Weekend in the Alps

---

I was in Grenoble for 3 weeks for a summer school. So, of course, one of the weekends I had to drive somewhere. I decided to go for a roadtrip around Geneva lake, to the beautiful Chillon castle, and then to cross the Alps to Chatel, and then to Chamonix. I rented a small car and instead received a Renault Scenic III, which meant we had more space.

We stopped in Annecy for a couple of minutes and I dropped off 3 of my passengers there, then we proceeded to pick up someone from Geneva, where we also had lunch, then drove straight to Chillon - which is beautiful. For the night, we stopped in Chatel, at Hotel les Triolets (which was quite nice), then in the morning we drove to Chamonix, then back to Grenoble (through Geneva). In Chamonix, we took the cable car up to Aiguille du Midi - which is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen, especially since we were very lucky with the weather.

The practical part: first of all, the car - due to the size, it is comfortable enough for up to 5 people and it is great for 4. It behaved surprisingly well in the bends, which I was very happy about. It had an auxiliary connection, USB and cruise control - well functioning and easy to use. What I didn't like was the clutch (very short) and the horrible dashboard, with everything being in random places. For example, the speedometer display is in the middle of the car, which makes it more complicated for me to see it, but very easy for the passengers - that's not how it's supposed to be...

The roads were generally good, slightly better in Switzerland than in France, and if you like bends, you'll really enjoy the drive from Chatel to Monthey - the small mountain pass.

Another important thing to keep in mind: if you rent a car anywhere other that Switzerland, but you plan to drive through Switzerland (on the motorway), it is going to be a bit expensive - you need a vignette that costs 40 CHF (valid for 5 months). This is much better than driving on the motorways in France though, where you have tolls everywhere, and you keep having to stop and pay. The drive from Grenoble to Geneva was approximately 20€, so we basically paid as much for the short drive in France as for 5 months of using the Swiss highways (which are, btw, better). Also, if you park in Switzerland somewhere that has a limited time allowance, you need to display the parking time in the window (Swiss cars already have a clock-thingy, but otherwise you have to figure something out).

Chillon is not at all expensive to visit, and it really is worth it (12.5 CHF). On the other hand, the cable car from Chamonix to Aiguille to Midi is a bit more pricey (58.5€ round trip), but it is definitely worth it if the weather is nice.

Overall, I was very happy with the trip.

---