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Motorcycle Tour of the French Alps and Col de la Bonnette

French Alps and Provence motorcycle tour

This is a 7 day motorcycle tour of the French Alps and Haute Provence, a section of the Alps that often gets neglected whilst planning a ride in the Alps. The French Alps, however, offer some incredible riding and amazing scenery. In just 7 days you shall witness some of the highest paved roads in Europe (Bonnette - Izeran), the incredible lavender fields of Haute Provence (see picture above) and take a cable car to the top of the highest mountain in Europe (Mont Blanc). 

Given their geographical location near the Mediterranean sea, these alps are also the first to become accessible to riders in the season and can also be ridden well into September. 

 

 

Day by day:

Day 0: your countdown to the tour is over. It's Saturday and you need to be in Milan by 4pm. We shall finalize the paperwork and pick up the bikes from our depot. The welcome dinner starts at 8pm. Let the fun begin!

Day 1: We start by heading out of Milan on a quiet Sunday morning on the A7. Our first stop will be Barolo in the Langhe area in Piedmont. Barolo and the Langhe area are home to the famous Barolo and Barbaresco wines. We will get a glimpse of where they are made. The beauty of these rolling hills and vineyards reflect the excellence of these wines. In the future when you happen to taste these wines, you will certainly remember how beautiful the landscape was. From Barolo we head for Cuneo and then keep going south over the Col du Tende, through the tunnel. Our first overnight stop is in La Brigue. Just before stopping we'll visit the church of Notre Dames de la Fontain, also known as the Sistine Chapel of the Alps. 

Day 2: We start the day crossing the border into France and tackling one of the most famous passes of the Montecarlo Rallye, the Col de Turini. On its switchbacks of this pass many rallies were lost or won. On a bike in summer it's a hoot!! Our itinerary then heads along the river Tinee and reaches the Col de La Bonnette and Route del la Bonnette at 2812 meters above seal level. We finish the day in Barcelonnette, where we will stay two nights. 

Day 3: We do a loop ride to the Gorge du Verdon and through the lavender fields near Valensole. Our route then takes us back to Barcelonnette via the Gorges du Daluis and Col de la Cayolle. A long day but packed with interesting and varied sites and excellent roads to ride. 

Day 4: From Barcelonnette we head for the Col du Vars and reach the castle of Chateau de Queyras. for lunch. We then tackle the wonderful Col d'Izoard and visit the historic town of Briançon. Last but not least we tackle the amazing Col du Galibier. A very tough stage of the Tour de France with amazing 360° views from the very top. Our day ends in Valloire. 

Day 5: We do a loop ride parts of the Parc National des Ecrins. We back track over the Col du Galibier and start by visiting Les Deux Alpes and the Alpe d'Huez then over the Col de la Croix de Fer and back to Valloire over the Col du Telegraphe. 

Day 6: Our destination today is reaching the foothill of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe with 4812 meters above sea level. To do this we ride the Col de l'Iseran at 2770m, higher than Stelvio, and Col du Petite Saint Bernard. We stay the night in Courmayeur. 

Day 7: If the clouds permit we visit the summit of Mont Blanc on the Mont Blanc Skyway, the new rotating cable car that will take you to the near top in just under 20 minutes. It looks like something out of a James Bond movie perched like that on top of this big mountain. Once we return to our bikes we head for the Grand Saint Bernard pass, home of the big rescue dogs, and have lunch there. We then return back down on the Italian side and head for another famous ski resort, Breuil-Cervinia on the Italian side of the Matterhorn/Cervino. After the view over this high mountain 4478m, we return to the valley and catch the autostrada back to Milano for the end of the trip. 

 

Map of tour: