Route Napoleon in July - Worth it?

[blueST]

I may have the chance to drive the Route Napolean on either the 7th or the 14th of July, on our way to or from Menton. Both are Saturdays in high summer, is there any point or is it going to be a frustrating congestion fest?

[dom180]

Yes. (Although from Menton a neat route would be the col de Castillon, col de Braus West then double back East so you drive it all, (possibly the Turini if time allowed), col de Brouis then head home via the col de Tende to Briacon via the col de Larche and col de Vars.

[blueST]

dom180 said:

Yes. (Although from Menton a neat route would be the col de Castillon, col de Braus West then double back East so you drive it all, (possibly the Turini if time allowed), col de Brouis then head home via the col de Tende to Briacon via the col de Larche and col de Vars.

Thanks. Is there any sort of resource for identifying the various Cols? Google maps seems to struggle.

We're not on a driving holiday as such so I'm trying to surreptitiously take in some good roads when moving from one place to the next. We'll be travelling Grenoble - Menton - Burgundy. I thought the Grenoble - Menton leg had the best potential for some sly hoonery.

[Longers]

http://www.alpineroads.com/nice.php or http://www.viamichelin.co.uk

[rsv gone!]

Just get an early start, to avoid traffic.

[dom180]

blueST said:

dom180 said:

Yes. (Although from Menton a neat route would be the col de Castillon, col de Braus West then double back East so you drive it all, (possibly the Turini if time allowed), col de Brouis then head home via the col de Tende to Briacon via the col de Larche and col de Vars.

Thanks. Is there any sort of resource for identifying the various Cols? Google maps seems to struggle.

We're not on a driving holiday as such so I'm trying to surreptitiously take in some good roads when moving from one place to the next. We'll be travelling Grenoble - Menton - Burgundy. I thought the Grenoble - Menton leg had the best potential for some sly hoonery.

Best bet is a 1:200000 Michelin atlas but you should be able to google them to get the locations - the alt. route suggested (maybe missing out the Turini) should provide some good entertainment and be less busy on a Sat and shouldn't take a lot longer than the N85.

D2566 out of Menton, left @ Sospel onto the D2204 down the col to Toulet, then backup, continuing along until the D2204 to the D6204/E74 then the S21 and on to Grenoble.

In addition to Alpine roads, this site is quite useful:

http://www.climbbybike.com/

Edited by dom180 on Wednesday 6th June 16:50

[blueST]

I've not had a chance to look at this in much detail yet, but thanks for the help so far. Those websites look handy.

I've finalised the details of the trip last night. Instead of Grenoble, I'll be travelling from Lyon to Menton on the 7th of July. So I'm trying to plan a route that takes in some good roads but doesn't make the day too gruelling for the Wife.

[ewenm]

Check and avoid the Tour-de-France route and watch out for cyclists everywhere on the Cols.

[hms]

A good refernce is michelins Les Alpes a moto.
In French, and intended for motorcyclists, but includes a map with the routes overlaid, plus the routes are available as a set of tomtom POI's
It has 23 itineries including Route Napoleon. The map is useful so you can easily see where the routes are in relation to each other.
Got my copy off amazon.
H