French Riviera and the Grand Alps

Five of the Route des Grandes Alpes’ most legendary passes come in a single stretch, before the trip finishes sleeping inside the walls of what the operator calls Europe’s largest fortified castle – nine nights from the Cote d’Azur to the Alps.

From£2,695pp

Duration9 days

StyleGuided

Best suited toExperienced riders

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An independent Stradora pick. Details from the operator's published information, last checked 28 Oct 2026. Stradora DiscoveryChosen independently by our editors because we think it's worth the drive. We're not partnered with this operator: dates, prices and booking are handled by them, and we last checked their published details on 28 Oct 2026.

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9 nights through France

Nine nights combining the Cote d’Azur with the Route des Grandes Alpes, which is a considerable contrast to fit inside one tour. Own bike or a hired BMW.

Arles in Provence opens it, then the coastal roads east to Menton for two nights, the last French town before Italy, full of citrus groves and with Monaco close enough to ride into for an afternoon.

The Route des Grandes Alpes then runs north, and it is one of the great roads of Europe: devised in the early twentieth century to link the Mediterranean to Lake Geneva over as many high passes as could be strung together. This tour takes the Bonette, which at around 2,800 metres is among the highest paved roads on the continent, then Vars, the Izoard, the Galibier and the Iseran, all of them switchbacks and all of them closed by snow for much of the year.

The Jura follow to Besancon, a riverside city inside a bend of the Doubs with Vauban’s citadel above it, and the final night is at Sedan, in a hotel built into the walls of the castle, which the operator describes as the largest fortified castle in Europe, with the farewell dinner there before the run to Calais. Hotels, breakfasts, three dinners, the crossing, maps and GPS routes are included, with fuel and other meals separate. The price is quoted per person. Very few tours manage to put palm trees and snow poles in the same week. The passes open late and close early, so the departure dates on this one are tightly constrained, and the Iseran in particular can still have walls of snow beside the road in early summer.

Style

Guided

Duration

A week or so (7-10 nights)

Region

Europe

Vehicle provision

Bring your own vehicle

Starts/ends

Arles, France → Calais, France

Support

Guide, Roadbook / navigation