Route Napoléon

[canam-phil]

Hi, planning to do the route later in the year in what may be a quieter period. Is it better going north or south in terms of the views? Any recommendations of eateries or overnight accommodation on the route?
Will be stopping in Beaune at some point on the journey.

Thanks

[trackdemon]

canam-phil said:

Hi, planning to do the route later in the year in what may be a quieter period. Is it better going north or south in terms of the views? Any recommendations of eateries or overnight accommodation on the route?
Will be stopping in Beaune at some point on the journey.

Thanks

Southern section is best. Castellane a lovely stop over. I stayed in Beaune last time we went, that's an excellent choice. If you don't fancy doing the whole drive in one go, I can heartily recommend this place to break up the trip https://www.maisoncremeanglaise.com/ and make sure to do the D996 (roughly between Troyes & Dijon) on the way down. If you're down there anyway (the best section is from around Castellane to Grasse) then you simply must do the D2 - fabulous bit of road that adjoins the N85. Bit jealous, want to do it myself again soon!

[canam-phil]

trackdemon said:

Southern section is best. Castellane a lovely stop over. I stayed in Beaune last time we went, that's an excellent choice. If you don't fancy doing the whole drive in one go, I can heartily recommend this place to break up the trip https://www.maisoncremeanglaise.com/ and make sure to do the D996 (roughly between Troyes & Dijon) on the way down. If you're down there anyway (the best section is from around Castellane to Grasse) then you simply must do the D2 - fabulous bit of road that adjoins the N85. Bit jealous, want to do it myself again soon!

Beaune for us on the way down. We always enjoy Beaune centre and have a hotel with private parking booked. Thanks for confirming that detail about Castellane to Grasse, I had that in mind. The gite suggestion looks good. Will definitely use it this year but not on this trip. The D996 is not a road I've used before but will do this time for a change. Usually gone down on the D971 past Dijon Prenois circuit (but no real access these days), just for old times sake, as indeed, a run by the old pits at Reims circuit (picnic stopping the field behind) when down that way. I had an idea to use a stop at Castellane on the way down so that we would be fresh for the Napoleon the following day. Not identified any stopover yet though. Staying at Eze for a few days as well. Roll on September.

[trunnie]

For somewhere to stay, try La Gabetière, in Estrablin, South of Lyon, a privately owned small country house hotel, with secure private parking. You get the feeling that you're staying in your eccentric rich aunt's country house. Not as expensive as you'd think; they don't do evening meals, but will give you cutlery if you want to dine in their garden and an honesty box fridge stocked with beers and wine. Great breakfasts with locally produce. Only a little off route, so, as I'd stayed there before, I stopped there again on the way to the Route Napoleon.

Oh and think about the Route de Grande Alpes if you're looking for an amazing drive to fill up your holiday.

[canam-phil]

trunnie said:

For somewhere to stay, try La Gabetière, in Estrablin, South of Lyon, a privately owned small country house hotel, with secure private parking. You get the feeling that you're staying in your eccentric rich aunt's country house. Not as expensive as you'd think; they don't do evening meals, but will give you cutlery if you want to dine in their garden and an honesty box fridge stocked with beers and wine. Great breakfasts with locally produce. Only a little off route, so, as I'd stayed there before, I stopped there again on the way to the Route Napoleon.

Oh and think about the Route de Grande Alpes if you're looking for an amazing drive to fill up your holiday.

That sound a good shout for accommodation . I do try to avoid the route around Lyon and will look how this fits in. As to the Grand Alps, will do on another trip but what’s the situation re cyclists and bikers? Is it busy? Planning mid June for one trip and September for another one. We have one in France in July but that’s in the Dordogne.

[trackdemon]

Lyon reminds of another hotel recommendation... I'm a sucker for a view, so.....

https://www.lermitage-hotel.com/fr/

Outdoor heated pool with awesome vistas. Not expensive. Good food, safe parking.

[trunnie]

I did the Grande Alpes in late September when it was mostly cyclist free. There were more bikers than cyclists, but that wasn't an issue for me.

