Driving Provence Near The Riviera

Driving Provence Near The Riviera

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NES

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2 posts

182 months

Tuesday 25th August 2009
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Hello - going to France in 3 weeks and in need of some advice.

I'm going to be on the Cote D'Azur-Riviera around the middle of September and had some driving plans. Originally, my two plans were a) to drive around the Gorges du Verdun, and b) to take the Route Napoleon(N85?) from Cannes to Grenoble. This last idea was to get a bit of the sense of beautiful alpine roads.

We're still taking the tour around the Gorges, but the Route Napoleon seems less likely. I couldn't get any real opinions about whether the upper section (North of Dignes) was worth two days out of my short visit. This would require giving up time along the coast. However, some comments here say that even the lower section - (Dignes to Cannes) may not be that beautiful either. .

Somewhere I read that the D3 going North from the coast from Antibes through Gourdon is a great road. So I was thinking to take that until it North from the coast until it intersects (After spilling into the D2) into the N85 and then back South to the coast via the N85. If time and interest permitted, maybe continuing North up the N85 to Dignes and back before returning to the coast. I expect this would be a one day trip.

As for the Gorges, How much time should I allocate? I have two possible itineraries, both starting in Aix en Provence:

The first would be to drive directly to the Gorges area from Nice, routing myself through Moustiers Saint-Marie, then Eastbound along the South rim of the Gorge, then stop at a hotel in the area. Day two would find me just pressing on to the Coast in the morning.

The alternative Gorges route would be to find some other interesting drive to get me near the Gorges on the first day, perhaps along the coast from Aix to St Tropez, then North to get near the Gorges to find a hotel. Then in the morning, drive the South rim of teh Gorges Westbound, have lunch in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, then drive the North rim of the Gorge in the afternoon Eastbound and take the N85 to the coast arriving late afternoon.

If it sounds complicated to you, just think how confused I am at this moment. So any help is appreciated.

Thanks for any assistance.