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Hello Everyone,
My wife and I will be on a road trip in Europe and are planning to visit Switzerland about 2 or 3 days (from Nov. 30th to Dec 2nd). We will be entering the country from Colmar, FR. and would really appreciate if you could take a minute to answer the following questions:
1. What do I need to pay to transit the country by car those 3 days and where can I find it?
2. We would love to see the Matterhorn but I am still not sure if it is safe to drive up to Zermatt with a compact rental car.
3. Given it is not a good idea driving to Zermatt, what city do you best recommend to stay and see Matterhorn?
Thank you very much in advance for your response.
Warm regards, Diego and Mariana
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Hi Diego, welcome to MySwissAlps!
1. You will need a motorway vignette: http://www.youtube.com/dashbo ard. Other costs are fuel and parking fees. Please see http://www.myswissalps.com/ca r for lots of information about driving, driving in the mountains and how it compares to traveling by train.
2. The car needs to be equipped for winter. It should have winter tires or at least all season tires that are suitable for wintry weather. Snow chains will probably not be necessary but you can’t rule that out on the road to Zermatt, so it’s best to have them and practice in advance on how to put them on.
3. It is not allowed to drive to Zermatt. You can drive as far as the parking garage in Täsch and take your luggage on the train to Zermatt. Please find more about Zermatt here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ze rmatt.
Another option is to park somewhere in a valley further away from Zermatt, where weather issues are less of a problem on average. Then take the train from there. The best option depends on where you’re going after Zermatt.
Dear Arno,
Thanks a lot for the quick response. Very helpful and clear. I will check the links provided and will consider visit other cities given the driving conditions of the area/season. My 2nd option was visiting Luzern and Geneve and then Lyon. Do you think all season tires will still be necessary? Thanks again.
Diego
Are you definitely going to Lyon from Geneva or is this just an option ? If you are going, I strongly recommend that you take the autoroute A40 after you leave Geneva to get yourself through the French Jura. The A40 is a toll road but the alternative, the D1084, is much slower and has many steep gradients which you don’t want to be on if the weather is not good. Once you get to the A42 near Pont d’Ain you can decide whether to continue on it or take the departmental (D) roads via Meximieux and Montluel. If you are going to LYS there is a road to the left just east of Montluel that crosses the Rhône at the Pont de Jons and from there signs (or your GPS) will direct you to the airport.
If you do end up going to Zermatt and the weather is not conducive to safe driving, Arno’s advice about parking further down the valley is excellent. The further down the better.
Hi Diego,
Glad to help! You don’t have to skip Zermatt, if that’s what you’re considering now. Just be prepared in case of bad weather. You can park in Visp or Brig down in the valley. Then take a direct train to Zermatt from there. You could even park in or near Geneva or Lausanne since you are going to Lyon next. Zermatt is easy to reach by train from there, with one change in Visp. That would be my preference probably. That way you can skip the road up and down the mountain to the car train from Kandersteg to Goppenstein too. You would need that to reach Visp or Brig from Colmar.
I wouldn’t want to drive on summer tires in Switzerland in early December. Apart from snow, roads can be icy, wet and cold. Summer tires are risky in such conditions. Of course you don’t know what you run into in advance. Things may or may not be fine.
Dear Peterly, thank you for your help. Yes, after visiting Switzerland we are definitely re-entering France through Geneva and are planning to stay a couple of nights in Lyon. After that we will go back to Paris (CDG) to take the flight back to Mexico, so I find your advice very helpful and it makes a lot of sense to me. I am very grateful, best regards!
Diego
Dear Arno,
Sorry for the late response. We are just 7 days away from the beginning of the trip and as you can imagine there are plenty of details to complete at work. I find your advices terrific and very helpful. I will check if the rental car includes winter tires in order to safely transit Switzerland since we really want to visit, and will definitely follow your advice regarding the Visp or Brig train for Zermatt. Again, thanks a lot!
¡hola Diego y Maciel!
If you take the autoroutes in France, it won’t take you long to realize what a bargain the Swiss vignette is – 40 CHF for a complete year (actually 13 months depending on when you buy it, as opposed to the toll system in France. You’re not going to be long in Switzerland but having the vignette is really indispensable for moving around quickly. If you have time in France, try the D (Département) roads, they are usually excellent and more scenic than the autoroutes. Here’s a clip (attached) from a short video I made in mid-September along the D1084 between Montluel and Meximieux. I just love running along in the tunnels of trees on the D roads.
¡Buen viaje!
Attachments:Hello Peterli!
Wow, terrific landscape. Thank you for the great advice. I am definitely taking the A40 road and the switching to the D roads you suggest. Sorry I did not reply before but we are leaving in two days and have been so busy. I really appreciate your help!
If you ever plan to come to Mexico (if you haven´t), please contact me by email and I will be glad to assist as much as I can.
Sincerely,
Diego
Hello Arno!
