Route Napoléon & Col de Turini Drive Pack | The Stable

The Route Napoléon follows the path that Napoleon Bonaparte took in March 1815 when he escaped from exile on Elba and marched north to reclaim his throne. The N85 runs 325 kilometres from Golfe-Juan on the Côte d'Azur to Grenoble in the Alps, climbing through lavender fields, gorges, and mountain passes that grow progressively more dramatic.

The road begins on the Mediterranean coast and quickly leaves the Riviera glitz behind. By Grasse — the perfume capital of the world — you are in Provence proper, with terracotta-roofed villages and fields of jasmine. The road climbs through Castellane, gateway to the Gorges du Verdon, and over the Col Bayard before descending into Grenoble.

But the real prize for driving enthusiasts is the detour to the Col de Turini. This mountain pass above the Vésubie valley has been a fixture of the Monte Carlo Rally since 1911. The classic night stage — driven in darkness with pace notes read by torchlight — is motorsport legend. The road features 34 hairpin bends climbing through beech and pine forest, with the surface quality and camber that only decades of rally preparation can produce.

Drive the Col de Turini at dusk for the full experience. As the light fades and the forest closes in, you begin to understand why this road has broken so many rally cars and made so many reputations.