route napoleon trip to monaco …info needed !

[NavigatorNI]

I've always found the Michelin maps, with scenic routes marked in green, ideal on continental trips.

[Storini]

There is also the ViaMichelin phone app, which has an option to pick alternative routes which may be interesting rather than direct - it was recommended by Harry Metcalfe. I've tried it briefly and wasn't wholly impressed but may not have given it enough time. Also it tries to sign you up to some other website, but you can just ignore that.

[MajorTom]

Hmm, everyone seems to be planning Euro trips and I seem to be the only crazy one planning a little road trip up to the UK instead.

Some good tips have already been mentioned in this thread and as said Harry's videos can be very useful. When it comes to Route Napoleon, the whole bit between Grenoble and Digne is actually a bit meh and the fun starts around Digne. I'd stop overnight in Gap or somewhere south of it to get as early as possible to the nice parts, which could make a big difference during the summer months when you can expect a fair few tourists on the road. I did it on a weekday morning in late September last year, had very little traffic on the road and happened to make one of my photoshoot stops at exactly the same point that Harry did with his Countach (which I discovered afterwards ).

Another epic road along your route is the one up to Col de Turini from the riviera. The Monte Carlo rally usually runs there and it's something like 40 minutes of endless amazing hairpins one way. It starts right north of Menton (incidentally I just came home from Menton today ) and goes past Castellar and Sospel. I think Sam in Seen Through Glass does some of it in his video in this thread. Much tighter and more challenging than the rather fast and sweeping Route Napoleon.

Then don't miss the motorway from Menton to Italy along the Italian riviera. IIRC Harry referred to it as the best motorway in the world and it's definitely one of the nicer motorways out there. Last time I did it in September it was a bit rubbish due to roadworks but that's hopefully over by July.

Don't know how you've planned to make your way down through France, but there's a real gem which I think there's surprisingly little talk about. The Route des Cretes through the Vosges mountains in Alsace. I've done it a bunch of times and did it twice last year in the F-Type since it's within daytrip distance from where I live. It's quite similar to the Route Napoleon, just without the sea view. Some nice little towns along the route too and a great place to stop for a a bite is the Hohneck peak. This is a shot along the Route des Cretes...

If you consider going all the way to Switzerland there are loads and loads of amazing roads there like the Furka pass and Susten pass.

[Hotlurve]

some amazing information from you all so thanks for that!
I too looked at the Michelin app and also found some aspects quite fiddly. the milage calculator and fuel consumption was well off but thats not such an issue really i suppose. wiki has a useful mountain pass page for the alps and in conjunction with that and all the info given on here plus google maps and a real paper map to plan with we should have a ball of a time….

we have no time limit constraints so we shall go just where the roads take us! Already talking about including other places whilst in Italy like the leaning tower of pisa…..cant wait!

[MajorTom]

Since you're considering Tuscany, the go to road there is the SR 222 through central Tuscany, starting a bit south of Florence. It's not as smooth and fun as some of the French twisties mentioned above but it certainly offers some very nice Tuscan scenery.

Also check out the site / app Ultimate Drives which contains quite a lot of info and ratings of great roads and mountain passes.

A very nice route going up from Italy is to plot in Gotthardpass, Furkapass and Grimselpass in Switzerland and then Route des Cretes in France.

[Fatboymark]

We are in the process of planning our late June trip, current list looks like Stuttgart (staying at the V8 hotel & motor museum) then on to Salzburg, Venice, Pisa, Lake Como, Strasbourg, Rotterdam then back home. We will spend a couple of days in each spot and keep the driving to 4-5 hours each travel day except the first. We did something similar in 2019 and found a nice balance of autobahn blasting, stunning mountain passes and lovely country roads, can’t wait to get going. On the vignette, we had one for the French emissions which we ordered online, and the one mentioned for Switzerland which we picked up at a petrol station just after we crossed the border. I am sure you will have lots of fun whichever route you take.
The RAC website was quite useful for info on driving in Europe https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/country/france

[ayrejc]

Will be following this post with interest as planning a similar trip in September. We are actually staying in Menton so the road to Col de Turini is on the list, as is the tunnel in Monaco. Have also looked at Ultimate Drives and will be doing some planning over the next few months

[MajorTom]

Then you're in for a treat ayrejc. Menton is a perfect place to stay - you obviously have Route Napoleon on the way down to it and then you have both Col de Turini and the motorway along the Italian coast right on your doorstep.

Even if Monaco itself is rather rubbish it's always nice to drive through the tunnel. Not the best place to let the exhaust sing though, that's better done in other tunnels outside of Monaco.

There's also a more or less famous short tunnel in the middle of Menton, passing under the old town. In one of the Sean Connery Bond films, can't remember which, there was a car chase shot in the old town and in that tunnel.