South of France

[whisky]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of riding down to Cannes and Monte Carlo in about a month and wondered if anyone knew of a nice route to get down there and how long it might take me, good places to take a break etc.

Never done a trip before, so any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm no GP rider in the making, but like to make progress whilst enjoying the surroundings...

[Doctor46]

I've driven down to Italy a few times and whlist most of it was on the peage I can recommend the route between Bourg-en-Bresse and Annecy (D979).

Annecy is a nice town, on a lake. It's got 2 Ibis (reasonable price and clean, cheaper than in the UK). I used the one on the outskirts of town a few times now.

From Annecy head South to Albertville (N212) then to St Jean de Maurienne (either A43 or if you fancy it via the D94 across the Col de la Madeleine). Then A43 to St Michel de Maurienne and turn onto the D902 (takes you across the Col du Telegraphe and Col du Galibier).

N91 to Briancon and N94 towards gap. At Chorges turn left onto the D3 across to the D900 turn right to Tallard then get on th N85 past chateau-Arnoux-St Auban and on to Digne les Bains. Stay on the N85 it now becomes the Route Napoleon and takes you all the way to Cannes.

The Route Napoleon is famous as a must ride route. Not got there yet myself, but plan to soon.

The route I described involves a lot of mountain passes, so I don't know if it will be too slow for you. But take it at your own pace, it's a lot of fun and the scenery is outstanding. Can't really give you a time, but there are enought towns en-route and finding a B&B isn't too difficult, even if you stick to Ibis.

These are my own ideas, you might not fancy them, but it's just a suggestion. As for the first bit to Bourg-en-Bresse, Route Nationals are all quite good and you can make reasonable progress on a bike.

Happy riding