Driving to France/Italy This Winter

Talking about tolls A couple of years ago I went to France then on to Italy and back through Austria and Germany on my own ..I used www.tolltickets.com and got a Telepass for Italy ..it was very easy ..In France I managed to avoid the tolls..

When i went to Italy (via france and Switzerland in June I went down with someone but came back on my own and didnt find it too difficult to use the tolls ..i used my card mainly and found that you dont have to use a pin ..it just debits it ..but I did find that (in Italy ) you have to drive all the way to the barrier or else the machine wont accept your card ...

Some good advice above. Winter tyres, prepping the car for -20c (screen wash etc.) motorway toll beeper, thermos, picnic and blankets. Plan your route with Maps, don't follow the sat-nav blindly. I had two families stuck overnight at the top of a closed, snow-bound Lautaret pass a few years back because they followed the Satnav and not the directions given. Some people drive 16 hours right through., but we stop-off overnight en-route, it's safer, we tend to stay around Troyes as well. We also download an audiobook to keep us sane. It doesn't distract whilst driving because it uses a different part of the brain.

On winter tyres: I just change the 4 tyres twice a year, not the whole wheel. Use them all winter in the UK.
Diesel cars: If you have a diesel, make sure you fill up with Polar Diesel at the bottom of the mountain before heading up to resort. Diesel waxes at low temperatures and the car won't start. You can also buy an additive in the same petrol stations. If it look like it's going to get really cold (colder than -15c), get the car into a garage. If not, park on the sunny side of the hill.
Get some decent jump leads.

Volf wrote:
Diesel cars: If you have a diesel, make sure you fill up with Polar Diesel at the bottom of the mountain before heading up to resort. Diesel waxes at low temperatures and the car won't start. You can also buy an additive in the same petrol stations. If it look like it's going to get really cold (colder than -15c), get the car into a garage. If not, park on the sunny side of the hill.
Get some decent jump leads.

Second this. We took our car over to Norway in 2010. It was -25 and below some nights. Our car (petrol) would start each morning but people staying in the next door apartment had serious problems with their diesel car.