8bb919c0 You go to the tall middle peak but you do go to the peak on the left. For dinner, you can walk to Le Caleche. Wonderful food. Nice family place.
As an alternative in Switzerland, you can take the Golden Pass Scenic train from Interlaken Ost or Spiez if you want to turn in your car there to Montreux. For your children and perhaps mom and dad, reserve ahead for 2 or 4 of the 8 VIP seats that are actually on top of the engine. You sit above the train engineers. The views coming down the mountain are quite stunning. Once in Montreux, you can take the train to the Geneva airport and rent your car. You can also side trip off this train route and take the Chocolate train. Guess where it goes. There are also cheese factories along these routes. Lots to do and see on the way to Geneva. Except for the trains, you could do this by rental car as well.
From Chamonix-Mt. Blanc you can then drive south to Provence via Annecy and Lyon. It's a long drive so you might want to stay somewhere along the way. From Provence, you can then proceed west to Toulouse.
You can map your driving routes out on www.viamichelin.com.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Dear Larry, thank you for your reply. Both suggestions sound wonderful, and your photo is super! We will be travelling by car since we purchased a buy-back lease from Citroen. Picking it up in Rome, dropping it off in Toulouse. We'll be visiting family in Switzerland and setting out for France from St. Gallen. Any suggestions for beautiful drives from SG to Geneva?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I think all of Switzerland is pretty lovely, but there's definitely a trade-off between faster roads in the north and mountain scenery in the south. You could drive along the route of the Golden Pass train, St. Gallen-Luzern-Interlaken-Zweisimmen-Montreux-Geneve in about 6 hours, but the more time you have to stop along that route, the better.
www.viamichelin.com can help you plan driving time via fastest, "discovery," or recommended routes. Or if you have printed Michelin maps or atlases, their system of marking scenic roads with a green line is a reliable indicator of where the scenery will include mountains, gorges, lakes, etc..
Posted by
Boulder, Colorado, USA
437 posts
If you enjoy the mountains, consider Zermatt to see the Matterhorn and then drive over the pass at Martingny to Chamonix. The train at Zermatt is amazing and if the weather is clear the view is fantastic.
You could spend two nights at each and still drive part of the coast.
If it is rainy the drive via northern Italy may be much nicer.
Have fun!