Highlight Tour France – Spain

Posted by

In September 2019, in 3 weeks approx. 7000 KM towards and back. The plan was to pack a few highlights as well as less well-trodden paths into one tour. Most bikers you meet on the road are usually only allowed to go off with their best buddy for a week. We are not subject to this restriction, the lady comes along and has fun. To be honest, I also need her language and photo skills. It’s still the case that English is a very difficult language for the French, even in the restaurant trade. However, you can understand each other without much knowledge of the language. As a biker, you usually enjoy special hospitality anyway. A few words of French and Spanish are helpful, but not a must-have.
Tour overview:

Vosges – Jura

Distance: 350 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/GxdPS

We drove about 800 km from Hamburg to the Vosges in one go.
The Vosges have wonderful roads with beautiful views and are much less crowded than the .

Jura – Vercors

Distance: 300 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/azP4x

The highlight here is of course the Combe Laval, one of the most famous roads carved into the rock in . But the whole area is fantastic. As we’ve been in the area for a while, we only drive through it.

Vercors – Millau

Distance: 330 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/bTYp4

The route leads from the small town of Die along the Drôme through the Cévennes to Milau. At the bridge in Métiers d’Arts en Cévennes, several bars invite you to take a break.
Unfortunately, we hardly got to see the bridge at Millau because it was foggy and rainy right there – I’ll have to go there again… As the forecast was for continuous rain, we trusted the rain radar and headed west.

Millau – Pau

Distance: 470 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/cvdpD

Here we drove through a rather unspectacular part of France towards the Atlantic.

Pau – Deba (Basque Country)

Distance: 250 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/WkfUf

After San Sebastian, it becomes much more attractive and the traffic becomes less.

Deba – Santander

Distance: 265 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/yEMnm

The coastal road in the Basque Country is spectacular in places. In between, there are always old-fashioned seaside resorts. A real dream road. Look out for the Mirador signs… These are always viewpoints with great views, don’t worry, you don’t usually have to walk much.

Santander – Ormas

Distance: 290 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/8r8JX

We bypass Santander, not in the mood for a big city. Our interim destination is the Picos de Europa. A small mountain range that rises up to 2500 meters, in the very north of Spain. Many of the roads we are now driving on are also marked as part of the Camino de Santiago. Our destination today is a small hotel in Ormas.

Ormas – Andonsilla

Distance: 310 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/utssa

This route leads along lonely roads past a few sights in the Rioja (wine) region. Then on to the starting point for a very special highlight.

Andonsilla – Navarra – Elizondo (Pyrenees)

Distance: 290 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/h9sAR

The Navarra Desert (Bardenas Reales) south of Pamplona, something we usually only find in the USA, is a dream, although the round trip there is very short at around 30 km. It leads around a military area. The roads are unpaved, but can be used by any vehicle. At the entrance there is a small
tourist information office, where you will be told that it is best to drive counter (?) clockwise. There are young female students there who speak all languages and will give you a free map. The few vehicles that come towards you are mostly Germans who know better :-(.

Elizondo – Canfranc

Distance: 300 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/DW9Yv

Tour through the to the next highlight, the con Canfranc station. This is a 250-metre-long ghost station. The route crosses the border between Spain and France several times. There are many free-roaming horses here.

Canfranc – Vielha

Distance: 310 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/UvXhe

Now we continue east over a few passes:
Col du Pourtalet – Col d’Aubisque – Col du Tourmalet – Col d’Aspin – Col de Peyresourde – Eth Portilhon.
On the Col d’Aubisque you have to be a little careful, the horses there are always very hungry and want to be fed by the tourists, they make that very clear, don’t lose your balance. They also like to rub against the vehicles, with cars sometimes knocking over a mirror and motorcycles possibly knocking over even more.

Vielha – Caunes Minervois

Distance: 290 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/gM3Yt

Since driving to Andorra is no good anyway, and the weather was getting worse, I’m now heading north-east again to Languedoc. If you’ve never been there before, a stop in Carcassone is recommended. But there are still a few nice passes on the way there.

