Alpine Road Trip: France, Austria & Italy
A scenic Alpine road trip through France, Austria and Italy
A warm, practical loop through the Alps, following the route we drove from Annecy to Innsbruck, Zell am See, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Saint Moritz, Turin and back into southern France. Expect mountain scenery, walkable towns and rewarding driving days, with plenty of time to slow down and enjoy the stops.
Itinerary
Annecy - Innsbruck - (Munich) - (Salzburg) - Zell Am See - Cortina - Saint Moritz - Turin - Le Castellet
This trip is part of our Mountains collection.
I have to admit as a hiking and car enthusiast, nothing gets me quite as excited than a road trip through some mountains in summer. The views are breathtaking, the roads exhilarating and gaining altitude allows to find some cooler air when sea level is experiencing hot temperatures.
I was born and raised in Paris, France so my « home » mountains are the Alps. Despite what some Europeans tend to believe, these are not especially high mountains compared to what can be found on other continent. This is really good for a road trip, staying mostly below the 3000 meters (9000ft) mark won’t require any adaptation time for the body and will allow even vehicles with smaller naturally aspirated engines to be enjoyable at all times.
As usual, this itinerary was tailored to our geographical requirements at the time, you can adapt it and join/leave it where most convenient for you.
An interesting point of this particular trip is the car we used, a silver grey 2018 Audi RS6 Performance. A mid size car for our American friends, but in Europe this is one of the biggest vehicle on the road and it proved challenging at times when it came to parking. I will give you my reflection on this choice of car at the end, and what to expect/how to deal with a bigger car in Europe.
This road trip includes some long days of driving where the advices of my brother, who is a fitness expert and certified coach, came very handy to avoid back or joint paint. Nothing can ruin a car journey quite like not being able to find a comfortable seated position.
Enough talking, let’s fuel up and hit the road.
Annecy
The drive to Annecy was pretty uneventful, just hundreds of kilometres on the motorway where the V8 biturbo was only using half of its cylinders and averaging an impressive 8L/100km ( 29.4 MPG US, 35.3 MPG imperial).
Annecy is probably one of the most beautiful city in France, situated on a lake at the footstep of the Alps. Its ancient heritage, most famous for the medieval city center gives it a unique charm but comes at a cost. The streets are really narrow and so are the underground car parks.
The hotel I booked is supposed to be one of the more modern one, part of a big chain and slightly outside the center of town. Still, upon arrival, we are greeted with huge red sign « Attention, entrée de parking étroite » (Caution, narrow parking entrance). After a quick eyeball measurement, followed by a chat with the very unhelpful reception staff who never managed to find the exact measurements of the entrance, I decided it was not worth the risk. We offloaded our luggages from the boot and I went to park the car in a nearby public carpark. Also quite narrow, but with a little bit of focus no damage was to be reported on the RS6.
Turns out the city is much more pleasant by foot !
Annecy to Innsbruck, crossing the whole of Switzerland
Again, for our friends from the USA, driving more than 600km in one day is pretty normal. But in Europe, especially when part of the drive is not taking place on motorways, this is quite a mammoth drive.
Google Maps announces 7h20, Waze 8 hours. We will find out soon this is due to some road work in most of Switzerland, unfortunately a normal occurrence. We will be able to enjoy the beauty of the Swiss Alps later on that trip, but for, today stopping will be only to refuel and stretch our legs.
If you have never driven through Switzerland, the first and main advice I could give will be to respect the speed limits. Not that I will ever advocate for speeding, but we can all be found guilty of minor excess especially during very long drives. The amount of speed cameras along the Helvetic motorways is incredible, and the fine can have big implication, both for your license and your wallet. The thought of the unrestricted german autobahn in a few days is making the 120km/h (75mph) limitation more bearable.
As we leave Switzerland, we enter Austria on the edge of the border of Lichtenstein. The motorway quickly becomes a dual carriageway, but the scenari gets more and more beautiful as the miles get by.
After a last stop in a stunning service station, very typical austrian style, enjoying the view on the mountains surrounding us, we finally make it to our rental apartment in Innsbruck.
