The Alps in an Aston
A tour of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps in an Aston Martin. Very James Bond-ish. From Dr. No, Goldfinger, and Thunderball with Sean Connery in a DB5 to Casino Royale, Spectre, and No Time to Die with Daniel Craig, there is no shortage of Aston’s in which to imagine traversing the magnificent Alps. We got to do just that over 7 glorious days beginning in Montreux at the eastern edge of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, to the ultra-luxurious Grand Hotel du Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera. Situated on a high bluff looking out over the Mediterranean, rooms at this chic hotel normally start at $3,000-a-night. Thank goodness we didn’t have to pay that! Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat is just east of Nice, west of Monaco and even more exclusive. But that is where the story ends; I’ll endeavor not get ahead of myself.
We arrive in Montreux via a beautiful train ride along the northern shore of Lake Geneva all the way from Geneva itself. We are the only Americans among the 20 couples on this tour. An Aston Martin DBS waits at the Le Montreux Palace Hotel for our arrival. The hotel’s a relative bargain at only $1,100-a-night, but we really have no idea how select these hotels are because we paid a discounted package rate through the Aston Martin-sponsored life experiences group. This makes owning an Aston worth the price of admission!
A social hour and dinner welcome us and our fellow guests the night before we are to begin. Although I’m not surprised, I’m always impressed with how many languages Europeans can speak; three seems to be pretty normal and, thankfully, English is usually one of them. So, everyone in our group can speak English even though they are from such places as Finland, France, Poland, Belgium, Germany, and Austria. Cocktails and dinner turn into a great way to mingle and introduce ourselves. Aston owners somehow always seem affable and easy-going. We have already spent the gorgeous sunny fall day touring Montreux and the beautiful boardwalk bordering the lake. On the opposite shore lies France and a stop for tea on our first leg of tomorrow’s drive.
Breakfast from the Montreux Palace dining room overlooks the lake. It’s a beautiful morning, calm and sunny with fluffy clouds. After breakfast we stage the cars across the street on the lawn fronting the lake and next to the famous Montreux Jazz Festival concert hall. From Montreux we wind around Lake Geneva to the French side, and after tea by the lake veer off into the mountains. Lunch is at a wonderful village chalet called La Chamade for traditional, hardy Savoyarde-style fare. Then it’s on to Chamonix for a stroll and a break from driving those incredible curving, twisting two lane roads.
From Chamonix, it was over the Col and back into Switzerland to finish a beautiful, winding drive into Gstaad. If you like twisty back-road driving on impeccably maintained roads, Switzerland is for you. From a driving perspective, there’s only one problem with Europe – their speed limits are strictly enforced and if you’re caught at 25km/h over the speed limit, you might never get your car back. In fact, they could go so far as to send it to the crusher! So we are watchful and prudent – we pick our spots to put the hammer down and keep our drive lively but less than spirited (if you know what I mean).
After driving from Chamonix through the 7.2 mile Mont Blanc tunnel into Courmayeur, Italy we turn north over more cols (mountain pass summits) and head through yet more amazing scenery on our way to spend the night in Gstaad, Switzerland. The Mont Blanc Tunnel is strictly regulated. Your speed is constantly monitored at 35 mph and you must maintain spacing between you and the car in front that is dictated by a series of lights – the car in front must pass its spacing light before you pass yours. If, at the end of the tunnel you have averaged over 35 mph, or if you have followed too closely, you get a ticket. Period. All this was part of changes in tunnel safety after a terrible 1999 accident and fire resulted in the deaths of 39 people in the tunnel.
The drive to Gstaad is wonderful. This trip usually utilizes two lane back roads, so we avoid the main thoroughfares, get to see more of the countryside and exercise those wonderful Astons through curvier roads. It takes longer to get to wherever you’re going of course, but that’s really the point; take your time and enjoy the ride!
We stay an extra day in Gstaad, giving us a chance to do some shopping and take a day drive to Grindelwald, home of the famous Eiger and Jungfraujoch. It’s a beautiful valley bordered by high peaks and and famous ski areas like Wengen that blend down the hillsides into town.
Because clouds obscure the famous Jungfraujoch, we choose to pass on the famous train that takes you from 6,762 feet through the 5.6 mile Jungfrau mountain tunnel to the saddle summit of the Jungfraujoch at 11,332 feet. With a restaurant and its location between the 13,000+ peaks of the Eiger and Monch, it’s spectacular. But it’s not much if you can’t see anything, so we regretfully choose to take the cable car up the Eiger to have lunch on the cafe deck that hangs precariously off the Eiger’s lower face.
On day 3, from Gstaad we move south through Switzerland into Italy and France. Stay tuned for our next installment as we continue a sports car drive of a lifetime across the Alps with a group of Aston Martins.
