French Alps (and then Piedmont by car?)
 

We're planning to spend all of June 2019 in two destinations: the French Alps and the Italian Val d'Aosta/Piedmont.

We're keen walkers and would appreciate any advice about one or two small towns or villages which would make a good base for day hikes, ideally in the more dramatic parts of the French Alps (am I right in assuming that means the north rather than the south?)

We'd also appreciate advice about getting from the French Alps to the Val d'Aosta. We'll have a car.

Good combination. We just got back from a trip that combined Alsace, the French Alps/Chamonix and Val d'Aosta/Courmayeur. While on the French side we stayed at Argentiere which is essentially the next town over from Chamonix (where the major lifts are including Aiguille Du Midi). Argentiere is home to the Grands Montets lifts which is almost as spectacular as Aiguille Du Midi. I think it would be a good destination with the car. More quieter but with excellent access to Chamonix. While there we did the Grand Balcon Nord hike in reverse from Mar de Glace to Aiguille Du Midi (about 6km). We loved it. We also did a couple small hikes around Les Houches. The below link will help.

https://www.planetware.com/france/chamonix-f-rh-cham.htm

On the Italian side we stayed in the village of Entrevas close to Courmayeur. Absolutely spectacular. We hiked in Val Verrett - from Courmayeur up to Refuge Bonatti and then onwards from Refuge Bonatti towards Refuge Bertone. One of the best hikes of our life ever! It was unbelievably scenic.

Btw Courmayeur is very close to Chamonix right over the border and through the Mont Blanc tunnel. You have to pay close attention when you come out of the tunnel or you'll miss it (like we did). Enjoy.

Val Ferret not Val Verett.

Is this your own car, or a rental? If you rent it in France and leave it in Italy, you'll pay a king's ransom.

Can take train to Chamonix from Paris or anywhere you land - no car needed there as a panoply of transports lace the high Alps there and take the thrilling Pte de Aguille-Pte Heilbronner, Italy cable way which has a connection from Chamonix to Pte de Aguille and from Heilbronner to Aosta Valley - rent car there and avoid that steep drop-off charge janis is on about. For lots on booking own French trains online check www.oui.sncf - www.seat61.com has tons of booking discounted ticket - for general info French trains and trains in Chamonix area also BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. You could easily reach some mountain villages in Aosta Valley by lifts and buses too if not driving around.

We rented a car in Strasbourg used it in Alsace, Chamonix, Courmayeur, back to a couple villages in France before returning it in Geneva Airport (French side) so no steep fees. You may be able to find buses that run between Chamonix and Courmayeur. I think the cable car between Italy and France is not running at least this summer. Maybe running by 2019.

https://www.chamonix.net/english/travel/italy/bus

I think the cable car between Italy and France is not running at least this summer. Maybe running by 2019.>

thanks for update - several bus companies run Chamonix-Courmayer/Aosta Valley services for about 5-6 euros. May be best to return car in Chamonix and bus to Italy and rent car there or bring car back to France thru tunnel to avoid steep drop-off fees.

What fabulously helpful replies! We'll spend some time looking at these great suggestions, now, including the advice about the car.
Thanks so much, everyone.

Can I come back to ask for further advice? We're now thinking of flying in and out of Milan, and driving into the French Alps from Italy, then coming back into Italy again.

Rather than driving straight from Milan to the Courmayeur area that people have kindly recommended, we'd like to stay somewhere between Milan and Courmayeur for a few days, to catch our breath after the flight from Australia. Can anyone recommend a very small town or village that would make a pleasant stay?

A few years ago, we watched a friend participate in a cycling event in the area of Lago di Viverone, and we spent three nights at the Hotel Marina right on the lake. There is also an upscale agriturismo (blueberries, wine) in the hills above the lake. Tenuta Variselle.

I liked the area a lot. There are a few very nice restaurants in the immediate area.

Nice article on Megeve in summer, in a recent NYT.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/t...sorts-art.html

Thank you very much, Jean and Tulips: I would never have come across either of these places by myself!

I agree with Palenq. If the intent is to use a village base for hiking in the mountains, a car is unnecessary. I believe that there is a bus service between Chamonix and Courmayeur.

Yes lots of buses right thru Mt Blanc Tunnel - 5 euros and yes why have car sitting when all base cities of significance are links by public transit.

Our trip next June now looks like this:
- Arrive Malpensa
- Lake Como, Maggiore or Orta to catch our breath (4 nights)
- Cogne and hiking in Gran Paradiso National Park (4 nights)
- Courmayeur and hiking in Val Veny and Val Ferret (4 nights)
- Chamonix and lots of hiking (5 nights).

We still have almost two weeks after we leave Chamonix before we fly out of Malpensa again. We'd like to leave the mountains and the serious hiking behind us, and have a more historic/cultural experience in eastern France and then the Piedmont.

I'm thinking of Annecy for 4 nights (with a couple of day trips: Geneva? Chambery?), but we prefer small places with fewer crowds - should we be looking at Aix les Bains instead, or somewhere else entirely?

