Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #1
Hello all,

We are thinking about driving from cherbourg to Annecy and Chamonix in July. I am looking for any advice going! Any good/handy spots to stop off along the way? We have a young family of 3 kids.
Thank you!


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #2
That’s a long haul and we did it 2 years ago. How long do you plan to take to go down or do you want to get there as quickly as possible?


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #3
Is your plan to take the time to enjoy France along the way or do you need to get down as quickly as possible


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #4
train to the Glacier


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #5
Witzend?
By your map, are you not passing Le Mans to Tours on the A10 motorway which has a lefty tolls?
I paid in the region of €35 last August for that section.
Malcolm


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #6
Whilst we loved Annecy and we had 6 weeks we took 8 days going down and kept away from the autoroutes and thoroughly enjoyed it but we don’t have kids. We stayed on Aires and it was a holiday in itself. We arrived at Annecy completely relaxed 😎 and we spend 3 weeks there and experienced a massive thunderstorm that caused a lot of destruction. It all happened within 3 hours and the sun was shinning again. My advice would be if you have time, take it easy going down and if you want use the fast way back.


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #7
Thanks all.
We have 6 weeks in total in France. Last year we spent 18 nights in brittany and stayed in 11 different places. In hindsight we moved around too much. You know how it is, packing up and unpacking can take its toll. Fine if it was just me and husband but it's harder with kids. So, we were thinking of getting down to the mountains within 3-4 days and then spending approx 3 weeks there. I'm conscious that it will be busy but we may not get another window of 6 weeks. Perhaps if there was somewhere half way worth stopping for a while then we would consider that too. ???? The kids are great at entertaining themselves....cycling etc (3 under 7) so we are happy in Aires or 2 star campsites. However every now and again we will book into a site with a pool especially if it's hot


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #8
Realistic with kids on board, Cherbourg to Tours is about 6 hours travelling time with a couple of pee,pee stops.
Also with the ferry docking in Cherbourg, it will midday before you get driving, which brings you to Tours in the early evening.
Malcolm


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #9
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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 24.02.2019  ·  #10
different route but not much further


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 26.02.2019  ·  #11
Thank you all for your advice. I have a bit of planning to do I guess!


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Argentan

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Posted: 26.02.2019  ·  #12
 
 
If you are looking for somewhere to stop en route about 2- 3 hrs from Cherbourg , can recommend this small but spotlessly clean campsite in Argentan., Camping Municipal De la Noe. It's right beside a nice park with a lake which has walks around it and down by the river. There is also pedlow thingys for the kids and a good snack bar with outside tables by the lakeside so you can watch the kids in the pedlow. ( Small as I said so probably need to book if in season)
 
 


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 27.02.2019  ·  #13
Rage!!! I just wrote a long reply to you here and my account logged out for some reason before I posted when I clicked preview I lost the whole thing.

Anyway here I go again, we did pretty much the same trip as this last year with two littlies, broke the drive up on the way down and then just bit the bullet and did close to a 12 hour day travelling on the way back.

Tips for the way down:

Papea Parc Le Mans this is a fantastic theme park with lots of rides for kids of different sizes. We stayed here the day before which is a lovely park with lots of cycles including bmx and mountain bike loops if you are adventurous.

Then a short hop to Noyer Sur Cher where we stayed in a nice aire on Rue du Port beside the canal. We have friend that run Experience Canoe Kayak here so we went on a really nice canoe trip on the Cher river with them the following day. The water is warm and not to deep so plenty of opportunities for swimming and splashing about with little ones.

Noyer Sur Cher is then only another short hop (10mins) from Zooparc de Beauval
This is rated as one of the top zoos in the world and I'd well believe it. They have designated free camping car parking and allow overnight parking. We only booked one day tickets but if we were to go again we get the discounted two day ticket, the place is so big that we really struggled to see everything in one day especially with small kids. The bird show here is epic.