[Moonpie21]

If driving down from the UK this is at the start of the N85 and a lovely place to stay:

https://www.commanderie.fr/en/hotel-spa-grenoble

[canam-phil]

Moonpie21 said:

If driving down from the UK this is at the start of the N85 and a lovely place to stay:

https://www.commanderie.fr/en/hotel-spa-grenoble

That looks interesting, I hadn't considered stopping near a city, if I can call Grenoble that. Generally look at small towns and villages. But this one will be worth a go on the next trip down that way. Thx.

A follow on point though, I find French road numbering so difficult so is there a way of using a satnav in such a way as to enable a numbered road to be located and used even in a 'via' way? I'm a novice with satnav and much prefer good old maps.

[canam-phil]

trackdemon said:

canam-phil said:

Hi, planning to do the route later in the year in what may be a quieter period. Is it better going north or south in terms of the views? Any recommendations of eateries or overnight accommodation on the route?
Will be stopping in Beaune at some point on the journey.

Thanks

Southern section is best. Castellane a lovely stop over. I stayed in Beaune last time we went, that's an excellent choice. If you don't fancy doing the whole drive in one go, I can heartily recommend this place to break up the trip https://www.maisoncremeanglaise.com/ and make sure to do the D996 (roughly between Troyes & Dijon) on the way down. If you're down there anyway (the best section is from around Castellane to Grasse) then you simply must do the D2 - fabulous bit of road that adjoins the N85. Bit jealous, want to do it myself again soon!

Your suggestion -D996 and Route Napoleon

Just got back from a cracking run through France in the Z4 and thought I'd share some notes on a couple of the more interesting roads we tackled.

I just got back from a fantastic trip through France and wanted to share some notes.

D996 - I had quite a difficult time trying to follow this route on the way down, as several sections were closed with diversions that weren't particularly well signposted. I gave it another go on the return journey, and what a difference! This time, it was clear sailing, although they had been busy with the surface dressing crew—there was a lot of fresh tar and chips laid down. This meant we couldn't really enjoy the road to its fullest, but you could tell that underneath, it's an absolutely fantastic stretch. There are brilliant sweeping sections with virtually no traffic. I’ll definitely file it away for a return visit once the surface has settled.

Route Napoleon - This was a great day out, with stops in Castellane and Digne-les-Bains. The scenery was truly Alpine, with some lovely flowing sections. However, we faced a harsh reality check when we encountered a serious road traffic collision about a dozen cars ahead of us—the road was completely blocked until the air ambulance crew could assist the casualties. It drives home how quickly things can go wrong, even on quieter roads.

That said, I discovered some amazing roads later in the trip that I won’t name here. Mid-June seemed like the perfect time to travel—there was hardly any traffic on the back roads, and the surface quality was generally excellent. We covered over 2000 miles in total and barely encountered a pothole worth mentioning.

It makes you appreciate just how well the French maintain their roads compared to what we deal with back home!

My recommendation is Get a Tag for the autoroute tolls. Easy because the passenger in a low car finds it difficult to reach the panel and saves time and can save money. Also works on some car parking!

[cseven]

I'm staying in Castellane next week and was planning on going via d996. Based on your recent experience would you avoid this atm? I hate surface dressing, last year did bloody miles at 20 mph through the jura ....sounded awful!

[trackdemon]

canam-phil said:

trackdemon said:

canam-phil said:

Hi, planning to do the route later in the year in what may be a quieter period. Is it better going north or south in terms of the views? Any recommendations of eateries or overnight accommodation on the route?
Will be stopping in Beaune at some point on the journey.

Thanks

Southern section is best. Castellane a lovely stop over. I stayed in Beaune last time we went, that's an excellent choice. If you don't fancy doing the whole drive in one go, I can heartily recommend this place to break up the trip https://www.maisoncremeanglaise.com/ and make sure to do the D996 (roughly between Troyes & Dijon) on the way down. If you're down there anyway (the best section is from around Castellane to Grasse) then you simply must do the D2 - fabulous bit of road that adjoins the N85. Bit jealous, want to do it myself again soon!