The Audi fits in the parking space without any problem this time, and we spend our first evening discovering the town.
Innsbruck - (German autobahn) - (Salzburg) - Zell Am See
Self reflection moment : the main reason for the purchase of a 605hp family estate has always been to push it to its limits on the unrestricted german motorways.
The past few days have been filled with wonderful hikes, as usual the feeling of walking in the stunning alpine nature, with silence and mountain animals for company, is unmatched.
Our final destination for today is a small town, still in Austria, named Zell Am See. The twist is that we will not go there on the most direct route but we will start by heading north towards Munich. As a pilot, I admire engineering when it pushes boundaries of what is possible. Linking that to the car world, a stop at the BMW headquarters and museum is mandatory considering the history of the brand as one of, if not the best, motorist and drivetrain engineers in the world.
Short hop across the northern Alps, and we join the autobahn around Garmisch Partenkirchen. No speed limit all the way to Munich, however the road is initially quite busy, at least too busy for a top speed run in safe conditions. The absence of speed limits on some german motorways rely on the good judgement and capacity to adapt to the actual conditions of the drivers. Reckless driving, pushing a vehicle that is not meant to be beyond its limits or bullying other drivers out of the left lane can only end up in disaster and the appearance of stricter rules. It is then up to all of us to behave correctly to make sure these precious moments can still happen in the future.
The RS6 Performance has been fully checked before the trip, brand new tyres installed (make sure to check the letter defining the maximum speed allowed for your particular compound) and the electronic speed limit of 250km/h removed by an approved Audi centre.
The autobahn finally becomes quieter, the temperatures and pressure of the car are checked, time to push. The capacity of this car to push your head into the headrest is mind blowing. Even when starting from 190/200km per hour the acceleration is out of this world. After a few runs, the top speed reached is 279km/h (173 mph). Whilst the RS6 could have easily get past the 300kph mark, the noises and amount of air entering through the panoramic roof above 250kph did not make me want to push much more.
This took us quickly to the BMW museum, a fantastic discovery even if they are clearly lacking an E39 on displays (yes, I own a 1998 528i that I absolutely love since there New Zealand road trip).
We hit the road onwards from Munich, next stop Hangar 7. It is located on an airport and contains the collection of cars, aircrafts, helicopters and other bikes belonging to the Redbull brand. Very interesting visit, some true gems on display, I highly recommend the experience.
The rest of the day is uneventful, we stop in Salzburg for a coffee before finally arriving to our stunning Airbnb with lake view in Zell Am See.
Zell Am See - Cortina
After a couple of days hiking around Austria, it is now time to leave for Italy. Today’s itinerary has been specifically planned to take us through of the most beautiful alpine pass, the Grossglockner. Less famous than the Stelvio pass, it is in my opinion nicer thanks to wider roads and hikes and dining options. Word of warning, the way back up from the short hike at the top of the pass requires a minimum amount of cardio ! Car and bike enthusiast will be in heaven, the amount of exotic vehicles taking this stretch of road is truly incredible. I have to admit that a Subaru impreza WRX STI in the traditional blue and golden livery made me work very hard to keep up, harder than my ego would like to admit considering the power difference between both our cars !
The last few kilometres leading to Cortina d’Ampezzo are also very enjoyable, being at a lower altitude than the mountain passes around, the vegetation is very different, with much more trees and greenery.
We spend the evening walking around the centre of down, enjoying as often in Italy a fantastic meal. Unfortunately we will only stay here for one night on this occasion, but we will come back for sure.
Cortina - Saint Moritz
Leaving Cortina in the morning, we decide not to take the fastest and most direct itinerary to Saint Moritz. This would take us back on the main road, and we would miss out on what is considered by many as one of the best driving road in Europe, if not in the world. It links Cortina to Bolzano, with stopping opportunities along the way. After a very nice hike in a national park, we get back in the RS6 and unleash some of its magic on the road, always being respectful of the many cyclist around. Despite its size and weight, the car performs incredibly on the small mountain roads, the only potential negative being the fuel consumption. At higher altitude, going uphill and pushing the twin turbo V8 hard results in high 30sL/100km. Thankfully the descents help take the average down.