Caunes Minervois – La Malene

Distance: 280 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/GcfBD

This tour goes through the most beautiful areas of France, Languedoc and . Highlights include the Tarn Valley, one of the most beautiful routes in the world. We spend the night in La Malène in the middle of the valley so that we can continue on this fantastic route the next day.

La Malene – Reilhanette

Distance: 300 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/2fkR3

We continue along the Tarn, then through the Gorges de la Nesque in the direction of Provence, but unfortunately there are still a few kilometers to cover through very urban areas. But at the end it’s nice again.
Fine dining at L’O des Sources. We tried to order the cheapest wine, but the chef scowled and refused. He then decided in our favor, which we didn’t regret, and the evening was still cheaper than we had feared.

Reilhanette – Greolieres

Distance: 280 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/x5bBe

Through Provence to the Georges Du Verdon, and then a few more Colles in between. Unfortunately, the next day was scheduled for 24 hours of continuous rain, so we decided to spend two days in accommodation. A hotel room is not really suitable. We found a tiny cottage with a kitchen – living – sleeping area for little money. Once again, the landlord only spoke French, but we were immediately offered a corner in his private shed and our moped just about fitted in.

Greolieres – Briancon

Distance: 290 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/E2pvX

Route de Grandes Alpes, here come the first passes of the French Alps.
Col de Luens – Col de Toutes Aures – Gorges de Daluis – Col des Champs – Col d’Allos – Col de Vars – Col d’Izoard
In Barcelonette, at the entrance to the town, we noticed at a service station that the rear tire on the left side was completely worn out. The many traffic circles and rough roads cause tires to wear out much faster. Google couldn’t find anything quickly, but we were already staying in the next big town, Briancon, so we decided to look for a tire dealer. And then great luck: right at the end of the town, less than
2 km further a motorcycle tire dealer. Of course, we went straight there, and it wasn’t a lunch break (!). The guy gives us a quick glance and calmly continues to work on a scooter. I look at his shelves and find my tire size but not my model, but it doesn’t matter. We throw the luggage down, the colleague comes out, looks at the tire, says in wonderful French: Olala and pushes the scooter onto his lift without a word. Changes the tire. He then waves me over to his computer and shows me the price €170, which is almost what I pay here. Great Clint Eastwood movie. Only positive reviews on Google, I think this guy saves a lot of people’s vacations every year. You can remember him :-).

Briancon – Évian-les-Bains (Lake Geneva)

Distance: 310 km
GPX data and download: kurv.gr/MErD8

Now more big curves and passes.
Col du Lautaret – Col du Galibier – Col du Télégraphe – Col des Saisies – Col des Aravis – Col de la Colombière
I’m sorry to say that we didn’t ride one particular stretch, as I only discovered it later. I have now added the loop to the Kurviger link point 4. See also: Google Maps. The Col du Galibier is probably one of the very few Alpine passes that has no restaurants at the summit. There is only a gravel parking lot with a magnificent view.

Unfortunately, the route from Lake Geneva northwards was lost. We drove with Kurviger.de to the southern Black Forest, from there on through the entire Black Forest… and on towards Hometown.

Conclusion

The food in France is great, you just have to say goodbye to the German prices a little, there are always several courses, enjoy it, we don’t get anything like that so easily at home. Calculated approx. 40€ /person incl. drinks. In Spain, on the other hand, it is much cheaper, here you can get away with 20-30€.

The road asphalt eats more tires, my rear tire was already worn but it was at the end after 9500 instead of 12,000. My experience is based on about 80% with two people and luggage.

Drivers in France and Spain usually drive at a great distance, especially in the mountains, so overtaking is very easy, as you can usually pull back into the lane without any problems. The situation is usually quite different for German drivers: Distances greater than one car length are rarely experienced.
Exception: sports car drivers – who in turn are often very motorcycle-friendly.

Unfortunately, the language is not always easy, but you can manage.
We only met nice and courteous people. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who is prejudiced against Germans by the French. We can’t confirm that.
Oh, I forgot to mention: people may react in a similar way to grumpy, unfriendly contemporaries.