France, Provence & Alpes
Route Napoléon
Distance
325 km
Time
5h 40m
Driving score
9.2
We choose the roads, waypoints are preserved so Google Maps follows the intended route.
Editorial
Why drive it
The N85 was laid along the Emperor's 1815 march and it still feels imperial: broad, confident curves that let a big car breathe for hours at a time.
It is the antithesis of the alpine hairpin, a road about momentum, cambered sweepers and the smell of lavender through an open roof.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Road width
- Wide, superbly sighted
- Surface
- Excellent
- Best direction
- Grasse → Grenoble
- Best time of day
- Morning
- Best season
- March to November
- Elevation
- 1,169 m at Col Bayard
- Community rating
- 4.8 / 5
Proprietary scoring
The numbers
The journey
Route highlights
Start
Grasse
Perfume houses, early croissant
Coffee
Castellane
Village square beneath the rock
Viewpoint
Gorges du Verdon detour
Turquoise water, worth the hour
Lunch
Digne-les-Bains
Provençal market lunch
Mountain Pass
Col Bayard
Long, open, fast
Finish
Grenoble
Alps proper begin here
Where to stay
Stay along this drive
Tracing the road between your start and finish
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From the members
Road reports
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