The Mercantour proper lies behind the coast, in the mountains north of Nice, and it is a different world: a national park created in 1979, with high peaks above three thousand metres, deep valleys and a border with Italy along its crest. Beside it, across the frontier, lies the Italian Alpi Marittime park, and the two together protect one of the richest areas of wildlife in the Alps.
The Mercantour's story includes the return of the wolf. In the early 1990s wolves crossed the Alps from Italy and settled in the park, the first in France for decades, and they have since spread across the country. Ibex, chamois and marmots are common on the high slopes, and golden eagles and bearded vultures soar overhead. The park also holds the Vallée des Merveilles, where thousands of rock engravings of horned animals, daggers and geometric symbols were scratched into the stone in the Bronze Age, about four thousand years ago.
For motorcyclists, the best-known road in this region is the Col de Turini, at 1,607 metres, which climbs from the Roya and Vésubie valleys in a long series of hairpins through forest, and has been a famous stage of the Monte Carlo Rally. The roads are narrow, twisty and beautiful, with sheer drops in places, and the surface is generally good but can be gravelly after storms. Snow closes the highest roads in winter, and the passes can be icy into spring. Early in the morning, with the sun slanting through the larch trees, there are few better places to ride in Europe.
Back on the coast, Bordighera, a town of about nine thousand people in Italy, has fuel and plenty of cafes, and the border crossing from France is usually uneventful. Italian fuel prices differ from French ones, so it is worth glancing at both. The air at the end of the day smells of salt, pine and lemon trees, and the light over the sea turns pink and gold. After a long mountain day, a plate of pasta with pesto, the Ligurian classic, and a cold drink on the seafront is a very good reward.