Sardinia, Corsica and France: Grand Tour, Islands, Alps and Beaches

Seventeen nights through France, Sardinia and Corsica, with the Eurotunnel at each end. Riders bring their own bike, or hire one.

Champagne takes the first night, including the Avenue de Champagne at Epernay, a mile-long street of grand houses with several hundred million bottles maturing in the chalk cellars beneath it, which is why it gets called the most valuable street in the world. Besancon follows, a medieval citadel town inside a loop of the Doubs.

The Route Napoleon is next, which follows the road Napoleon took in March 1815 after leaving Elba, north from the coast to Grenoble, and runs through fine Alpine scenery with a commemorative marker every few miles. The Gorges du Verdon follows, a limestone canyon several hundred metres deep with turquoise water at the bottom, commonly called Europe’s Grand Canyon and the best riding in southern France.

A ferry crosses to Sardinia for fishing ports, medieval towns, quiet twisting mountain roads and the weathered granite of the Gallura, then a second ferry to Bonifacio in Corsica, which is called the mountain in the sea for good reason: the spine of the island is crossed on tight, fast roads, and there are over two hundred white-sand beaches below them. The route then returns through France. The price is quoted per rider. Two islands and the best of southern France in one trip is a great deal of variety for seventeen nights, and the ferries do the long transits overnight rather than eating riding days. Corsican and Sardinian roads also reward a bike over a car more than most: they are narrow, well surfaced and almost entirely free of straight sections.