QUICK LINKS

About This Tour
Where We Go
Tour Highlights
Tour Cost
Brief Tour Description
Key Dates
Minimum Number of Tour Members
How To Book This Tour 

ABOUT THIS TOUR

The simple fact is that the French Alps are loaded with great passes, big and small. The Highest of the High are here including 5 of the TOP 10 or more accurately 5 out of the top 6 (#3 is in Italy). New Alps riders tend to gravitate to Switzerland, Austria and the Italian Dolomites, perhaps because they are better promoted as “Alpine” and as tourist destinations with a full support system of hotels, transportation and activities. The French Alps are a little more remote, the towns and villages more spread out and the services are further apart. But it also has the really HIGH stuff, good road surfaces, a motorcycle friendly culture and excellent dinner wine – basically everything you could ask for and then some.

It’s no wonder that prior Tour Members who tour the French Alps struggle thereafter to say which Alpine region they like best. The French Alps always take them by surprise. It’s where the Euro bikers go when looking for something different and they want to ride the Highest of the High.

WHERE WE GO

FRENCH ALPS – Plus

• Day 1 – Bourg St. Maurice (F)
• Day 2 – Guillestre (F)
• Day 3 – Guillestre (F)
• Day 4 – Guillestre (F)
• Day 5 – Sisteron (F)
• Day 6 – Sisteron (F)
• Day 7 – Saint-Jean-en-Royans (F)
• Day 8 -Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne (F)
• Day 9 – Chamonix (F)
• Day 10 – Chamonix (F) 
• Day 11 – Thun (S)

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Special Places – Chamonix/Aiguille du Midi Cable Car up to Mont Blanc
• Major Passes – (#6), (#5) (#4) (#2) and Cime de la Bonette (#1) + more
• Smaller Passes – Col de La Madeleine, Lacets de Montvernier (like an intense mini Stelvio) + more
• More than 35 passes in total
• Numerous passes that are part of the Tour de France
• Many of these passes are part of the Routes des Grandes Alpes, which runs from the Mediterranean up to Switzerland
• – Plus Tour includes:
  • Exploring the Gorges du Verdon, the deepest canyon in Europe
  • Combe Laval, one of the most famous high “balcony” roads in France, carved right into the cliffside

MOTO-CHARLIE reserves the right to alter the exact route at his discretion.

TOUR COST

The cost for this tour at the current exchange rates will be:

• Single rider in a single room
• $5,880 FRENCH ALPS LOOP Tour (11 days)
• $3,210 FRENCH ALPS LOOP Tour (6 days)

• Passenger sharing a double room
• $3,680 FRENCH ALPS LOOP Tour (11 days)
• $2,140 FRENCH ALPS LOOP Tour (6 days)

• Couple riding two-up sharing a double room
• $9,560 FRENCH ALPS LOOP Tour (9 days)
• $5,350 FRENCH ALPS LOOP Tour (6 days)

These numbers cover your direct tour costs including motorcycle rental, all hotels, all meals, gas and my fee. May vary depending on the currency exchange rates in effect during the time of travel.

BRIEF TOUR DESCRIPTION

As the tour name says – we ride a big loop focused on hitting all 5 of the 6 highest passes in the Alps. The third highest pass is in Italy. We hit a several smaller Swiss passes the first half of the first day as we head south to France. By the afternoon of the first day, we are already summiting famous high passes including #12 (the Grand St. Bernard Pass) and we just keep on going higher for the next 5 days. The French Alps have wide open vistas, huge seeping views to the valleys below and a very natural feel to them. Some Tour Members also think they have the best food too. We also visit the Gorges du Verdun, the deepest canyon in Europe and spend a day riding the parameter. The diversity of French riding will also include the Combe Laval, a high “balcony” road built right into the side of a cliff. Many travel experts consider it to be the most famous road in France. There is a wide variety of great riding on this tour – very cool.

Most people like to arrive at least one day ahead of time to help with jet lag, see the local sights or get acclimated to their motorcycle, the roads and Euro riding in general via the free 1/2-day ORIENTATION DAY offered to all Tour Members. I’ll be more than glad to help you plan whatever activity might be of interest to you.

NOTE: The 6-day French Loop follows the same route for Days 1 – 4 and covers all 5 of the highest passes but forgoes the 5 nights traveling south to the gorge’s region and the Combe Laval. Night 5 is in Chamonix in order to ride the Aiguille du Midi cable car on Day 6 before heading back to Thun.

• Day 1 – Our mission today is to get to France, so we take a direct route, while keeping autobahn riding to a minimum. To do that we ride through Swiss valleys, towns and over several smaller passes until we make our way to Martigny. From there we head up the valley that takes us to the Grand St. Bernard Pass (#12) and into Italy. From there we head back down into the Aosta Valley, up over another high pass (the Col du Petit St. Bernard) into France. From there it is a long, long downhill viewing adventure as we make our way down the valley below to our hotel for the night in Bourg St. Maurice.

