Alpine Maritime Weekend
A 250 km loop
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Why this ride
A rider’s loop: clean exit, memorable middle, calm return. Out of Le Cannet and back again: 250 km, roughly 4 h 33 in the saddle. It goes by way of Vence, Scenic stretch near Roquebillière and near Roquebillière. The climb of the day is near Mandelieu-la-Napoule. It tops out at about 1,700 m. It crosses France, Italy and Monaco - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop in Le Cannet
fuel
Le Cannet climbs the hills directly behind Cannes, and from its upper streets you look down over the rooftops of the city to the bay, the Lérins islands and the red Esterel mountains to the west. The old village at its heart, with narrow lanes, painted walls and small squares, still has a Provençal charm that the busy streets below have largely lost.
The painter Pierre Bonnard lived here for the last two decades of his life, in a villa called Le Bosquet, and painted the views from his windows again and again. The Musée Bonnard, in the town centre, is dedicated to his work and that of his contemporaries, and it is a lovely, quiet museum, well worth a visit if you have time.
As a start and fuel stop, Le Cannet is practical. There are service stations and shops in the town and along the main roads, and it is easy to fill up before heading into the hills. The roads north from here lead towards Mougins, Grasse and the Route Napoléon, or west towards the Esterel and the coast. Traffic can be heavy, especially in summer and during the Cannes Film Festival in May, so an early start is wise.
From Le Cannet, the transition from the coast to the mountains is rapid. Within half an hour, you can be climbing into the pre-Alps, with the Mediterranean shrinking behind you. Check your tyre pressures in the cool of the morning; by the time you reach the Route Napoléon the coast will be a blue haze far below.
- High point near Mandelieu-la-Napoule
pass
Mandelieu-la-Napoule sits at the western end of the bay of Cannes, where the river Siagne meets the sea, and behind it rise two very different massifs. To the south-west, the Esterel is a jagged range of red volcanic rock, plunging into the sea along one of the most dramatic stretches of coast in France. To the north, the Tanneron is a softer range of hills famous for its mimosa, which blooms in brilliant yellow in late winter.
On the seafront stands the Château de la Napoule, a medieval fortress restored in the early twentieth century by the American artist Henry Clews and his wife Marie, who filled it with his strange, fantastical sculptures. Today it is a museum and art centre, with gardens overlooking the sea.
For riders, the Corniche de l'Esterel, running south-west along the coast towards Saint-Raphaël, is a classic, with tight bends, red cliffs and blue water below. The roads inland over the Esterel and the Tanneron are quieter, climbing through cork oak and pine forests with views over the coast. Surfaces are generally good, but traffic on the coast road can be heavy in summer. In dry weather, fire risk can close forest roads.
Fuel and food are plentiful in Mandelieu and Cannes. As a high point, the roads over the Tanneron or the Esterel offer views over the bay of Cannes and the Mediterranean, especially beautiful in the early morning or late evening.
- Vence
finish
Vence is where the Riviera stops pretending to be the seaside and starts to become the mountains. The old town sits on a rocky spur about ten kilometres inland from the coast, still largely enclosed by its medieval walls, and behind it the land rises in steps of limestone, the baous, towards the high plateaus of the Préalpes. Finishing a ride here means ending among fountains, narrow lanes and terraces in the shade.
Artists made Vence famous in the twentieth century. Henri Matisse designed the Chapelle du Rosaire for the Dominican nuns, a small white building with blue and yellow stained glass and black line drawings on white tiles, which he considered his masterpiece. Marc Chagall lived in Vence for some years before moving to nearby Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and D. H. Lawrence died in the town in 1930. The Fondation Maeght, just outside Saint-Paul, is one of the best modern art collections in France.
The riding from here is superb. The D2 climbs north over the Col de Vence, a long series of bends up a bare limestone slope with views back over the coast, then crosses a wild plateau towards Coursegoules and Gréolières. The surface is generally good, but the road is narrow in places, and cyclists use it heavily. Watch for gravel in the corners after rain.
Saint-Paul next door is overrun in summer and lovelier seen from the road than squeezed through on foot. Vence is calmer. Walk in through the old gate to the Place du Peyra, where the fountain has been running for centuries, find a chair, and let the engine tick as it cools somewhere behind you. Fuel and food are no issue in town.