Your suggestion -D996 and Route Napoleon

Just got back from a cracking run through France in the Z4 and thought I'd share some notes on a couple of the more interesting roads we tackled.

I just got back from a fantastic trip through France and wanted to share some notes.

D996 - I had quite a difficult time trying to follow this route on the way down, as several sections were closed with diversions that weren't particularly well signposted. I gave it another go on the return journey, and what a difference! This time, it was clear sailing, although they had been busy with the surface dressing crew there was a lot of fresh tar and chips laid down. This meant we couldn't really enjoy the road to its fullest, but you could tell that underneath, it's an absolutely fantastic stretch. There are brilliant sweeping sections with virtually no traffic. I ll definitely file it away for a return visit once the surface has settled.

Route Napoleon - This was a great day out, with stops in Castellane and Digne-les-Bains. The scenery was truly Alpine, with some lovely flowing sections. However, we faced a harsh reality check when we encountered a serious road traffic collision about a dozen cars ahead of us the road was completely blocked until the air ambulance crew could assist the casualties. It drives home how quickly things can go wrong, even on quieter roads.

That said, I discovered some amazing roads later in the trip that I won t name here. Mid-June seemed like the perfect time to travel there was hardly any traffic on the back roads, and the surface quality was generally excellent. We covered over 2000 miles in total and barely encountered a pothole worth mentioning.

It makes you appreciate just how well the French maintain their roads compared to what we deal with back home!

My recommendation is Get a Tag for the autoroute tolls. Easy because the passenger in a low car finds it difficult to reach the panel and saves time and can save money. Also works on some car parking!

Glad to hear you enjoyed the roads! Shame there was roadworks on the 996, but sounds like your run back was great. Tbf it was always a bit choppy in places so a resurface not a bad idea.... I can only guess what the 'other' roads were, why not mention here though, I doubt they'll be inundated? D2 & D5 are southern highlights for me. Castellane is lovely isn't it, and just the perfect amount distance to split a lovely run up/down the N85

[canam-phil]

Update on the roads

Right, as promised, thought I'd add a few more gems we discovered on this trip.

Sault to Carpentras - Absolute peach of a road this one. Lovely sweeping curves with a surface that's smooth as silk. Perfect for maintaining momentum through the bends and some cracking scenery to boot.

Around Privas - Hit the D213 from Montélimar then picked up the D7 into Privas itself. Both roads were virtually empty and the tarmac quality was spot on. Really enjoyed threading through this area - good mix of technical sections and flowing stretches with some proper Alpine backdrop.

Beaune to D996 via Châteauneuf-en-Auxois - Made a detour on our final day to check out Châteauneuf-en-Auxois. Been watching this little village come back to life over the past few years as they've been restoring the castle - well worth the stop. From there you can pick up some brilliant roads heading towards the D996, either through St-Seine-l'Abbaye or via the D7 (different D7 from the Privas one - France loves recycling road numbers!).

D996 surface update - You're right about the fresh (French) dressing - it'll bed in fairly quickly, but worth keeping an eye out for loose chippings being kicked up by other traffic for the next few months. Always the risk of a stone chip to the windscreen when they've been heavy-handed with the surface work.

Definitely going back to explore more of these quiet departmental roads. The French really know how to lay tarmac!

Michelin maps showing the roads with green outline are a godsend. I never use satnav for finding these roads.

Should have mentioned earlier - if you're in the Beaune area, definitely worth a detour to Chateau de Savigny-lès-Beaune. Bit of an oddball this one - they've got a proper eclectic collection with aircraft, Arbarth racecars, motorbikes and even viticulture machinery all housed in the château grounds. Not your typical wine estate visit! Perfect for petrolheads who fancy something a bit different from the usual vineyard tour.

Makes a good pit stop if you're doing the roads around that area.

Edited by canam-phil on Wednesday 18th June 17:10

Edited by canam-phil on Wednesday 18th June 17:12