How to go Ronchamp (France) from Turino (Italy)?

[felicia_leong@hotmail.com]

Hi,

I am planning a trip to Italy in Dec'05. From then on I plan to go down to this place in France called RonChamp for sightseeing. Please advice on how to get from Turino or Turin, in Italy to Ronchomp which is north west of belfort that's located west of mulhouse on the eastern border of France. I would like to get to Notre Dame du Haut, the famous chapel.

I have not decided on the mode of transport from Turin. Would appreciate if you could kindly advice on the best mode of transportation as well. Thanks !!

[ongmont]

This part of the board is not a good place for your post - maybe the powers that be can move it, to the French or Italian or to the Rail Trips boards?

Anyhow, the correct name is Ronchamp, it's tucked away in the Franche-Comté region (Département Haute-Saone) near the Swiss border.

You can drive, of course, www.viamichelin.com will spell it out for you in great detail, with maps, too. You may have trouble getting through the alps in December, so check with the Autoclub in Torino www.acitorino.it and keep an eye on the news. The stretch around Aosta can be vulnerable to weather.

And you'll need a car that has the Swiss highway tax sticker ("vignette") on the windshield, or you have to buy one (4o CHF or 27.5 Euros) as you enter Switzerland.

If all is well, this route should take you about six hours (or more depending on breaks etc.).

By train it's even longer, because Ronchamp is tucked away out in the countryside. The quickest connection I can find takes 8:28 hrs and requires five transfers!

Check www.sbb.ch, www.trenitalia.com and www.voyages-sncf.com.

My best suggestion: Take the fastest trains (via Milano) to Basel in Switzerland. There is one that leaves Torino after breakfast at 09:15, you change in Milano and in Arth-Goldau (near Luzern, a very tight schedule, off one train and onto the other) and the total takes only 6:36 hours. Others require only one transfer but take a lot longer.

From Basel, many coach operators have tours that visit Ronchamp, and even renting your own car would make sense from Basel, the drive is only just over an hour (about 65 miles).

By train from Basel (from the French side of the train station) some fairly quick trains go to Belfort where you change to the slow regional train for Ronchamp. Unfortunately, this quick connection only happens at 06:06 (arr 08:17), at 12:01 (arr 14:06), and at 16:47 (arr 19:08).

The other connections are much slower and involve more transfers from slow train to slow train. For example: 08:13 (transfer at Mulhouse-Ville, Montbéliard, Belfort) arr. 12:43.

Hope this helps

O.

[felicia_leong@hotmail.com]

Yo O,

Thanks for the detailed instruction . Sincerely appreciate it !! Thanks again !!