Driving in Resort
You’ll probably find that once you’re in resort you may not need to use your car very much as most ski resorts have excellent public transportation links that you can use for free with your lift pass. Make sure you park in legal parking spaces. Traffic wardens or “Police Municipal” are regularly seen patrolling the streets on the look out for illegally parked vehicles. Parking in ski resorts can be very problematic especially during high season, so it is always worth reserving a parking space in advance wherever possible to ensure you have a suitable spot to leave your car. Foreign plates do not give you diplomatic immunity from parking fines so if you do leave your car in an inappropriate spot then you should expect to be ticketed or even towed away and impounded.
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Parking fines vary from €11 to €135, with €35 being then norm. If you receive a fine through the post you have 3 options: throw it away (although the French authorities are cracking down on non-payment of penalties by foreign drivers), pay it, or contest it. If you decide to pay it then the sooner the better as the fine is lowered if paid within 15 days. You can do so either by buying a “timbre amende” from a tabac or tax office, attach it to the ticket and send it off; or by credit card on this website. Should you choose to contest it, then you need to complete the form attached to the fine and send it off to the Police Municipal.
Always pay attention to signs placed around parking areas in resort that may indicate a market or snow clearing taking place the following day. When there is snow to clear, ploughs show very little respect for things in their way and on more than one occasion have been known to scrape up the sides of errant vehicles causing significant damage. If you don’t move your car it will be towed and left elsewhere in resort (generally on the outskirts of town) but it may take you some time to find it!
The rules on drink and drug driving are as strict in France as they are in the UK and random testing for both is common. If the level of alcohol in the bloodstream exceeds 0.05% then severe penalties including fines, imprisonment and/or loss of licence will ensue. The police also use saliva drug tests to detect people under the influence of drugs whilst behind the wheel.
If you have passengers in your car then the wearing of seat belts is compulsory for both front and back seat passengers. Children under the age of 10 are not permitted to travel in the front seat unless there are no rear seats, they are already occupied by other under 10’s or they don’t have seat belts fitted. In this case, they must be strapped into an approved child seat or restraint, appropriate for their size. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that all passengers are appropriately restrained.
Pretty much all petrol stations sell both unleaded (95 and 98 “sans plomb” octane) and diesel (gazole) fuel but you are unlikely to be able to find leaded petrol. If your car runs on leaded then look for “supercarburant”, a lead replacement petrol. Credit cards are accepted in most filling stations but may not be on the automatic 24hr pumps.
On roads in built up areas you generally give way to traffic coming from the right – “priorité a droite” and when approaching roundabouts, if you see a sign saying “Vous n’avez pas la priorité” or “Cedez le passage”, traffic on the roundabout has priority. It is also forbidden to use your horn in residential areas unless in immediate danger.
All vehicles must be insured with a minimum of 3rd party insurance and although you no longer need to carry a green card when driving within the EU, you should always tell your insurer that you are going abroad to ensure that you have sufficient cover. It is also worth making sure that you have some sort of European breakdown cover in the event of mechanical problems en route.
Obviously the environmentally friendly choice is to make use of the local transport wherever possible but if you do need to drive then here are a few pointers to bear in mind when driving around resort and tips for driving on snow and ice.
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Winter Driving Conditions
If you’re taking your car to a ski resort then it’s inevitable that you’ll end up driving on snow at some point. Local municipalities are generally very good at keeping the roads clear and you’ll hear the snow ploughs out long before dawn, ensuring that the roads are snow free for people to get about resort. However, driving on snowy, icy roads is a hazardous affair and requires extra care and attention. Here are some things to consider:
- Fit snow tyres – if you’re going to be spending some time in the mountains then consider fitting snow tyres to your vehicle. They have a deeper tread than normal tyres and hundreds of tiny slits that grip the snow as the wheel turns. They considerably improve the handling and performance of your car in snowy conditions.
- Snow chains – it is a legal requirement in France to carry snow chains in your vehicle and police will refuse you access to certain roads if your car is not appropriately equipped. Practice fitting them before you actually need them as you can guarantee that when you do, it will be at night, in a blizzard and in the middle of nowhere!! Keep a pair of old gloves with them as your hands will get very cold, very quickly.