• Day 2 – We don’t waste any time today as we start the route by heading to the top of the Col de l’Iseran (#2). On our way we pass through the town of Val de l’Isere, a major French ski area and site of the 1992 Winter Olympic Alpine events. The views into the valleys, towns and lake are pretty impressive as we get near the top. The weather is quite variable here and we’ve seen it all at the top of this pass from warm sunny days to snow and howling wind – great pass. From here it is the classic motorcycle touring regimen – down, up, down, up, down, up, down again (4 separate and unique passes today) before we ride into the town of Guillestre for our 3-night stay here.

• Day 3 – We have a couple of routing options today, either out and back or a big loop. Either way our primary target today is Col Agnel (#4). Like many high French passes the road to the top climbs deceptively as we ride a long meandering road through tiny villages, with wide open valley hills on both sides, mostly grassy with the occasional tree(s). Next thing you know the grass has disappeared, the ground is mostly rock and gravel, you hit a series of steep switchbacks and then at you’re on the top at 2,744 meters (9,003 feet). The border into Italy is at the top and the ride down the Italian side is steeper with more switchbacks. From here our options include 3 more passes including tiny mountain roads as part of a big loop back to Guillestre, the frequently chosen option of an additional pass and then a ride back over the Col Agnel in the opposite direction (a completely different experience) and sometimes we visit the village of Saint-Véran, the highest village in France at 2,042 meters.

• Day 4 – After a hearty French breakfast, we turn our focus back to the mission at hand, the Highest of the High – that happens today. We head south and within 1/2 an hour we are heading up out first pass of the day. Like many French passes the road is free flowing, the switchbacks reasonably wide and the tar is good. This pass has roadside moto-photographers who take your picture(s) on the switchbacks, for sale a day or two later on their website. To the top and back down, a valley road and then we start up the Col du Restefond (#5) and from there it on up to #1 – Cime de la Bonette at 2,862 meters (9,390 feet).  The French “fudge it” a little bit here as the actual pass or col (Col de la Bonette) is actually at 2,715 meters (8,907 feet), which would be #5. But they built a 2 km loop road at the top that circles the Cime de la Bonette up to 2,862 meters and that is how they get the Highest of the High. After lunch we can loop over several smaller passes or reverse course and ride the whole route back in the opposite direction for a completely different perspective. We have come all this way, may as well enjoy it.

• Day 5 – Today starts a different kind of riding where we go up and down and rides lots of curvy twisty roads, but at lower elevations. Where up to now we have been riding over the mountains, we now frequently ride through them. We head south towards Embrun for a nice ride around Lac de Sierre-Poncon with shoreline views and panoramic hilltop vistas before continuing south over the bucolic Col des Fillys. We continue on here before finding the road to Barles. This road gives us our first taste of what the gorge’s region of France offers as we meander alongside the river, which over the centuries has cut a unique gorge through the rock towering above us as we ride though. There are also numerous cascades flowing down the rocks as we ride by. After stopping to take pictures of the Clue du Barles we continue onto Dignes and then to Sisteron, where we stay for 2 nights. 

• Day 6 – Sisteron is a good-sized town on the Route Napoleon, known as the “Pearl of Upper Provence”. The historic medieval center is a fun place to spend time sightseeing. Above the town is a unique crop of rock, home to the Citadel of Sisteron, which dates back to the 11th century and was a formidable stronghold in its day with great views of the town below. The riding today is also special as we will be doing an out and back loop down to the Gorges du Verdun, the deepest canyon is Europe. The ride to the start of the canyon loop takes approx. one and hour and a half. The ride around the canyon rim is roughly 100 kms (60 miles) and 3 hours. It offers many unique views and wonderful riding – very popular with Euro bikers. It is definitely something different from our Alps pass riding.

• Day 7 – Today we head north to ride another kind of road that seems to be mostly unique to France, the Combe Laval, perhaps the most famous balcony road in the Alps. Our route north starts as a mixture of valley roads and low twisty passes, including the Col de Cabre, which has been part of the Tour de France on several occasions. After a while of pleasant riding, we turn off the main road onto the narrow twisty road that leads us to our primary goal. First, we cross over the Col de Rousset, part of the Vercors Massif (massif meaning a distinct block of mountains). It’s a fun pass and excellent intro to the Combe Laval coming up next. The road is mostly a 1-lane road cut into the cliffs high above the valley below. The view, and the drop, looking over the stone wall is straight down. You won’t soon forget this road. We finish the day at our hotel for the night just a short distance away in Saint-Jean-en-Royans.

