Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lection in the museum consists of the sculptures, though the museum tries to keep a good
selection of paintings by the famous artists here year-round. For a review of modern art,
La Route Napoléon: North to the Alps
AftergettingboredinhistoyElbaempire,Napoleongatheredhisentourage,landedonthe
Riviera, bared his breast, and told his fellow Frenchmen, “Strike me down or follow me.”
France followed. But just in case, he took the high road, returning to Paris along the route
known today as La Route Napoléon. (Waterloo followed shortly afterward.)
By Car:
TheroutebetweentheRivieraandtheAlpsisbeautiful(fromsouthtonorth,
follow signs:
Digne, Sisteron,
and
Grenoble
). An assortment of pleasant villages with in-
expensive hotels lies along this route, making an overnight easy. Little Entrevaux feels
forgotten and still stuck in its medieval shell. Cross the bridge, meet someone friendly,
and consider the steep hike up to the citadel (€3, TI tel. 04 93 05 46 73). Sisteron's
Romanesque church and view from the citadel above make this town worth a quick leg-
stretch.
By Narrow-Gauge Train (Chemins de Fer de Provence):
Leavethetouristsbehind
and take the scenic train-bus-train combination that runs between Nice and Digne through
canyons, along whitewater rivers, and through many tempting villages (4/day, 25 percent
discount with railpass, departs Nice from Chemins de Fer de Provence Station—about 10
blocks behind the main train station, two blocks from the Libération tram stop, 4 Rue Al-
fred Binet, tel. 04 97 03 80 80,
www.trainprovence.com
)
. Ongoing track work may affect
the schedule; be sure to double-check all departures, arrivals, and connections.
Start with an early morning departure (look for an 8:30 train) and go as far as you
want. One good destination is
Entrevaux
(€10, 1.5 scenic hours from Nice). Climb high
to the citadel for great views and appreciate the unspoiled character of the town. The train
ends in
Digne-les-Bains
(a.k.a. simply Digne; €19, 3.5 hours), where you can catch a bus
(covered by railpasses) to other destinations such as Aix-en-Provence (6/day, 2 hours).
Mainline rail service to Digne was recently eliminated, leaving travelers with few op-
tions other than limited bus connections. Most return to Nice, making a round-trip on the
narrow-gauge train.
Sleeping along La Route Napoléon:
To do the entire trip from Nice to Annecy in
one day, you must leave Nice no later than 9:00, but I'd rather spend a night in one of
the tiny villages en route.
$ Hôtel Beauséjour*
in little Annot, about two hours from
Nice, makes a fun and reasonable getaway (Db-€73, Tb-€85, breakfast-€7, tel. 04 92 83
21 08,
www.hotel-beausejour-annot.com
). Farther along, in remote Clelles, you'll find
$
Hôtel Ferrat**,
a basic, family-run mountain hacienda at the base of Mont Aiguille, with
