The Route Napoleon – some of the most staggeringly beautiful scenery in the south of France

In 1815, Napoleon left his exile in Elba and with a small band of loyal troops made their way from Golfe-Juan (near Cannes) to Grenoble and then Paris, and yet only a year later was to lose it all at the battle of Waterloo.

Today you can drive the route (all the way is 8 hours) but do part of it and retrace his secret march.

The drive is one of the most spectacular in all of Europe.

If you wish not to drive, there is a lovely tourist train from Nice to Digne-les-Bains , it's a 3  hour trip, but you can get off along the way and picnic and hike and then get back on the train going north or returning to Nice.