If you start at Malpensa airport, you will need a car. If you start at Geneva airport, you can easily do all by public transport.
If you land at Malpensa, Lake Maggiore for a first break is set (only a rew miles away).
Cogne and Courmayeur are both excellent choices.
But what about Breuil/Cervinia, the Italian side of Matterhorn (with gondola to Matterhorn Paradise/Testa Grigia) or about Gressoney, just south of Monte Rosa?
Cultural things in the wider area:
Aosta (roman and medieval)
Turin (tons of museums and royal palaces)
Martigny (roman theatre and museum, art galleries, spas of Lavey, Saillon, Ovronnaz nearby
Montreux (Chillon castle, Lavaux vineyards, Lake Geneva)
Lyon
Milan

In regard to the Italian Lakes, skip Lake Orta or stay only one night. Lake Maggiore would work best with your itinerary. I love Lake Como but it is farther east, though doable.
in The Piemonte, we enjoyed staying in Alba, surrounded by the wine villages of the Langhe which we explored.

Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta are in Piedmont too......

Mot folks seem to go to Lake Como - probably because of Bellagio fame - but Lake Maggiore is neat too and as said more on your way and has bus and private driver service to nearby Malpensa Airport. Stresa is a nice nice town - the municipal band played around sunset on the shores of the lake. Easy by train as station is right in heart of town. Could easily do Lake Orta as a day trip from Stresa.

Thank you for these great suggestions. The only thing we're still wondering about is our south Piedmont stay.
We've already spent a lot of time in the Val d'Aosta (northern Piedmont) and the Langhe area on previous trips. This time, we're thinking of seeing some of the southern Piedmont on our way from the Annecy area through to the Ligurian coast.
We're looking at a few days around Saluzzo and Savigliano, hiking (e.g. Valle Varaita, Valle Gesso, Valle Stura, Valle Maira, Pian della Regina, Pian Grande, around Ostana) and visiting Cuneo and the villages around the area.
My only concern is that this area is so often described as 'not visited by tourists'. Are we on the wrong track?

'I'm thinking of Annecy for 4 nights (with a couple of day trips: Geneva? Chambery?), but we prefer small places with fewer crowds'

We spent one night in Annecy after Chamonix & Val D'Aosta. We were very disappointed...did not find Annecy charming primarily because it is overrun by tourists. A little better in the evening but restaurants are packed and service terrible (generalizing a bit but this is typical of a place that is too touristy). One of the only places that left me feeling underwhelmed in our almost 2 week trip that covered Alsace and the mountains.

Based on your statement about crowds I would recommend you stay elsewhere. We drove around the lake and found Tallories small but a lot more charming.

All Valleys West of Turin are fine for hiking, but it's absolutely necessary to check where are open hotels and open restaurants. Some areas are really isolated and scarcely inhabited.
The Sestriere-Bardonnechia-Oulx area is more touristy. So is the area around Limone Piemonte and - in a certain mesure - Val Roya, between Limone and Ventimiglia.

You trip sounds lovely-we did something similar in June/July of this year.

I agree with previous posters about Annecy. We spent 3 days there this summer and it was far more touristy than we were expecting. However we made the most of it-rode bikes around much of the perimeter of the lake followed by a wonderful relaxing swim in the lake and lounging in one of the free public beach areas, and took a day and drove up to the Semnoz Pass for some lovely views and hikes. I would suggest if you stay in that area you explore outside of the city for best outdoor activities.
We did stay in a nice apartment with a lovely hostess in Annecy, and there was an absolutely fantastic patisserie across the street. But otherwise the food was not at all good (and we were quite selective).
We love Liguria and we also loved our time in Lyon during this last trip. We kayaked in a cove between Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure and it was spectacular, the food in Liguria is outstanding, and have had lovely times in both Sestri Levante and Portovenere. Lyon was really a beautiful and accessible city and we wish we had stayed longer than three days.

We also did four days in Cogne-the hiking is just spectacular there. We parked our car at the hotel and explored every day and evening on foot without a problem, as there are lovely trails all around to the surrounding towns and into the National Park. The hiking map was well worth the 5 euros! And Chamonix was also fantastic, as was a town called Champoluc.

Enjoy your trip...it was a wonderful time to visit.

Thank you all so much for all your help. Rather than Talloires, would you recommend somewhere near Aix-les-Bains as a base for day trips to Annecy, Chambery and perhaps Lyon?

don't worry! Talloires is about 10 miles from Ugine from where you can easily reach Chambery and Lyon on a motorway. Other motorways go from Annecy to Chambery - Lyon and to Chamonix.

Thanks so much, neckervd! I'd really like some advice about moving our Haute Savoie/Rhone base from the Annecy/Talloires area to somewhere a little further east - closer to Lyons. We then have to drive back into Italy, so I'm trying to avoid going too far west (or north or south) of Lyon, but I'd love somewhere closer to the Beaujolais area than we currently are.
My logic is this: we'll already have had more than 2 weeks in various mountainous areas (Cogne, then Courmayeur, then Chamonix): we'd like to experience more of the gracious towns and historic villages of eastern France, rather than stay somewhere where the main attraction seems to be the proximity to the mountains.