- Keep topped up with fuel - unexpected road closures due to snow or avalanches can result in lengthy diversions. You don’t want to end up stranded at the side of the road.
- Slow down! - the first thing you should do on encountering snow on the road is reduce your speed. By keeping you speed low and using your gears to slow down you can hopefully avoid having to brake sharply and cause your car to skid.
- Use high gears - try to drive in as high a gear as possible to avoid wheel spin. The same principle applies when pulling away from a standstill – try to do so in second gear, accelerating gently.
- Keep moving - when driving up an incline on snow, do everything you possible can to keep moving forward. Hill starting on a snowy road is difficult and may result in you slithering into other vehicles around you. Always try to keep your momentum going, however slowly, so that you don’t lose traction
You can find many more handy tips for driving in snow on the Drivers Domain UK website
Car Parking in Chamonix
Parking in the centre of town can be notoriously difficult, particularly Chamonix Sud, but remember when the weather is bad, the going can be treacherous and you will need snow-tyres and/or chains.
There are 3800 car parking spaces in Chamonix, but the ease of parking varies considerably during low and high season. There are a number of free outdoor car parks available in resort (click here for town map), namely Les Planards (H20), L'Allée Recteur (E18), Rue Helbronner (G19), Route du Bouchet (by running track) (F21),Route des Pelerins. Remember that in these car parks you may need to move your car after a snowfall to allow snow-clearing operations. Some of the outdoor car parks are closed on Saturday mornings (Place Poilu, map ref: F20) to facilitate the local market stalls. Cars parked in these areas will be towed away by the local authorities. Parking is generally free on the streets except in the centre of town where there are meters (and police municipal!) operating.
Chamonix has three covered car parks offering approximately 720 covered car parking places:
- Parking Saint-Michel (Map) - 611 Allée du Recteur Payot – 330 places. Gives convenient access to the town centre, Tourist Office, Espace Tiarraz, ski school meeting place and the Maison de la Montagne.
- Parking Place du Mont Blanc (Map) – Ave du Mont Blanc – 238 places. Convenient for the sports centre, ice rink, town centre and the Saturday market.
- Parking Entreves (Map) – Chamonix Sud - 150 places. Use for Chamonix Sud, bowling alley, bus station.
There are 2 price bands for these car parks:
8am – 8pm first hour free, 1.25hrs €1, 1.5hrs €1.50, 2hrs €1.50, 3hrs €3.50, 12 hrs €8.
8pm – 8am first hour free, 2hrs €0.50, 4hrs €1, 12 hrs €1.50
A weeks parking pass, valid at all 3 of these car parks costs €50 (€40 in Entreves) (discounted rate with carte d’hote €35 (€30)). Passes are also available for 1 month (€80), 6 months (€300) and a 6 month night pass (7pm - 9am) for €60.
There is an open air pay car park in the centre of town – L’Outa (Map ref: E19) – 62 places - which is convenient for nipping to the post office, the cinema, tourist office etc and is free for the first 30 minutes. After that, rates are as follows:
8am – 8pm 1 hr €1, 1.5 hrs €1.50, 2 hrs €2, 3 hrs €4.50, 12 hrs €12.50.
8pm – 8am 2 hrs €0.50, 4 hrs €1, 12 hrs €1.50.
For the Aiguille du Midi the best place to park is the Grépon open air car park (700 places). Parking is free here for the first 30 minutes and then: 1 hr €0.50, 2hrs €1, 3 hrs €1.50 and then €0.50 for each additional hour. You can park for 10-15hrs for €5 and 16-24hrs costs €10. Camper vans are no longer allowed to overnight in this car park. If you are travelling here with a camper van you can park up (short term) in some of the free outdoor car parks mentioned at the top. There is also a beautiful spot by Lac des Gaillands but it is not possible to hook up in any of these places. For full access to power and washing facilities, it is best to book into one of the many camp sites in the valley.
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