Hope you are doing well. I have been thinking a lot about where to visit in Switzerland and I believe I´ve made my mind thanks to you advice. So far we have already booked a hotel in Luzern for Nov. 29th. So my idea is driving on Nov. 30th in the morning to Brig, leave the car there in a parking lot and go to Zermatt by train as you suggested. Then spend 2 nights in Zermatt (Nov. 30th and Dec. 1st- Haven´t booked hotel yet) and then going back down the valley to Brig, pick-up the car and leave for Lyon with perhaps a quick visit and stop in Geneva. Does this sound like a good idea to you? I´ve already contacted the rental car company in Paris and they told me the car does not have winter tires. But I definitely want to visit Zermatt. If you find this risky please let me know and I will forget about Zermatt and drive all the way to Geneva, or, please let me know if this makes sense and it is something you would do.
Thanks a lot in advance for your valuable help!
Diego
Hello Diego,
I would be happy to exchange email addresses with you, but I believe that Arno is in charge of this. The extent of my travel in Mexico is next to nil. I flew to California one Christmas when my father was guest teaching for a year at the UCSB (Santa Barbara). We had a car and went down the west coast as far as Ensenada. So now you understand my “next to nil” statement.
Hi Diego,
I’d be very cautious even driving to Brig in late November on summer tires. I’d not bring a car to Switzerland at all (even in the summer as train are amazing here) or if you do rent, do it in Switzerland as those cars will have winter tires.
Hello again,
You say that the rental agency has informed you that the car you have rented does not have Winter tires. However, is it possible that it has all-season tires ? I think it is irresponsible for a car rental agency in France to send out cars at this time of year without at least all-season tires. There are areas in France that sometimes have dangerous driving conditions from November through until Spring. When you get to the rental agency, you should be able to persuade them to give you a car with the proper tires. Don’t be afraid to insist on this, as you never know what they might have available. Tell them your proposed itinerary so they will know you are serious. The most important thing in all of this is your safety.
If my calculations are correct, you are exactly one day away from the beginning of your trip ! The weather can change at any time, and so I would recommend that you check Météo Suisse on a daily basis once you get to Colmar. Look at this site: http://www.meteosuisse.admin. ch/home/meteo/valeurs-de-mesures/temps-actuel.html. I just entered Brig (postal code 3900) and see that it is 11 degrees C (Monday 9 AM).
For when you are in France, I recommend that you check Météo France at http://www.meteofrance.com/ac cueil. J’ai lu que vous comprenez le français alors vous n’aurez aucun problème avec ces deux sites.
Hello Lucas!
Thanks for the advice! I’ve already booked a car in Basel with winter tires. Will go to Luzerne and then drive to Brig. Do you know if both the parking lot for the car (2 nights) in Brig and the train to Zermatt need to be booked in advance? Or this is something that can be done once there?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Diego
Cher Peterli,
Merci beaucoup de votre aide. J’ai parlé avec Budget et ils m’ont dit la même chose. Alors j’ai modifié la location de voiture et je vais retourner la première voiture à Saint Louis (Alsace), prendre un train pour aller en Basel, prendre la voiture “suisse” avec les pneus d’hiver et continuer mon voyage. Ce serait plus lent et cher mais sauf. Quand même je vais voir la météo tous les jours pour être sûr et n’avoir pas des surprises. J’ai posé une pair des questions à Lucas à propos du train Brig-Zermatt et du parking aussi, merci pour votre opinion.
Encore une fois, je vous remercie de toute votre aide mon ami.
Diego.
Salut Diego,
Moi, je dirais que tu est très bien organisé et que tu a pris toutes les précautions pour éviter des problèmes sur les routes. J’ai hâte de savoir comment tout s’est passé quand tout sera terminé et vous êtes de retour en Mexique. J’ai envoyé un message à Arno plus tôt ce soir lui demandant de t’envoyer mon adresse de courriel. Je suis certain que vous allez aimer votre voyage en Suisse et en France !
Saudaçoes (en portugais),
Peter
With winter tires you may want to consider parking in Täsch. Parking there and travel to Zermatt is very simple and easy. http://www.zermatt.ch/en/arri val/Arrival-by-car
If the weather/roads looks quite bad and you don’t want to drive to Täsch then Brig will be a good alternative.
Hello Diego
My husband and I had 8 wonderful nights in Switzerland in September this year. We did a circuit with a Swiss Rail Pass from and to Zurich including the Glacier and Bernina Expresses. They were both great but nevertheless I fell in love with the Matterhorn as seen in and around Zermatt.
We had amazing sunshine for all of our trip so it’s hard to imagine the wintry weather setting in which is of course only to be expected at this time of year. I have been prompted to make this, my first post, to urge you to forget about trying to drive to see the Matterhorn. Leave your hire car behind at the border and use the Swiss trains which are simply wonderful- they run like clockwork and are so clean and convenient. That way both the driver and passenger can enjoy the spectacular scenery without the stress of the roads. Zermatt is a delightful town too.
We stayed at the Petite Charme Inn– an idea from this forum- and the view of the Matterhorn from the rooftop was such fun- as is every vista of it around so many turns in Zermatt. Please consider! I’d be surprised if you regretted the train experience of the Alps and especially the majestic Matterhorn. Elizabeth
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