Col de la Bonette
M64 / Cime loop · Jausiers → Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée · France
- Length
- 30 miles
- Drive time
- 1 h 15 min
- Type
- Mountain pass
- Region
- Europe
Before you go: Closed roughly Oct–Jun (snow)
The highest through-road in Europe: 2,715 m at the col, 2,802 m if you lap the Cime de la Bonette loop — a lunar, empty giant between Jausiers and the Tinée valley.
Jausiers to Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée on the M64, with the Cime de la Bonette loop if you want the extra height: 2,715 m at the col, 2,802 m on the cime. Highest through-road in Europe by the usual argument. Lunar, empty, well-surfaced. Halte 2000 is food on the climb; the cime loop is the photograph. Fuel at Le Sans Soucis in Jausiers before you start. Closed roughly October to June.
Usually quieter than Galibier or Izoard, which is the reason to come. Still check the opening. The loop is narrow and exposed; it is not a place to meet a coach at hope.
Pair it with the rest of the Route des Grandes Alpes, or with Turini if you are heading for the coast. Do the cime only if the weather is clear; the col already does the job in cloud. Jausiers is the civilised start in the Ubaye; the Tinée side drops toward Isola and eventually Nice. The cime loop is a one-way-feeling ribbon around a cairn — walk the last metres if you do not like the exposure. Empty is relative: July still has motos. If Galibier was a peloton, this is the reset. Check the opening; 2,800 m does not do June as a favour. Fuel in Jausiers only. The lunar plateau is the photograph — pull off where the road has been widened, not on the cime if a bike is coming the other way. Halte 2000 is the food on the climb; if it is shut, you are eating in Jausiers or not at all.
Highlights of the Col de la Bonette
- Cime loop at 2,802 m
- Lunar summit scenery
- Usually gloriously empty
Where to stop on the Col de la Bonette
- Le Sans Soucis fuel, Jausiers fuel — Last fuel before the pass — nothing for the next 30 miles until Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée
- Halte 2000 food — Chalet restaurant at 2,000 m on the northern ramp — last food before the summit
- Cime de la Bonette viewpoint — Summit loop at 2,802 m — the highest tarmac in France, with a table d'orientation
Drive the Col de la Bonette
Open Col de la Bonette on the map → ⬇ Download GPX
GPX works with Garmin, TomTom, Beeline and most bike sat-navs. Free, no sign-up — these are indicative waypoints, so follow the road signs, not the arrow.
Plot it, add it to a club run with a meeting point and pit stops, then share the whole trip as one link. Free, no account, works offline.
Route research: Club road index · More roads in France
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