A nice encounter with a BMW M5, the natural rival of our vehicle, allows us to share this amazing piece of tarmac for a few minutes, and realise both automobiles are way faster than any sensible driver would dare to go on an open road. Let’s call it a draw on that occasion.
Our visit of Bolzano will only consist of a quick stop in a supermarket to refill on essential, still a few hours of driving left to reach Saint Moritz.
We eventually cross the Swiss border, and leave the dual carriageway to start climbing towards Saint Moritz. This is becoming a trend on that trip, but the road is fantastic, and the last part following the lake truly incredible. Saint Moritz is a very high end mountain resort, with 5 stars hotels and designer shops at nearly every corner. Shopping enthusiast will love it, your wallet maybe a little less.
Nature and sports lover can rest assured, there is a lot to explore around with typical Swiss mountain atmosphere. If your legs get tired of hiking, the walk along the nearby lakes are equally nice and refreshing.
Saint Moritz - Turin
Our stay in Saint Moritz was very nice, mixing excursions in the nature with city life in the town centre. Word of warning, the cost of staying in this place is high, hotels are expensive, so are restaurants.
The day starts with a disappointment, the beautiful Majola pass is subject to tarmac refurbishment, only one lane open and big traffic following buses. We quickly make it to the shores of Lake Como, another disappointment as the many tunnels on the motorway and their average lighting take a lot of enjoyment out of the drive. Let’s hope the city of Turin will make up for it.
Wide avenues, beautiful architecture, parks with views on the alps, Turin truly is a special place. The food offering is as good as it gets ( I expect nothing less in Italy) and the atmosphere relaxing. I would personally chose this city over Milan for a week end. In true petrol head, a trip to the automotive museum is mandatory, with some true gems from golden era of italian cars (Lancia delta integrale, Ferrari F40…)
These 2 days in Turin mark the end of our trip, the last part being dedicated to going back home. Nonetheless, I still tried to plan it in an enjoyable way with some last drives in the mountain and a special last stop.
Turin - Le Castellet, circuit Paul Ricard
What better way to conclude this incredible adventure than finally driving through the southern French alps to then spend the night at the one of the most famous track in the country, home the French formula 1 race until recently.
After leaving the city of Turin, you quickly arrive in the Alps. We enter France, have a lunch stop in the city of Briançon before going down the mountains to rejoin the motorway towards the french riviera. The last 30 minutes before reaching the track consist of small twitchy secondary roads, a nice gift after spending hours on the motorway. Our hotel at the track is a very typical south of France building, blending perfectly in its surroundings and only few hundred meters away from the Circuit Paul Ricard. We spend the evening watching some minor racing series taking place, before enjoying a bottle of Rosé, the local alcohol of the region of Provence. Cheers to an other fantastic adventure, that was made possible thanks to man’s best friend : the car.
Reflection
This roadtrip is a fantastic first big adventure for anyone who loves mountains, twitchy roads, hiking and cars. The European environment is fairly straight forward, there is no border crossing other than to enter and leave Switzerland. These are as easy as passing through a toll, nothing to get excited about.
Traveling with an Audi RS6 brought many learning points. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of choosing hotels with parkings capable of welcoming a bigger car. If you plan to drive hard in the mountains, maintaining a healthy level of fuel in the tank at all times is important. Parts of some cities are less safe than others, you might want to re-think leaving your vehicle parked in the street. Most motorways will have some kind of tolls, in some countries physical every few hundred kilometers, in some others you need to buy a sticker in advance. It is important to know the local rules, as fines can quickly become expensive. Driving thousands of kilometers will have an impact on the tyres and brakes of your vehicle, don’t forget to take that into account when budgeting your holiday. It doesn’t mean you will have to change brake pads and disc when back home, but driving hard in the mountains will take some life out of them. Make sure your car insurance is valid abroad, and if renting you will probably have to pay some extra to take the vehicle into other countries. If you are not from an EU country, you will need to plan for a health travel insurance. Finally, Waze and other apps will need access to data, which means you need a phone contract that works abroad.