Blogs from Thonon-les-Bains, Rhône-Alpes, France, Europe

When we planned this trip I had hoped to stay in Villeneuve just over the border into Switzerland as we stayed there last September and I just loved the super location of the campsite, right by the peaceful water’s edge. When Bob tried to book he was told it was full and when I enquired they said we would need to book in February for a pitch now in June. It is, though, only a small site with limited number of touring pitches. I think, since seeing how very busy it was in Thonon-les-Bains yesterday, we were beginning to realise that the summer season is already in full swing here on Lake Geneva / Leman. Today we compensated for not being able to stay at Villeneuve by driving along the lake, over the border into Switzerland ... read more

Up and away just after 9am and heading due South. Bob had carefully plotted a Tomtom route which very definitely avoided Geneva. Last time we went that direction, heading for France, we accidentally drove through Geneva at 5pm on a Friday and it was Scary. That route also involved some very windy mountainous stretches which we wanted to avoid if we could. We also have the complication of no Swiss Vignette this trip so if we accidentally stray across the border on a motorway it could prove very expensive. No problem and I can report that we arrived safely at our French campsite in Thonon-les-Bains without venturing into Switzerland. We will pop across later in the week in the Smart car but only on local roads. I want to revisit Villeneuve where we stayed in September ... read more