time estimates on viamichelin.com -- close to accurate?

I've driven a lot in Europe and I think viamichelin's estimates are pretty good. They're probably more accurate on autoroutes than back roads, although I've never really paid attention to that. Remember that their estimates are driving times only - they don't allow for lunch breaks, gas stops, etc. So if you're going to be stopping along the way you have to add that in. I'm not aware of any more accurate source out there.

I have the same observation as Tom. Good enough as a rough estimate but remember you can lose time to stops for food, sites, gas and/or traffic.

If any of your travels involve countries where those pesky roundabouts are common, I would suggest you study ahead of time on how to navigate these. For a variety of reasons, you might have to loop around more than once, possibly losing your bearings, and maybe taking the wrong exit road. A GPS unit would help in this situation. ViaMichelin does adjust the travel times according to the nature of the route you choose (scenic, shortest, fastest, etc.).

I think they're uniformly horrible in either direction. They're based on speed limits. On the freeway you're going much faster than posted just to keep up with traffic. On minor roads you don't have a prayer of making anything close to what's posted. I have no use for time estimates of mapping software of any kind - - including gps. You have to know the roads - - if not the very road, at least the nature of it based on a lot of experience.

They're good for comparisons of alternative routes or modes of transportation. Don't expect them to be accurate for what you'll experience on the ground. Too many traffic variables.

Thanks to you all. I know that many of you are veterans of this travel, so your grains of salt appreciated.

Our experience is they're 10 - 20% under actual time. They assume you are always moving, which is highly unrealistic, as you're likely to run in to stop signs, red lights and/or traffic. And if you just happen to be traveling on Black Saturday in France (the first Saturday of August), well, then you'll need to add about 75% to any estimate that includes an autoroute heading south!