- Scenic stretch near Roquebillière
scenic
Roquebillière sits in the valley of the Vésubie, one of the deep valleys that cut into the Alpes-Maritimes north of Nice. The river rushes down from the high peaks near the Italian border, and the valley is steep, wooded and dramatic, with villages perched on the slopes and mountains rising on every side.
The village has a turbulent history. In 1926, after torrential rain, a landslide destroyed part of the old village, killing many people, and a new village was built on safer ground. In October 2020, Storm Alex brought devastating floods to the Vésubie valley, destroying roads, bridges and houses, and the scars are still visible. The valley has been rebuilding ever since, and the resilience of its people is remarkable. On the valley floor, the old church of Saint-Michel-du-Gast, built in the fifteenth century, survived both disasters.
For riders, the Vésubie valley is a gateway to some of the finest roads in the southern Alps. The road up the valley to Saint-Martin-Vésubie is winding and scenic, and from La Bollène-Vésubie, just above Roquebillière, the road climbs to the Col de Turini, famous from the Monte Carlo Rally. Surfaces vary, and some sections are still being repaired after the floods. Traffic is light, but watch for cyclists and rally fans.
Fuel options are limited in the valley, so fill up in Nice or the lower valley before heading up. Food is available in Roquebillière and Saint-Martin-Vésubie.
- Photo stop near Roquebillière
photo
Roquebillière has had to rebuild itself more than once. In 1926, a landslide swept down onto the old village, killing many of its inhabitants, and much of the population moved to a new site on the other side of the river. Then, in October 2020, Storm Alex unleashed catastrophic floods down the Vésubie valley, destroying roads, bridges and houses, and leaving scars that are still visible today. The resilience of the valley's people is remarkable, and the road has been rebuilt with new bridges and protections.
The Vésubie is one of the great valleys of the Alpes-Maritimes, cutting deep into the mountains north of Nice towards the Mercantour national park. Roquebillière sits in its middle section, surrounded by steep slopes of pine and chestnut, with high peaks rising beyond. The Templar church of Saint-Michel-du-Gast, by the river, is a remarkable Romanesque-Gothic building, and the old village has narrow lanes and stone houses.
The riding here is spectacular. The valley road climbs from the coast through gorges and villages, with tight curves and great views, and from nearby La Bollène-Vésubie, a road climbs to the Col de Turini, famous for the Monte Carlo Rally and its countless hairpins. To the north, Saint-Martin-Vésubie is the gateway to the Mercantour, with high mountain roads and trails. The surfaces are generally good, but watch for rockfall, gravel and roadworks, and allow time for the many bends.
Services in the valley are limited, so arrive with a full tank and check fuel availability before heading into the mountains. Roquebillière and Saint-Martin-Vésubie have cafés and restaurants, and the local cuisine is a mountain version of Niçois cooking, with ravioli, tourte de blettes and lamb.
- Ospedaletti
swim
Palms, pastel houses and a bay that faces due south: Ospedaletti is the Riviera dei Fiori at its most relaxed, a small Ligurian town tucked between Sanremo and Bordighera with its feet in the sea and terraced hills behind it. The old coast railway has been moved inland into a tunnel, and its former line along the shore is now a cycle and walking path, so the seafront is quieter than you might expect on such a crowded coast.
The name comes from a hospice, an ospedaletto, that the Knights of Rhodes are said to have founded here for pilgrims and travellers in the Middle Ages, and the town later became a winter resort for wealthy northern Europeans who came for the mild climate. For anyone with petrol in the blood, though, Ospedaletti means racing. In the years after the Second World War, the streets of the town formed a road circuit that hosted car Grands Prix and motorcycle races, a fast, dangerous loop through the villas and along the corniche above the sea. Ride the Corso Regina Margherita and you are on part of the old course.
The Via Aurelia, the old Roman road along the coast, runs through the town and is the main way in, slow and often congested in summer, with buses, scooters and cyclists. The more interesting riding lies in the hills: narrow roads climb steeply through olive groves and greenhouses to villages like Seborga, a tiny hilltop village that half-jokingly calls itself an independent principality, and Vallebona, with its flower terraces. These lanes are tight, sometimes broken, and very steep in places, with superb views back over the sea.
