Hi all

I am planning a trip to France next June and would like to go from Nice to Annecy via the Combe Laval and Gorges da la Bourne. I would be leaving from the Nice Airport around lunchtime on the 9th June. Looking at Via Michelin this is expected to be approximately a six hour drive from Nice to Pont-en-Royans where we could stop for the night and then go via the Gorges da la Bourne into Annecy the next day which is just over 3 hours.

Has anyone done this and it is doable.

My other option would be to drive from Nice to Die - stay here and then travel to Pont-en-Royans stopping for visit in the village and then at the Grotte de Choranche and continuing via the Gorges da la Bourne into Grenoble and staying here for the night and then onto Annecy.

If I could do it with a one night stay rather than 2 it would allow me to add an extra night between Annecy and Colmar.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We have not done this and I have not looked at routes etc from Nice to Pont en Royans, so cannot comment on that aspect. We have , however, stayed in the Drome and visited Pont en Royans and driven along the Combe Laval and visited the Grotte de Choranche. Unfortunately the Gorge road was closed when we were there. I will link you to my report on our stay. This was the first week of our trip and you may find other places of interest in the region.
Our autumn tour of country France
Bon voyage.

Thanks so much for your reply. I will have a look at your trip report.

We did a day trip to the Vercors last year, in May, on the one sunny day of our trip. We loved the area, and would happily go back again.
We didn't stay anywhere in the Vercors as we were staying not to far away anyway. Everything had just reopened, but it snowed the day after we went, and the roads were closed again. We were lucky with our timing. Our hosts said it can snow, or have heavy rain into June, so you will need to check the weather carefully for your planned route.

I hope you are only picking up the car at Nice airport, not arriving there after crossing time zones. You should not drive after a long flight for the safety of yourself and others, and certainly shouldn't attempt a 6 hour drive.

Echoing hetismij, the drive up essentially La Route Napoleon is for fully alert, rested drivers only. Six hours seems optimistic, and I don’t see it leaving you time or energy to go up and around the upper route around Combe Laval as well on the same day.
Yes, check closer to the time whether the D531 is open. It was closed the September that we visited. Also, be aware that a reservation is advisable for the admirable Grotte de la Choranche. Poor us, we had to kill time at an extraordinarily scenic little cafe down the road because we tooled up too late for tickets for the very next tour, and had a two hour wait for the next.

We are actually dropping someone off at the airport and will have been in the Nice region for about 5 days and will have come from Cinque Terre so we should be nice and relaxed and ready to continue on our fantastic France holiday

Go with the blessing, then. You might want to pick your stop based on wherever your research finds the nicest accommodation.
The Combe Laval upper drive is still not for the faint of heart. We looked at our manual shift car, the cliffs and each other and…drove up and down the valley, picnicking at the end.