a small town in Nice with red roof tiles

a man cycling on a road above a town in Nice

a woman cycling in a cycling lane on the road

La Grande Corniche Cycle Route

One of the Riviera's classic cycling routes

featured in Cycling routes Updated 10 September 2015

La Grande Corniche is one of the classic cycle routes of the Riviera and this ride takes you from the heart of Nice all the way to Menton on the Italian border and back.

Starting at Riquier train station, turn left under the railway bridge onto Boulevard de l’Armée des Alpes. Continue for about 4 blocks then turn right at the next junction after the Total garage, it’ll be signposted for “Grande Corniche” and Observatoire de Nice”.

From this point you leave the traffic of Nice behind and start climbing up above the city; it’s a steady climb for about another 13km with the highest point being 535m.

The views as you climb are just fantastic; the first few kilometres see Nice dropping away over your left shoulder until it’s like a toy town beside the sea, then you head into a forested area where now and then you get glimpses through the trees into the Vallée du Paillon and the hills beyond. Once you’ve passed the Observatoire the road opens out and every twist and turn reveals stunning scenery of the undulating coastline meeting the deepest blue sea. This ride will definitely take longer than scheduled if you stop to take as many photos as we did.

Once you reach the Col d’Eze you can congratulate yourself on having done the hardest part at our favourite lunch stop, L’Auberge de la Croix du Pape, where you can dine like a king for under 20€! The food here is excellent, the terrace is beautiful and we’ve always had a very warm welcome from the owners; they offer a lunchtime menu of 3 courses for 19,90€ or 2 courses for 14,50€ (except Sundays) - 2 courses is plenty if you want any hope of getting back on the bike.

Our next stop is La Turbie, an ancient town with a history that can be traced back as far as the Romans. The enormous tower that you’ll see long before you reach the town is the Trophée des Alpes, or the Trophy of Augustus, a Roman relic from 6BC. Just after you pass the entrance to the old part of La Turbie there is a small turnoff that leads to a viewing point - from here you can see the port of Monaco in all its glory.

From La Turbie it is blessedly all downhill, the roads are in pretty good condition and there are few junctions, so you can pick up some speed as you whizz round the smooth mountain bends. At around the 25km mark you’ll see a turnoff to the left where you can opt to take a small detour to the medieval village of Roquebrune Cap Martin - if you look up you’ll see the ancient chateau dominating the hillside with the village nestled beneath.

Shortly after the turnoff you’ll come to a junction and a set of traffic lights, turn left in the direction of Menton and continue along Avenue de Verdun until you come to a roundabout by an Esso garage. Turn right here and follow signs for “Les Plages” until you arrive at the seafront of Cap Martin, where you’ll turn left and see the promenade stretching out in front of you all the way to Menton. There is plenty to see in Menton and loads of lovely places to stop for a drink, so consider taking a bike chain in case you want to explore a bit.

After such a delicious lunch and a long lazy descent down to the beach it would be torture to kick the legs back into gear at this point, which is why we’re kindly offering you two easier returns options. You’re welcome.

If you want to take the easiest possible route then simply about-face and head back along the coast, following signs for Nice. You’ll enjoy a whistle-stop tour of all the beach resorts along the way and it is mostly pretty flat. There will be heavier traffic though and lots more junctions to slow you down, so this is definitely the more leisurely option.

If you still have a bit of climb left in your legs then head back via Cap Martin and take the D6007 after the peninsula, this is known as the Moyenne Corniche and is the road that runs in between the Grande Corniche and the coast road. It’ll have more traffic than the Grande Corniche but not so much as down at the coast. There’s still a fair old climb involved but once you’re past Eze Village it’s plain sailing all the way back to Nice via the port.

We love this ride for many reasons and we’re not alone, you’ll see many fellow cyclists out on the corniches at all times of the year.