knwolf

My husband and I are considering driving from Munich to Paris in one day. We are 31 years old and have some experience driving in other countries. We would be in the middle of having spent 3 days in Munich, and spending 3 days in Paris. I understand that this will be a long drive (7½ hours) and expensive. Despite these setbacks, we still think it may be preferable to flying or taking the train because we could possibly see more of the countryside and stop at our leisure. Our "rough draft" of a plan is to leave at 7-8 am, maybe stop along the way for pictures/lunch and arrive in Paris around 6pm. We do have some questions though...

1. Is it a pretty drive? This is the main issue I have. I understand that we will be on the motorway for almost the entire trip. Will we still have the feeling that we are driving through the countryside at times?

2. Is it true that there are no speed limits on the Autobahn? If so, could we shave an hour or so off the estimated time by going faster?

3. Are there any good places/sights along the way to stop? We were thinking of stopping for a quick lunch and a look at a champagne winery in Reims.

I would appreciate any advice on this matter. Thanks so much!!

alihutch

If you want to site see and take in the countryside along the way, take 2 days, stay over night somewhere and don't use the Autobahn.
If you want to do it in one day, take the train and see the view without having to worry about driving

RJD

Amen.

quokka

1. Even if there is pretty scenery along the way, the driver has no chance to enjoy it during the drive because of traffic.

2. No. Some stretches of Autobahn don't have speed limits, others do. However, unless you start at 3 a.m. in the morning you have close to no chance to drive at race speed. You are not the only ones on the road. The A 8, which would be your most logical route, is nicknamed the longest parking lot of the country because of frequent congestions. Rather add an hour or two to the estimated driving times for a realistic schedule.

jpie

I am with alihutch here. Just the hassle of picking up and dropping the car in one day in two cities is not worth it to me. Plus if you goal is to go top speed on the autobahn-you won't see much.

That said,if you are willing to take 2 days, I would definitely go for it. It would probably even beat the cost of trains despite tolls and gas. Usually, with 2 people driving can make sense. I have made this drive a lot and I would stop overnight in Baden Baden-one of my favorite little German spa cities. The Caracella Therme Bath are public and fantastic-low costs and relaxing, you can either just enter and hang out or sing up for a great massage. The town itself is a pedestrian walking town-you just park your car at some great little hotel and walk everywhere. Good shopping too. My husband bought a leather jacket there when he was your age and he is now coming up on 60 and still wearing it It is only 3 hours from Munich, so you could enjoy most of the day there and then drive 3 1/2 more hours to Reims in the morning and have lunch, then just 1 1/2 hour more into Paris

jpie

A small correction. I think you actually get the massage in Baden Baden next door to the Caracell Thermes at the Friedrichsbad, http://www.roemisch-irisches-bad.de/roemisch.html

but the Caracella is the less expesive place if you just want to swim/soak: http://www.carasana.de/home/en/ct_an...hermalbad.html

StCirq

Is this a rental car? If so, are you planning to pick it up in Germany and drop it off in France? That will probably cost you about 500 euros. Plus gas and tolls.

Personally, I think it would be insanity to do the drive in 1 day. You won't see a thing. If you have 2 days, yes, and stay off the Autobahn all the way and actually see some scenery. If you have only 1, take the train.

knwolf

Thanks so much for your honest responses....I had no idea I was living on the edge of insanity We will definitely nix the one day drive. Really appreciate your advice!!

Bellarosa

If you do need to find out the cost of driving from one city to another, map out your journey on www.viamichelin.com . This will tell you the route, number of hours, tolls, and estimated fuel costs.

I'm with the rest of the posters; I'd take the train.

logos999

>Autobahn
As soon as you enter Württemberg, for the longest part, the speed is limited to 100km/h. Traffic cameras every few 100 meters make sure you don't get into speeding without being fined. Interestingly, traffic goes smoother at 100km/h than if there were no speed limit at all on that "parking lot".
Large stretches on the Bavarian side are limited to 120k or 100k too, but there aren't (m)any cameras on this side of the border.

hausfrau

Sounds like you have made the right choice. I have driven from Stuttgart to Paris and back - it is not a very interesting drive if you stick to the freeways. Take the train!

WoinParis

Thanks for this post.

I am old fashioned I guess and have problems understanding reality shows.
But I clicked on the links - just to see.
It is actually a videao of a car moving along the way.

Is there something I missed ?
For my part I see it as : 1 hour for part one, 45 min for part 2 = roughly 2 hours closer to death with zero interest if you look at it. What was the goal ?

kerouac

Driving in one day? I would be very bored, since the autobahn/autoroute hides all of the sights from you. I for one have driven Strasbourg to Paris on the autoroute more times than I care to count and find it incredibly boring compared to the things that I know one can see on the little roads along the way. Take the train!

kerouac

Just examining at random those two videos, I saw that they all took place 100% in Germany while the longest part of the trip would take place in France. Did you suddenly sprout wings at the border, rajeshbanerjee?

spaarne

<i> How is the drive from Munich to Paris?
Posted by: knwolf on Mar 6, 11 at 6:17pm</i>

Rather than being bored as suggested by the European Fodorites, I think you will be stressed out and exhausted by the time you reach Paris. Then you have to negotiate your way through Paris traffic to your hotel. If you decide to drive have a look at this illustrated introduction to driving in Europe, http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap18/auto-1.htm.

I would take the train and enjoy some champagne. There is a TGV from Munich (d06:23) to Paris (a12:05) at prices as low as &euro;60. See the German Rail site at https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml for other possibilities.

Nikki

The drive probably hasn't taken six years.