• Day 8 – We continue our way north riding back roads that are a mix of gorge-like roads, valleys and low mountains including the Gorges de la Bourne (no relation to Jason) until we reach the southern edge of Grenoble. We skirt the edge of the city as we continue east towards Le-Bourg d’Oisans, a nice town that my tours sometimes stay at located in the valley below Alpe d’Huez, a well-known ski area and often used climbing road for the Tour de France. Now we get to the real fun as we climb the Col du Lautaret to 2,058 meters (6,752 feet), which in turn is the start of the Col du Galibier. It’s #5 on the TOP 10 list at 2,645 meters (8,678 feet). There is a tunnel near the top in case the weather is really bad on the pass iteself. The views from the top of this pass are stunning and look very different depending on whether you’re looking north or south. The panoramic views, wild terrain and challenging road make it one of my most favorite passes. It is often used as the highest pass climb in the Tour de France. Our hotel in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne waits for us down the other side after we ride one more pass to get there.  

• Day 9 – We don’t wait long today before we hit the tight, twisty Lacets de Montvernier. It is barely more than 1-lane wide and flips back and forth like a mini-Stelvio, except it is more layered. Incredibly, this road was used on the 11th stage of the 2022 Tour de France. How they got all those bicycles, support vehicles and spectators up this road is a mystery to me.   At the top we continue up to a higher pass that barely shows up on a map, before joining the road up to the Col de la Madeleine, another Tour de France favorite with a statue at the top to commemorate that fact. There are spectacular views from the top. The sign there says 2,000 meters, but they exaggerate a little bit, really 1,993. From here we keep working our way towards Chamonix while riding 3 fun passes, including the Cormet de Roselend, another gem at 1,967 meters (6,453 feet). We often stop to the watch the hand gliders enjoying the thermals here. An hour later we are at our very nice hotel in the center of Chamonix. We stay here for 2 nights. 

• Day 10 – Chamonix is a classic Alps town with a distinctly French flavor. It is perhaps my favorite Alpine town. I have stayed here several times with my wife and twice with my family. The first winter Olympics occurred here, and it is considered the birthplace of the licensed Alpine Tour Climbing industry. It is surrounded by mountains with all kinds of hiking and sightseeing options. We spend the night in Chamonix so that we can enjoy one more final High of the Highest adventure – Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in the Alps. Chamonix is right at the base of the mountain and the famous Aiguille du Midi cable car is in the center of Chamonix, within easy walking distance of our hotel. The cable car is the 2nd highest in the Alps and has the longest continual cable on the 2nd leg. The highest viewing platform is at 3,842 meters (12,604 feet). The air is thin, and you definitely feel it. The view and vistas are simply spectacular every direction you look – it’s all snow up there. You can watch various hiking groups and mountain climbing groups head out, parasailers gliding below and the occasional airplane just above. Every single Tour Member agrees that it is a great finale to this high Alps tour. You are welcome to spend the rest of the day exploring the various exhibits and viewpoints at the top, maybe take the one-of-a-kind gondola ride across the glaciers to Italy and back or spend an afternoon enjoying all that Chamonix has to offer.

• Day 11 – From Chamonix we head over 3 smaller French passes and 3 more smaller Swiss passes on our way back to our base in Thun. We go back to the hotel, unload our gear and head to the rental shop to turn in our bikes. We wrap up a great tour with a group dinner at a lively old town riverside restaurant and say our farewells, until the next tour 🙂 to our newfound friends.

• Next Day – Many possibilities – Rest Day before next tour, continue on with other Euro travel plans, fly home

KEY DATES

• If you would like to come sooner, or stay longer, hotel and motorcycle arrangements can readily be made to suit your schedule.

• When to book your reservation obviously depends on your schedule. As a rule, I suggest at least 3 months in advance to ensure that you get the motorcycle that you want and to secure a place on the tour. There is a limit of 7 motorcycles or 10 people, whichever comes first, per tour. 

• The final cut-off date is technically 30 days before the tour starts. If someone contacts me to sign up with less than 30 days to go every effort will be made to accommodate you. The issue will usually be the motorcycle availability.

MINIMUM NUMBER OF TOUR MEMBERS

5 riders or 7 tour members

HOW TO BOOK THIS TOUR

Please “Contact Me” by telephone or e-mail to book your spot on this tour. I am not a paperwork intensive person. So, the process of making a reservation and getting what I need for my records is pretty simple.

Feel free to contact me to ask any questions about my tours in particular, or the Alps in general. If I can be of help in any way, I’ll be glad to do so.

Final Thoughts – “FRENCH ALPS LOOP Tour” – The tour to pick if time is short and you want the real deal, the Highest of the High passes, the highest mountain and even the highest village in France. Or stay longer to sample some of the other enjoyable and unique riding options that only exist in France. It comes with all the riding you can get, all the altitude you can handle and the fun and adventure that you will remember for a lifetime. You can gorge yourself on a frenzy of pass blasting, conspicuous croissant consumption and scenery overload but it is the riding that you will remember. That’s what this tour is all about.