The rides from here head west and north into France, toward the Mercantour and the Col de Turini, through Ventimiglia and up the Roya valley or over to Sospel. It is a quick change of scene: within an hour the palms and flowers give way to gorges, chestnut woods and hairpins climbing toward the high Alps. Plan the crossing for early morning, before the coast traffic builds up.
Ospedaletti has cafes, bars and seafront restaurants, and Ligurian food is a pleasure: focaccia, farinata made from chickpea flour, pesto and local olive oil from the Taggiasca olives grown in the hills. The beach is pebbly and the water clear, so a swim at the end of the ride is easy in summer. For fuel and a wider choice of shops, Bordighera and Sanremo are each a few minutes along the coast.
- Cap-d'Ail
food
Cap-d'Ail is the last French town before Monaco, and you can feel the principality pressing against it. The Basse Corniche winds in from Èze and Beaulieu between villas and pines, the rocks drop to clear water below, and then, almost without warning, you are among the towers of Fontvieille. Cap-d'Ail itself is quieter than its neighbour: a scatter of Belle Époque villas, gardens and newer apartments on the slopes above a small cape with coves and a little beach.
The best thing here is on foot. The sentier du littoral, the coastal path, runs around the cape from the Plage Mala, a tiny pebble cove under the cliffs, past old villas and gardens and along the rocks. Early in the morning or late in the day, with the sea glittering and the scent of pine and salt, it is one of the loveliest short walks on the Riviera. Park the bike, change your boots if you can, and give it an hour.
The riding around here is about choosing the right Corniche. The Basse Corniche along the coast is slow and congested, with lights, scooters, buses and Monaco commuters. The Moyenne Corniche higher up offers grander views, tunnels and smoother curves past Èze. The Grande Corniche, highest of all, follows the line of the Roman Via Julia Augusta and passes La Turbie, where the Trophy of Augustus, a huge Roman monument from the first century BC, still stands above Monaco. These rides head inland toward the Col de Turini and the Route Napoléon, so you will climb through La Turbie or Sospel and quickly leave the coast behind for gorges and hairpins.
Traffic is the main hazard. Weekday mornings and evenings fill the roads with workers driving into Monaco, summer adds tourist traffic and the Grand Prix weekend in May brings chaos. Be careful with the many speed cameras, and with sudden queues in the tunnels. The best time to ride the corniches is early on a weekday or in the evening light, outside July and August.
There are cafes, bakeries and restaurants in Cap-d'Ail, and the beach bars by the water are pleasant in summer. For fuel, Monaco and the larger towns along the coast are close. Whatever you plan, look up and back once as you climb out of town: the view of the cape and Monaco from the corniches above is one of the most striking pictures on the whole coast.
- Back to Alpine Maritime
finish
Cannes means film to most of the world, but the working town is a different thing.
The riding is stop-start, with traffic lights, one-way streets and heavy summer crowds. Still, there is something to enjoy in the last hour: the descent from the hills gives views over the Lérins islands and the bay, and the coast road in early morning or late evening is pleasant. In July and August, avoid the afternoon altogether, because the roads around the Croisette are jammed and parking is difficult.
Le Cannet has its own story. The painter Pierre Bonnard moved here in the 1920s, and died here in 1947, and his house and the local museum in a nearby villa preserve his memory. The old town of Cannes, Le Suquet, sits on a hill above the harbour, and its narrow streets, church and medieval tower give a view across the bay. The film festival began in 1946, and its red carpet and palace are on the Croisette. The Lérins islands, a short boat ride away, hold a monastery founded in the fifth century and a fort where the Man in the Iron Mask is said to have been held.
Fuel and food are easy but not cheap. Large stations lie on the inland roads, and prices are usually lower at supermarket stations than on the seafront. For a meal, the market of Forville in Cannes has good fish and local produce, and the back streets offer cheaper pizza and socca, the chickpea pancake typical of the Riviera.
Park, take off your gloves, and walk down to the water. After a day in the mountains, the warm Mediterranean air is an easy reward.