Saint-Martin Vésubie / Sospel

This Route des Grandes Alpes® stage covering the Vésubie Valley and Haut-Pays Niçois takes you over the Col de Turini pass (1607 m), made famous by the Monte Carlo Car Rally. Also on the menu are: the magnificently colourful village of Saint-Martin-Vésubie; La Bollène Vésubie, a beautifully rounded hilltop village; grandiose landscapes combining gorges and perched promontories; and the small town of Sospel, with its picturesque squares and lanes… not forgetting Roquebillière, the Côte d’Azur’s thermal spa resort, protected from summer heatwaves thanks to its location, at 600m above sea level.

From Saint-Martin-Vésubie to Sospel via the Col de Turini

Route North / South

↗ 1570m ↘ 2189m

From Saint-Martin-Vésubie, you start with a fine descent, down to the very pretty village of La Bollène-Vésubie, having crossed Roquebillière. The climb to the Col de Turini pass (1607m) requires c.1100m of positive shift in altitude, first riding along a high-terraced road, then taking on a long, fairly regular climb through woods, all in a Mediterranean atmosphere. The first hairpin bends of the descent leading to Moulinet are magnificent. Continue along gentle slopes to Sospel. Following the damage caused by the terrible storms of autumn 2020, check before heading out that this route is open to cyclists. 

Route South / North

↗ 2189m ↘ 1570m

From Sospel, you start on a long climb, via Moulinet, to the Col de Turini pass (1607 m), a stretch of 25km involving a 1300m shift in altitude. The final hairpin bends on this climb are magnificent. The descent to La Bollène-Vésubie is smooth, the atmosphere Mediterranean. From La Bollène-Vésubie, climb peacefully up to Saint-Martin-Vésubie. Following the damage caused by the terrible storms of autumn 2020, check before heading out that this route is open to cyclists. 

Don’t miss

• Mercantour National Park: one of 11 French national parks and one of the most unspoilt – since 1992, wolves have crossed from Italy and settled in these parts. The park straddles the French counties of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and presents a very wide variety of landscapes, including Alpine mountains and Mediterranean touches. 
• Parc Alpha: to view wolves in the heart of Mercantour National Park, a few km from Saint-Martin de Vésubie.
• The Vésubie Valley: a natural gem, with a rich cultural heritage, set on the edge of Mercantour National Park and close to the Vallée des Merveilles, famed for its prehistoric rock engravings. 
• Vesubia Mountain Parc: an indoor temple for mountain activities at Saint-Martin-Vésubie! Here, you can swim, climb, jump, tackle a high walk, descend a canyon, test your balance and go wandering underground.
• Roquebillière: the Côte d’Azur’s thermal spa resort, located between the Col de Turini and Saint-Martin de Vésubie.
• Sospel, Menton and the French Riviera: from the Mediterranean coast to the Mercantour’s summits, travel along the marvellous Roya and Bévéra Valleys, dotted with fine examples of Baroque Alpine art.