By Car in Lyon and the Alps

Regional roads are fast and well maintained, though smaller mountainous routes can be difficult to navigate and high passes may be closed in winter. A6 speeds south from Paris to Lyon (463 km ). The Tunnel de Fourvière, which cuts through Lyon, is a classic hazard, and at peak times you may sit idling for hours. Lyon is 313 km (194 mi) north of Marseille on A7. To get to Grenoble (105 km southeast) from Lyon, take A43 to A48. Coming from the south, take A7 to Valence and then swing east on A49 to A48 to Grenoble. From Grenoble to Megève and Chamonix through Annecy take A41-E712 to Annecy (direction Geneva), and then A-40 direction Montblanc-Chamonix. Turn off A-40 at Sallanches for the 17 km on the N212 to Megève. Access to the Alps is easy from Geneva or Italy (via the Tunnel du Mont Blanc at Chamonix or the Tunnel du Fréjus from Turin). Another popular route into the Alps, especially coming north from Provence, is from Sisteron via N85, La Route Napoléon.