I am planning a 7 day one-way trip with my friend in his 1967 Triumph Spitfire this summer from Calais to Ancona in Italy. We are both engineers with an interest in history and geography.
I am starting some route plotting on www.viamichelin.com and our aim is:
* scenic backroads, minimise time spent on motorways and in large cities,
* routes through interesting landscapes, e.g. Champagne region,
* around 8 hours per day driving time,
* stops at various interesting historical or engineering sights e.g. Flander's Fields (WW1) and National Automobile Museum in Mulhouse, Alsace.
* overnight in quiet and good value accommodation.
The question is: what else can anyone recommend? There are some great mountain roads and alpine passes on the way but which ones would you recommend?
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Champagne region is not interesting, take in an alpine pass, go past Brescia in italy and drop into the Mille Miglia museum, then to Modena for you know what, then to Ancona.
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Italy is on the FCO list of countries not to visit at this time.
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FCO only advises not to travel to parts of Italy.
Obviously Abruzzo is not the place to visit just now. Not due to risk to yourself but because you would be a nuisance to the emergency services if you were there.
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Italy is on the FCO list of countries not to visit at this time.
I kinda assumed he wasnt traveling in the next 14 days as he is in planning phase. You cant avoid Italy for the rest of your life just because of its geology. I have been to the Bay of Napoli three times in my life and Vesuvio hasnt got me yet. It will get someone one day in the future.
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Thanks for the tips, AE.
Here is some of what I have so far:
[1] Coupole d'Helfaut-Wizernes - Saint-Omer
Just 30 miles from Calais is:
www.lacoupole-france.com/en/default.asp
A museum in a WW2 underground V2 rocket base.
[2] The In Flanders Fields museum in Ypres
www.inflandersfields.be/
[3] Haut-Koenigsbourg Palace in Orschwiller, Alsace
[4] Route des Cretes (Crest Road), Vosges Mountains, The French High Command created this road during World War I to carry supplies over the mountains.
[5] National Automobile Museum - Schlumpf Collection - Mulhouse
www.collection-schlumpf.com/en/schlumpf/
"certainly the most prestigious car collection in the world".
[6] Chamonix
[7] Grand San Bernando pass, Switzerland
[8] Italian Lakes
[9] Mille Miglia Museum, Brescia
www.museomillemiglia.it/defaulteng.asp
[10] Museum of Balsamic Vinegar, Modena
Is there anything I may have missed?
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Re 10 Perhaps my clue wasnt stong enough
18km from modena
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_Ferrari
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Good luck with your trip. Would strongly suggest a spare set of CB points, condenser etc. as well as a fan/alternator belt.
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I called in on this museum last year,a truly modern museum and some lovely cars,
www.museonicolis.com/website/pages_eng/museonicoli...p
its near verona so its on your way down
if you call in at the schlumf museum be sure to give us details when you get back as i quite fancy going there as i remember them finding it in the 70"s and it being in the sunday times before the paper was sold out
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After Mulhouse, I suggest you move on to the Fondation Giannada in Martigny, Switzerland. They have 50-odd cars from the 1870s to 1930s - there's a virtual visit on this link.
www.gianadda.ch/wq_pages/fr/expositions/musee-de-l...p
The cars are a permanent exhibit - there is always a temporary Art exhibition that normally worth a look too (Rodin 'erotique' at present).
Nearby is the museum of the Saint Bernard dogs, also worth a visit, even if the residents don't half pong.
From there, I'd drive straight over the San Bernadino pass into Italy. IMHO, the best food you'll eat on the whole trip will be in Italy.
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Thanks for all the additional tips.
>Re 10 Perhaps my clue wasnt stong enough
LOL, AE. Museum of Balsamic Vinegar, I ask you!
I am quite impressed with the viamichelin website for planning a car trip. Apart from the standard route planner, it also has accommodation and eateries (The famed Michelin Red Guide) and tourist information (The Michelin Green Guide) visible on the map on a proximity basis.
Google does have an easier to use route planner (with route dragging) but it lacks one of Michelin's key features - scenic routes. Regarding places to stay, Google has a mashup with Tripadvisor so if you go to Tripadvisor you can find user rated accommodation displayed on a Google map. Google also has geotagged photos and Wikipedia links but they are sourced from user input and are of varying quality.
So overall I think viamichelin wins.
Are there other useful websites for planning road trips?
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I use the TomTom one in my satnav and here is the Michelin link to your route which you have probably seen already. tinyurl.com/cbmqwz
This reminds me about a chap who posted here some years ago who was going to drive to Ancona and back twice a week, moving antiques. I was at a loose end at the time and offered to c0-drive but nothing came of it, not with me anyway!
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A word of warning about trip advisor and its report on hotels
I always check this site myself and in the last 4 european hotels ive stayed in the results did not match the hotel so like most things in life take the posts with a large dose of salt as the posters mainly have an axe to grind
Trip advisor is superb to ask a question though on the forum if there is something specific you need to ask for the area or you are in an area and not know what to do whilst there
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I use tripadvisor a lot and, so long as there are 50+ posts in 2 years (say) I tend to trust the general trend of the reports and dismiss the 1* reports as an off day by the hotel staff and a guest arriving in a foul mood and being hard to please! I was offered 5* all inclusive hotel on the Red Sea; I checked TA site and 80 reports out of 80 said "Only come here if you like surly staff, building work in progress, luke warm food and stomach upsets" - I went to Cyprus instead!
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the N5 ( Route Nationale ) that drops onto Geneva from around Dijon is a must, goes through the Jura mountains with lots of great hairpins . It goes right past the CERN particle accelerator site which may appeal to engineers - not sure if the latter has a visitor centre , best to check if so .
Then, for the most breathtaking crossing of the Alps, the Col D'Iseran is part of the Val D'Isere ski resort, in summer it is the old smuggler's route , a free road crossing with unrivalled views including Mont Blanc. Aim for Val D'isere , and follow the Iseran signs. You just keep on going straight and eventually drop onto Turin's outskirts, passing some great family restaurants en route..
Am tempted to do it myself once again now ...
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