Driving the Route des Grandes Alpes
Seven hundred kilometres and sixteen cols, from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean. The great linear drive of the French Alps, and how to do it from the UK.
The Route des Grandes Alpes is a signed 700 km driving itinerary across the French Alps, running from Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Geneva to Menton on the Mediterranean and crossing more than sixteen major cols. Its high point, the Col de l'Iseran at 2,764 m, is the highest paved pass in the Alps. It is only fully open from about mid-June to early October.
It is the only great alpine drive that ends somewhere completely unlike where it started. You set off in alpine meadow with cowbells and snow on the peaks, and two or three days later you arrive among palm trees on the Riviera. Nothing else in the Alps has that arc.
What it is
The Route des Grandes Alpes is not a single road but a signed tourist itinerary, first laid out in the 1930s, that strings together the best of the French alpine cols into one continuous south-bound drive. You follow the brown route signs from the lake to the sea, and the road changes character constantly: high bare cols, wooded valleys, fortified frontier towns, and finally the dry, scented hills above the coast.
The great cols
The route's reputation rests on its high passes. The Col de l'Iseran (2,764 m) is the highest and the headline. The Col du Galibier (2,642 m) is the connoisseur's favourite, a Tour de France legend with a tunnel beneath the summit and a road over the top. The Col de la Bonette carries a loop road to 2,802 m around the Cime de la Bonette, often billed as the highest paved road in Europe, though the col itself is 2,715 m. Between them come the Izoard, the Cormet de Roselend and the Col de la Madeleine, any one of which would be the star of a lesser route.
How long it takes, and when it's open
Allow five to seven days. The route can be driven in two long days, but the passes deserve better, and the whole thing is only open once the highest cols clear, usually mid-June.
The opening is staggered, because each col clears at its own pace. In 2026 the Bonette opened on 19 May, the Galibier summit on 5 June, and the Iseran, reliably one of the last, on 12 June. Plan for the second half of June if your route depends on the high cols, and check our pass opening dates before you commit to a hotel on the far side of one.
Driving it from the UK
The northern end at Lake Geneva is about 850 km from Calais, a two-day drive south. The catch with a linear route is the return: from Menton it is a long haul back north, so many drivers build in a fast motorway return up the Rhône valley, or loop back over different passes. See driving to the Alps from the UK for the run south, and the best European road trips guide for how it compares with the other great drives.
Common questions
How long does the Route des Grandes Alpes take to drive?
The route is about 700 km and crosses more than sixteen major cols, so while it can be driven in two long days, five to seven days is far better. That leaves time to actually drive the passes rather than just tick them off.
When is the Route des Grandes Alpes fully open?
The route is only fully open once its highest cols are clear of snow, which is usually mid-June. In 2026 the Col de la Bonette opened on 19 May, the Col du Galibier summit on 5 June, and the Col de l'Iseran, the highest, on 12 June. It stays open until the first cols close in early October.
What is the highest col on the Route des Grandes Alpes?
The Col de l'Iseran at 2,764 m, which is also the highest paved mountain pass in the Alps. It is reliably one of the last cols on the route to open each year.
Which direction should I drive the Route des Grandes Alpes?
Most drivers go north to south, from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean, so the trip ends on the coast at Menton. It works in either direction, but finishing among the palm trees of the Riviera after starting in alpine meadow is hard to beat.
Drive the Route des Grandes Alpes with us
We plan the whole route end to end, including the tricky return leg and hotels chosen for the view, all from the UK. You bring the car and the time.
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