highways and bridges | schwingeninswitzerland

Why were we here instead of on the highway?

While heading north towards Geneva, we got off the road and got to see the beauty of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France. It’s a good thing it was so beautiful, because our 3-4 hour drive home ended up taking over 8.

You can see why the Tour de France often rides through here. In fact, they’re headed through there this week. It’s near Gap and the infamous Mont Ventoux. The views of the dams and lakes, and mountain scenery are spectacular.

Vaison-la-Romaine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At one time, Vaison-la-Romaine (which you might remember from the post about Provence’s Ironwork Bell Towers) was the capital for the Voconce people. It is famous for its ancient Gallo-Roman ruins including a Roman bridge.

The Roman Bridge at Vaison-la-Romaine, Vaucluse department, Provence, France Français : Le Pont romain de Vaison-la-Romaine, département de Vaucluse, Provence, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The bridge is one of five remaining Roman bridges in Provence. It survived a German bomb during the World War II and the Ouvèze River’s devastating floods in 1992. Vaison has two excavated Roman districts, and an Archaeological Museum.

Stone houses in Vaison-la-Romaine, Vaucluse department, Provence, France Français : Maisons de pierre á Vaison-la-Romaine, département de Vaucluse, Provence, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We weren’t the only ones who got off the highway and started taking side roads. Since it was the edge of the alps, there weren’t many alternatives and the road was packed. Ironically, it was still less crowded and moved faster than in the south of France. We entertained ourselves by counting the number of people we saw pulled off on the side of the road answering the call of nature (over 10).

If you’re interested in a French vacation without the seemingly ever-present crowds, this is a part of France for you. If you’re a Tour de France fan, this is also a part of France for you. If you like simple bucolic beauty, it’s for you too.

I think the photo below is a viaduct on the Grenoble train line (Chemin de Fer de La Mure/the Mure railway). We saw it on the route from Orpierre (with its nice swimming hole in Les Gorges de la Méouge) to Grenoble. It can be reached easily by road from Grenoble, or by trains on the SNCF line towards Gap.

Yes. That title, although said, is true. Let me explain.

While some highways and bridges in the US need of repair, our highway system is pretty extensive. For the most part, it’s cheap or free. Switzerland got a late start building their highway system. They haven’t even finished it yet. In typical Swiss fashion, it is extraordinarily engineered and well maintained. Their infrastructure is impressive; our visitors are always amazed by the tunnels. Some of it is also rigged to blow. Foreigners who drive through Switzerland complain about having to pay for vignettes, stickers that allow the vehicle to travel on Swiss highways. You purchase them at the border (or at the post office) for 40 CHF and they are good all year.

Not surprisingly, they do things a bit differently in France. Here are some of the main differences:

Highways in France require paying tolls. Lots of them. I can’t remember exactly how much we spent in tolls heading from Geneva to the south of France and back, but it was well over 100 Euro and probably more like 200 Euro. It was too painful to tabulate and made Switzerland’s 40 CHF vignette look like a bargain.

Highways in France are privatized. Therefore, if your car happened to break down on one, your auto service cannot come get you. Only certain specified highway-approved tow trucks are allowed to come get your car. I learned this little tidbit of information the hard way. In case you were wondering, you must always pay the toll when exiting the highway… even when your car exits on the back of a truck.

Rest areas in France are a little different than in North Carolina. They serve real food… and wine. I was busy worrying about my car and chatting with the police, the tow truck driver, etc., so I didn’t partake (not that I had to worry about driving in the near future). It looked pretty tasty.

Description unavailable (Photo credit: Alain Bachellier)

On some highways in France, they have wildlife overpasses (also known as wildlife crossings) for animals to cross the highway. A practice in habitat conservation, it connects habitats, countering fragmentation. They also help prevent animals from entering onto the highway, avoiding the resulting accidents. Below is a photo of one of them. Sorry I couldn’t take one, but I was busy driving. It’s handy to avoid the scene above…or worse.