France · Monaco
Designed to be Driven: Côte d’Azur
The roads the Riviera was built for.
23–28 April 2027 · 6 days / 5 nights · £2,699 per car, two people
Monaco, the Gorges du Verdon, and the three Corniches above the Mediterranean. The premium sequel to DTBD Alpine Edition.
The premium sequel to Designed to be Driven: Alpine Edition — same positioning, different geography. Mountain passes traded for coastal drama, and Monaco as the hook: Casino Square, the harbour, and the three Corniche roads stacked above the Mediterranean.
South via Reims and Burgundy, then the Gorges de l’Ardèche and the D290 through the canyon. On to Sisteron, gateway to Provence — and then the day that carries the trip: the Corniche Sublime along the south rim of the Gorges du Verdon, the Route des Crêtes with its fourteen viewpoints over a 700-metre drop, lunch in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, and the Grande Corniche down into Monaco for the photograph in Casino Square. North again on the Route Napoléon — the road he took back from Elba — and a final night in Beaune.
April is the month for this coast. Warm enough for the terrace, empty enough for the roads, and weeks before the barriers go up for the Grand Prix. Every dinner is included, professional photography runs throughout, and a support vehicle follows the group the whole way. This is the trip where everything is handled.
Group Road Trip
£2,699 per car
Two people sharing
Solo £2,289 per car with your own room throughout
Deposit £500 per car · balance due 15 January 2027
✓ All dinners, every night
✓ Professional photography throughout
✓ Dedicated support vehicle the whole way
✓ Return Eurotunnel crossing and five nights hotels
Why This Trip
Why April
Warm roads, empty ones.
The Riviera in April does everything it does in August — without the traffic. The Corniches are a drive, not a queue with a view.
The gorges at their best.
Spring water in the Ardèche and the Verdon, and the canyon roads open year-round while the high cols above them are still under snow.
Monaco without the circus.
Casino Square in April is a photograph you can actually take. A month later the Grand Prix barriers are going up.
Finish in Burgundy.
The last night is Beaune — the wine capital of France, a short run from Calais the next morning, and a considerably better final evening than a service station.
Price Includes
What’s Included
✓ Return Eurotunnel crossing for your car
✓ Five nights hotel accommodation
✓ All dinners, every night
✓ Welcome drinks on arrival
✓ Professional photography throughout — your car, on these roads, properly shot
✓ Full on-trip support with a dedicated support vehicle
✓ Printed guidebook with QR-code routes
✓ Hosted throughout
✓ No Swiss vignette needed on this route
✗ Fuel and French autoroute tolls
✗ Lunches (except where noted)
✗ Travel insurance (required) and vehicle insurance with European cover (required)
✗ European breakdown cover (required)
✗ Drinks beyond included events
Day by Day
The Itinerary
Day 1 · Fri 23 Apr
Folkestone → Mâcon
Morning crossing, then the A26 south with a coffee stop in the cathedral square at Reims, and on down the A6 to Mâcon on the edge of Burgundy. Around 390 miles, all motorway, arriving by seven. Dinner included at the hotel.
Day 2 · Sat 24 Apr
Mâcon → the Ardèche → Sisteron
South into the Ardèche and the D290 through the gorges — twisty, dramatic, and the hero road of the day — with the Pont d’Arc natural arch as the stop. On south-east to Sisteron, the gateway to Provence, and dinner on the terrace in the old town.
Day 3 · Sun 25 Apr
The Verdon, Monaco, and the coast
The big one. East to Castellane and onto the Corniche Sublime along the south rim of the Gorges du Verdon — the better of the two rim roads, faster and more sweeping — then the Route des Crêtes: a 24-kilometre loop with fourteen viewpoints and sheer 700-metre drops into the canyon. Lunch in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, one of the most beautiful villages in France. Then east via Grasse and down the Grande Corniche into Monaco for the group photograph in Casino Square, finishing at Villefranche-sur-Mer with the bay below the terrace.
Day 4 · Mon 26 Apr
Villefranche → Èze → the Route Napoléon → Grenoble
Up to the hilltop village of Èze first — the whole coast below you — then inland onto the N85: the Route Napoléon, through Castellane, Digne and Sisteron. The hero road of the northbound leg. Night in the Grenoble/Valence corridor, dinner included.
Day 5 · Tue 27 Apr
North to Beaune
A short, relaxed day after the big one. North on the A7 with a coffee stop in Vieux-Lyon if the timing works, then on to Beaune for the final night — dinner in the wine capital of France.
Day 6 · Wed 28 Apr
Beaune → home
All motorway north to Calais — an early start for a midday crossing, home by mid-afternoon. Around 420 miles.
The Route
Drive it before you decide.
Tap the days to see each leg, the stops, and the overnight towns.
Interested in Designed to be Driven: Côte d'Azur?
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