Alpes-Maritimes · France
Col de Braus
D2204L’Escarene to Sospel
A celebrated ladder of stacked hairpins in the Maritime Alps behind the Riviera, long a fixture of the Monte Carlo Rally.
The D2204 climbs from L’Escarene over the 1002 metre Col de Braus and drops the far side to Sospel, and it is the hairpin stacking on the L’Escarene side that draws drivers from across Europe. A famous run of tightly piled switchbacks coils up the hillside in full view of itself, a sight often likened to a tangle of shoelaces. The pass has a deep motorsport pedigree as a Monte Carlo Rally stage and remains a favourite for spirited drives out of Nice and Menton, with views back toward the Mediterranean from the upper bends. It is well surfaced and wider than many cols, though still demanding. The Sospel side is gentler and wooded. Mind the popularity with motorcyclists and cyclists, gravel washed onto the apexes after rain, and the long sequence of low-speed corners that punish overconfidence.
Scenery
Best seasons
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Where it runs13.1 mi · point to point
Navigate to the start: Apple Maps · Google Maps
Character
More hairpins than 9 in 10 roads in the catalogue.
Corners
busiest around mile 5Elevation
under 4%4–8%over 8%349.6 – 1,013.4 mFrom the road
Points of interest2 stops
- Col de BrausViewpoint6.4 mi in
- Col St-JeanViewpoint10 mi in
Hazards
- Motorcycle and cyclist traffic at weekends
- Gravel and runoff on apexes after rain
- Long run of low-speed stacked hairpins
Sources
“It has a good surface, but around 40 beautifully engineered stacked hairpins with some amazing views will test your driving skills.”
Verified route: mapped from real road geometry and fact-checked by a human editor. How roads get checked
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Nearby roads
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