We made a beeline to the alps from there which is about a six hour drive. if you are going to the Chamonix area I cannot recommend Les Arc 1800 resort highly enough. there are tons of child specific activities there, climbing, mini high ropes trampolines, pony rides etc etc etc along with great hiking and mountain biking and also a fantastic public swimming pool with indoor and outdoor heated pools and a couple of nice slides too.
You can park overnight either in the very queit carpark at the funicular railway at the bottom of the mountain in Bourg Saint Maurice( this is also beside a really nice park) or you can stay in a carparks up in the resort. I would definitely recommend this option as it is much cooler at night and you wake up to a cracking view of Mont Blanc, the one we parked in was right beside a lovely playground for the kids which kept them entertained while we were cooking etc. plus had a drive over drain too.

On the way home if your leaving via cherbourg there is a really nice aire beside a beach with a lovely restaurant in Hameau de la Mer that is only then 40mins from the ferry.

Hope this gives you some ideas.


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 28.02.2019  ·  #14
Stephen C --- wondering if you really meant Bourg Saint Maurice as it's a lovely place but it's a bit off the beaten track to Chamonix ( where the original poster was headed). Apology if I am wrong.


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 28.02.2019  ·  #15
Having looked closer at the map I now realise that while they may be close as the crow flies they have a little thing called Mont blanc between them :0)

But if your driving 12 hours whats another 2 when you have 6 weeks.

Was just giving some options as we had been down to the Alps with kids last year. We were also down at Alp d'Huez which was nice too but didn't put that in, is that ok?


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 28.02.2019  ·  #16
No slight or offence intended Stephen, were there last year too so aware of the terrain. However if it's photo opportunities of Mont Blanc the O.P. is after , can recommend the Aire at Plaine Joux, parked looking straight across at it also you get access to the showers/toilet facilities., but apart from mountain walks or a short stroll down to Lav Vert there is nothing there for the kids- unless they fancy a tandem hang glider ride. If you go there make sure you have stocked up on food supplies - nothing available up there.
These are some of our holiday clips which we don't mind sharing but would love to see other members clips.







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spatuladad123
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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 28.02.2019  ·  #17
Sorry that should have read Lac Vert not Lav Vert- the C is beside the V on the keyboard and I am old with bad eyesight ha ha .


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 28.02.2019  ·  #18
Here's the view from the top


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 28.02.2019  ·  #19
One of the most enjoyable ways to explore an Alp with kids
 

And back up again
 


The MacRide is by far the best invention for having fun with your kids that I have ever come across.


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Posted: 01.03.2019  ·  #20
Witzend - wow where was that great photo taken from, Aiguille du Midi ?


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 01.03.2019  ·  #21
Quote by spatuladad123
Witzend - wow where was that great photo taken from, Aiguille du Midi ?


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Posted: 05.03.2019  ·  #22
Thank you for all that info Stephen. I really appreciate it.


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Posted: 06.03.2019  ·  #23
Great photos and info thanks, spatuladad.....don't know how I passed over them yesterday.


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 13.04.2019  ·  #24
We are planning to go to Annecy this year too - in August. Bringing caravan. We'll likely stop near Tours on the way down - we stayed in a municipal site there last year and it was great. We have four days to make the journey down the way but just a few days on the way back up. Considering leaving our caravan there and storing either down at Annecy or up near Tours. Really looking forward to the break. We went to the Dordogne last year and absolutely loved it....so hoping that we love Annecy and the alps just as much!


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 14.04.2019  ·  #25
Annecy is beautiful and you won’t regret going to it. We have been there a number of times and is a great base for touring. Enjoy.


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 14.04.2019  ·  #26
Little story about Annecy. Many years age we were there and at the grassy area beside the lake there was an automatic toliet. A lady came out of the toilet and her daughter about 10 years old nipped in before the door closed. The toilet did its clean cycle and the young girl came out soaking but uninjured. Scary for the young girl and family but really funny for onlookers


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Re: Cherbourg to Annecy & Chamonix drive

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Posted: 14.04.2019  ·  #27
Hopefully our kids won't get stuck in any toilets TommyS! We'll maybe run some ideas by you JackTheRev. We'd like to head up into the alps as well....maybe Chamonix!


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