Route Napoléon (Grasse to Castellane)

The most renowned stretch of the historic Route Napoléon, sweeping from the perfume town of Grasse up into the Provençal Alps.

This is the Grasse to Castellane section of the N85, now signed D6085, that traces Napoleon’s 1815 march from Elba back toward Grenoble. Climbing out of Grasse the road quickly leaves the Riviera behind, opening into pine forest, limestone plateaus and a string of fast sweeping curves widely held to be among the finest driving miles in southern France before dropping toward Castellane at the gateway to the Verdon. It is a graceful, rhythmic road rather than a hairpin gauntlet, rewarding flow over heroics, with the historical drama of the imperial route adding to the appeal. The surface is generally good and the bends well sighted. Mind the heavy tourist and motorhome traffic in summer, the abrupt change to mountain weather as you gain height, and slower coaches on the climbs out of the towns.

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The road Napoléon marched in 1815 on his return from Elba, now a sweeping run up into the pre-Alps. Long, flowing curves and big mountain views the whole way to Castellane.

Why we picked it