What is it?
The Route Napoléon is the most
iconic biking road in Europe. From
its Grenoble origins, south-east of
Lyon, the N85 flows for a couple
of hundred miles over mountains,
dribbling through sleepy Alpine
villages, surging round hairpins and
pouring along sweepers down into
Provence. For decades the N85 and
its tributary roads served as a
default route — a rite of passage —
for thousands of Brit, Dutch, German
and Belgian riders heading to the Bol
d’Or 24hr endurance race at Paul
Ricard (I was one, in the early 1990s).
The N85 is a natural jumping-off
point; the seriously fun bit after a day’s
THE FACTS
straight-line Autoroute slog across the
featureless plains of northern France.
The Route Napoléon is also where la
France shifts from low-lying fields and
temperate, broad-leaved woodlands to
chilly pine forests and snow-cappedAlpine mountains and then, eventually,
to the dry heat of a Mediterranean
climate hanging over vast limestone
canyons and scrubby rocks — all within
one, long, fabulous 200-mile ride. It
might not have the peach-smoothDistance from Calais 540 miles to Grenoble in the most direct way
Time to get there Ten hours from the ferry if you don’t muck about
Make sure you visit The Gorges du Verdon is an absolute must — 15 miles long, half
a mile deep, it’s Europe’s Grand Canyon. The deep blue of the Lac de Sainte-Croix at
the centre of it all is spectacular.
Stop over at No shortage of small B&Bs, biker-friendly hotels and even cheap chain hotels with secure
car parks. Prices on the Côte d’Azur can get a bit salty, so stay inland. Try somewhere like the La
Bastide des Selves (la-bastide-des-selves.com) — you’ll find cheaper, but you might not find better.JULY 2019 | 43
SPORTS
TOURING
SPECIAL
Running from Grenoble to the Côte
d'Azur, the Route Napoléon is a
stunning biking route