I'm sure some of you have already heard about that fire on a tunel (Mont Blanc?) in Chamonix, France. At the risk of sounding ignorant, does anybody knows where is that tunnel located? Any experiences?

It's directly under (through?) the mountain Mont Blanc. <BR>It runs between Courmayer (sp?) Italy to Chamonix France. <BR>I've only been round + over, not through the tunnel

I've been to many of the tunnels but not that one. we usually have taken the passes when possible as they are picturesque. I've been in many tunnels last year, the loingest about 20 km. It is quite scary at times. there are emergency door built along the way as well as breakdown areas. There is no way to turn around in a tunnel. I was in Chamonix last fall but we tood a pass there from Swirzerland. The tunnnels are located throughout the alps and dolomites also.

I have been in the Mont Blanc Tunnel. It goes right through the middle of Mont Blanc between France and Italy. We entered on a fine sunny day in France and emerged twenty or so minutes later to snow in Italy.

In our Italy 98 travelogue, we wrote about our visit to Courmayeur (see the chapter on Valle d'Aosta). Visit our non-commercial web site &lt;A HREF="http://thetravelzine.com"&gt;TheTravelzine.com&lt;/A&gt; and subscribe to our free email travel discussion group at &lt;A HREF="http://onelist.com/subscribe/TheTravelzine"&lt

FYI, the tunnel will be closed for at least one year from now on, the time for the enquiry to be conducted about that awful accident that killed at least 40 people. It is hoped that the fire will lead to a shifting from the current "all road-traffic" policy for trucks to a more environmental "truck on train" policy, the way it is done in Switzerland and Austria.

Are you serious that the tunnel will be closed for a year? We are planning to take a trip in September and had figured that by then the inquiry would be complete, at least as far as allowing traffic in the tunnel. Altenative routes from italy to Chamonix seem quite long. What else would you recommed?

I AM DRIVING FROM GENEVA TO TURIN IN MID JUNE. ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR BEST ROUTE - QUICKEST AND MOST SCENIC. THANKS

Currently, the quickest route from France to Italy is the Fréjus tunnel, at the end of the Maurienne valley, the city on the French end being Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. It's an all autoroute stretch from Paris, Lyon, Grenoble or Geneva. Otherwise, you'll have to drive all the way down to Nice, but it's a long way !

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