Open a GPX file

Calais to the Alps and back

From the ferry port or the Eurotunnel exit at Coquelles, south through Champagne to Langres and the Jura, over the Col de la Faucille to Annecy, then the Aravis, Roselend, Iseran and Galibier before the Vercors, Burgundy and the run home.

Distance
1,418 miles (2,282 km)
Type
Loop
Where
Champagne, Jura and the Alps

At 150 to 300 miles a day, this is 5 to 10 days of riding. Set your own daily distance and add rest days.

Plotted by us, not yet ridden

Starts at Calais ferry port

Download GPX Plan this tripBook this trip
Book this tripCrossing Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, P&O Ferries, DFDSBeds from Calais, and each nightCover insurance and breakdownSee it all

Click a dot for details. White dots are the stops, each with a bed search. Yellow dots are places to see.

Main roads

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From the map

Longest gap between fuel
46 miles
Fuel stations near the line
321
Curvature
122 ° a mile
Campsites within 2 km
276

Measured on the route line from OpenStreetMap data, which can be missing or out of date. Curvature is degrees of turning a mile, measured every 100 metres. On our routes they run from 6 on the E19 to 701 on the SP638.

Before you go

  • The high cols (Iseran, Galibier, Roselend) are normally open from June to October only. Check before you go.
  • The line keeps off motorways and toll roads by design. Swap in the autoroute for any stretch you want to cover quickly.
  • The official sources for French riding rules, including the Crit'Air sticker, are linked from our riding in Europe page.

On the way

  1. Calais
  2. Saint-Omer
  3. Saint-Quentin
  4. Laon
  5. Reims
  6. Epernay
  7. Troyes
  8. Langres
  9. Besancon
  10. Ornans
  11. Pontarlier
  12. Morez
  13. Col de la Faucille
  14. Annecy
  15. La Clusaz
  16. Col des Aravis
  17. Beaufort
  18. Cormet de Roselend
  19. Bourg-Saint-Maurice
  20. Val-d'Isere
  21. Col de l'Iseran
  22. Lanslebourg
  23. Valloire
  24. Col du Galibier
  25. Col du Lautaret
  26. Le Bourg-d'Oisans
  27. Villard-de-Lans
  28. Pont-en-Royans
  29. Bourg-en-Bresse
  30. Cluny
  31. Beaune
  32. Chatillon-sur-Seine
  33. Tonnerre
  34. Sens
  35. Provins
  36. Chateau-Thierry
  37. Soissons
  38. Compiegne
  39. Amiens
  40. Hesdin
  41. Montreuil-sur-Mer
  42. Calais

Split it into days

Pick the miles you like to ride in a day. Each day ends at the named place on the route nearest that distance, and you get a GPX file for each day.

This is your pace, not our estimate of how long the riding takes. Day lengths vary because each day ends at a named place.

Ready to ride it?

Book this trip

Plan it with dates in the tour planner

1Getting there

This route starts where the boat or train lands at Calais. Book the bike as a motorcycle, not a car.

Compare every crossing

2Places to stay

Split the route into days above and each day gets its own bed search for where it ends.

Back to the days

3Cover

Check your bike insurance covers riding abroad, get travel insurance that covers motorcycling at your engine size, and breakdown cover that recovers a motorcycle in every country on the route.

What to check before you buy cover

The country on this route

What GOV.UK says riders need for it, checked 05/11/2026. Rules change, so read the official page before you go.

France

Money
Euro
Ride on the
Right
  • Riding into central Paris, Lyon, Grenoble or another low emission zone? You need a Crit'Air sticker. Buy it only from the official site (official site)
  • Some mountain areas require winter tyres or chains from 1 November to 31 March: check which vehicles and areas it covers (official site)
  • The drink-drive limit is a third lower than in England and Wales, with regular roadside checks

On every trip abroad: your licence, insurance that covers riding abroad, the V5C and travel insurance with medical cover. The tour planner turns all of this into a checklist each rider in your group can tick off.

Places to see on the way

Castles, passes, viewpoints and more within easy reach of the line, in the order you reach them. Yellow dots on the map.

Place details from Wikidata. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each card.

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