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Dates: |
July 24th-August 2nd 2010 |
Cost: |
£1,395 pp
|
NOT INCLUDED ARE THE FOLLOWING :
9-day tour starting with an early Saturday morning ferry from Dover to Dunkerque and travelling through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy back in to France and ending in Monaco.En-route we drive through the spectacular Alps crossing all the famous passes and experiencing some of Europe's most stunning scenery and its best driving roads before arriving a week later on the Mediterranean coast at Menton from where we drive along the scenic coastline through Monaco to Villefranche-sur-Mer where our hotel for the final two nights is based.
TO SEE OVER 300 PHOTOS FROM OUR 2009 and 2008 ALPS TOURS VISIT OUR PHOTO GALLERY,(click on link to "photo gallery"at the top of this page)
Our tour starts in Dunkerque following a morning Ferry crossing from Dover. In fact our route through France,Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco follows, very loosely, the route of a Marathon rally. This does mean that while there are no competitive elements to the event, there are some long driving days to cover this distance in one week. The first few days include some motorway and main road sections to make covering the distance a little easier, but once into Switzerland we have a couple of more restful days on Lake Sarner just south of Lake Lucerne and in Montreux on Lac Leman,(Lake Geneva)
The final day is a real 'sting in the tail' with nearly 200 miles of fabulous mountain scenery, with no less than five spectacular 'Cols' to traverse, culminating in one of the most famous, the Col de Turini. It is then downhill all the way, literally! The final run down to the Mediterranean coast at Menton is almost continually downhill for 15 miles after which we drive through Monaco to Villefranche sur Mer where our hotel for the last two nights of the tour is located.On Monday we visit Monaco and drive around the GP circuit before visiting Eze village and the Eprussi Rothschild villa and gardens on Cap Ferrat.









Just a little extra information for those with a head for heights! In ascending order, literally. Remember, Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell, the three highest mountains in Scotland, Wales and England respectively are just over 3,000ft.
The Col de Columbiere/Col d'Arvis, near Briancon, is a mere 5,022ft Above Sea Level. It does give some excellent views of Mont Blanc though.
Col du Pillon, near Gstaad, 5071 ft. But there is a cable car to the top of the adjacent mountain, if you wish to go higher.
Col du Lauteret, we spend the night here! Near Briancon, 6,750ft.
Col de Grand St Bernard, on the border between Switzerland and Italy, 6,773ft.
Col de Vars, last day's route, 6,924ft.
Col d'Izoard, early morning wake up, last day 7,744ft.
Col d'Isaran, a taste of things to come on penultimate day, snow all year at the summit --- 9,082ft
Col de la Bonnette, the daddy of them all! 9,387ft. Claimed to be the highest road in Europe.
The final mountain of the week, the famous Col de Turini is a mere 4,812ft, but it is downhill all the way from here to the Mediterranean!
For those who don't like heights, just remember it is not "vertigo" to the bottom!
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