We are taking a bit of a road trip in Europe this June. Our longest travel day requires driving from Nancy, through Germany, to Zell am See in Austria. According to ViaMichelin, this is 424 miles and should take 6 hours and 50 minutes.

Any advice?

The route we are looking at is Nancy to Strasbourg to Karlsruhe, then E52/A8 past Stuttgart and around Munich to exit 112, then 306 and 311 to Zell am See.

For anyone familiar with some or all of this route, does the ViaMichelin estimate of 6 hours and 50 minutes seem fairly accurate?

What might be a good place to stop about half way through for lunch?

(I know from reading this website that some of you may think we are crazy to drive through Germany in one day or may want to suggest we take the train instead. I want to explain that we had to prioritize and that we are stopping in many, many other wonderful places. Also, the rental car is already a done deal and will work much better for this family of four than the train. Also, my husband really enjoys driving.)

Your routing is OK. I have driven most of it myself, except for the Nancy-Strassbourg part. But the 6 1/2hrs are probably too optimistic, especially if your travel will be toward the end of June, when you will start sharing the road with Germans heading from the north to the south.

The last part, from the Siegsdorf exit of the A-8 to Zell am See is also pretty "pokey".

If you have the luxury of making the trip in 2 days, I would recommend it, probably breaking it around ULM. As for places for lunch: On your tight schedule, I would styck to one of the Rasthaeuser (Resthouses, with restaurants) along the Autobahn. While not exactly gourmet, they have fairly good food and beverages (coffee in your case!!!) and you can get in and out fairly fast.

Thank you, treplow. So nice to have input from someone who has done that drive (or most of it). The Siegsdorf exit is recommended by a B&B in Zell am See, but ViaMichelin suggests the earlier exit at milepost 101 towards Kufstein, and the Autobahn Tank & Rast Route Service (which I just learned about from another thread this afternoon) routes me through Salzburg.

Would one of these latter two routes between Munich and Zell am See be quicker than taking the Siegsdorf exit?

Nancy - Zell am See in under 7h would be an extremely optimictc calculation. Its hard to do on a Sunday, during the week I believe its close to impossible. You will have to spend the night somewhere, Ulm would be a good location. (The Muenster church is world famous). The Autobahn is packed with cars and trucks. Traffics jams usually start halfway between Basel and Karlsruhe. Stuttgart to Munich has havy traffic too, not as much as Munich - Nueremberg (3 lanes), but its only 2 lanes. Around Munich on A99 prepare for (sometimes) long delays ; tts where traffic from the north and the west meets.
The Inntal Autobahn from Munich to Salzburg is mostly stop and go esp. around Irschenberg.

On Sundays, the situation is much better as trucks are not permitted on the Autobahn.

Siegsdorf is the best exit. You could also go via Kufstein (leave the Autobahn before you cross the border!) and St. Johann (nice scenery, well maintained fast road). Going via Salzburg makes no sense.

If you are driving the distance in one day (and I agree with "Logo" on the "iffiness" of this venture), then I would go to the Siegsdorf - B-306/ B305, Schneizlreuth, Lofer, Saalfelden-Zell route. If you make the trip in two days, then you would enjoy one of the following "backroad" ways:

Take the A-8 (Munich-Salzburg Autobahn) as far as the "Inntal Dreieck" (Inn valley triangle) exit and head south on the A-93 toward Innsbruck.

Get off the autobahn BEFORE Kiefersfelden, at the Oberaudorf exit. (This is important, because if you cross the border past Kiefersfelden, you must buy an Austrian Autobahn user's decal)

From Oberaudorf, head either south on the B-175(paralleling the autobahn) to Kufstein. In Kufstein, take the B-173 east toward St. Johann. It joins the B-312, again, heading east to St. Johann. From St. Johann take B-164 to Saalfelden and on to Zell am See.

Before St. Johann, you pass through the village of Ellmau. It is very pretty and has some good retaurants. On your left is the Wilde Kaiser mountain massif, on your left the Hartkaser. In fact, you could take a funicular up to the Hartkaser and have lunch up there.

Another, very scenic and less travelled route is as follows: From Oberaudorf head east on the B-172 to Walchsee (several good hotel/restaurants there) and on to Koessen and Reit im Winkel. Just before you cross into Germany before Reit i. Winkel, on your left, is the drivway to the Peterhof Hotel and restaurant. Great place to eat.

After passing through Reit.i. W ( a picture popstcard village) take the B-305 toward Ruhpolding. This is part of the German Alpine Highway system. Just before Ruhpolding the B-305 take a 90 degree right hand turn (DON't go into Ruhpolding). Just south of Inzell, the B-305 intesects with the B-306, coming from Siegsdorf. You are now on the same route as if coming from Siegsdorf.

I emigrated to the US from a small village 12km north of Reit, so I know the area well, including the good places to eat.

One last point: The Munich by-pass A-99 can get quite busy around rush hour, especially between the A-8 coming from Stuttgart - Ulm and the A-9, heading north to Nuernberg.

If you are interested in seing the Dachau concentration camp memorial, it is off the A-99 along this stretch.

Thank you for the additional input. My husband and I will have to talk about our plans and perhaps adjust our itinerary. Thanks for taking the time to fill me in on the route.

Barbara