Location, Links and Other Information

english french 

Chalet Papillon is located at an altitude of 1,000 metres in La Baume, a traditional mountain hamlet one hour’s drive from Geneva Airport and 20 minutes from Morzine.

Holiday-Rentals.co.uk – property 56196

Chalet Location: Chalet Marker

You can also view Chalet Papillon in Google Earth- download this file, and open with Google Earth

How to reach Chalet Papillon

Flying

Geneva airport is just over an hour away from the Chalet, with no swiss motorway driving, and a fairly simple and scenic drive along the lake and turning up into the mountains at Thonon-Les-Bains. There are the usual car hire facilities at Geneva from e-sixt, Avis, Hertz and easycar to name but a few.

Geneva is a particularly well connected international airport, with daily short and long haul flights to and from many destinations. From the UK one can get flights to Geneva from British Airways, Swiss, Easyjet and BMi, flying from all of the London airports except Stansted.

Geneva airport is the other side of Geneva so the actual transit time will depend upon the time of arrival. Geneva, like all cities, has rush hour traffic jams which are best avoided. Cars may be hired from all the well known hire companies direct from the airport. It is often cheaper to advance book from the UK to take advantage of advance booking discounts. Snow chains and racks should be booked in advance and some offer car seats for children. We have succesfully used Holiday Autos on numerous occassions.

Please note that you can hire cars from both the French and Swiss side of the airport – we tend to do the Swiss side as it easier to get in and out. Sometimes the French cars do not have the ‘vignette’ allowing free travel on Swiss autoroutes.

Driving

Our usual route is via ferry from Dover to Calais with an approximate crossing time of one and a half hours (or try the tunnel). French time is usually one hour ahead of British time. From Calais allow about 10 – 12 hours driving time if using the Autoroutes with short but frequent stops. Total distance is about 575 miles from Calais. We suggest that you avoid Paris by using the following route:-

Autoroute A26 to Reims. Pass through Reims on the ring road and follow signs for the new autoroute signposted Chalon Sur Marne joining this just after Reims. The remainder of this journey is all autoroute to Geneva passing near to Dijon. At Dijon head off east on the A39 towards Dole and follow this new autoroute down to Bourg en Bresse where you will meet the A40 Autoroute to Geneva. This new autoroute avoids the main Paris-Lyon section which can become very busy at times.

This route is slightly longer than going through Paris but is less busy, particularly if you are likely to be passing through Paris during busy periods.

You have to pay to use the autoroute with a typical one way cost of about £45 for a car. Speed limit is 130km/hr (80mph) on autoroutes when dry and 110km/hr (68mph) when wet. Speed traps are employed (Especially on the return leg approaching Calais where they are keen to relieve returning visitors of any unused euros!)

All autoroutes have rest areas about every 10 to 15 miles with toilets and picnic benches. Fuel stops and Restaurants are also frequent at about 30 – 40 mile intervals. Petrol is more expensive than in the UK but Diesel is less.

Whichever route you choose you will presumably arrive on the autoroute A40 which delivers you to the outskirts of Geneva. You can choose to transit through Geneva (thus Switzerland) following signs for Evian. However at the Swiss customs you may be asked to purchase a vignette (£25 – ish) which allows you to travel on the Swiss autoroutes – OK if you plan to travel in Switzerland but a bit expensive for the 5 miles or so into Geneva! Alternatively take the next exit off the autoroute after Geneva Centre, signposted Annemasse. Bear right after leaving the autoroute, keep right as you go over the bridge and then left at the traffic lights (past a Casino and up the hill). Keep straight on through Annemasse and follow signs to Thonon – there is a short cut if you go through the small town of Bons from which the road leads directly to Thonon.

Once you reach Thonon take the road signposted to Morzine near to the main railway crossing. Follow the route up the gorge and into the mountains. When you reach the village of Le Jotty pass through and travel for a few kilometres until you see a right hand signposted La Baume. The chalet is about 1 mile from the main road – the road is kept reasonably clear but you must carry, and be able to use, snow chains as these may be needed in some conditions.

Please also try the ‘Chez Nous’ travel service- contact us for more details.

Activities and Tourism Information

Local Amenities and Entertainment

All guests who stay at the Chalet receive a local tourist discount card which saves you money on activities and attractions. Click here to find out the discounts you can get.

External Links

Tourism

http://www.valleedaulps.com

Tourist Offices

Activities

Mountain Biking

Skiing