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Col de Turini

D2566 · Sospel → La Bollène-Vésubie · France

Length
20 miles
Drive time
1 h
Type
Technical road
Region
Europe

Before you go: Snow possible at the col in winter — the Monte Carlo Rally counts on it

The most famous rally stage on earth: the Monte Carlo Rally's night stage climbs from Sospel through tight, wall-lined hairpins to the 1,607 m col. An hour from the Côte d'Azur, it pairs naturally with Route Napoléon and the Turini's legendary hotel-lined summit.

Sospel to La Bollène-Vésubie on the D2566: wall-lined hairpins, a 1,607 m col, and the Monte Carlo Rally's night-stage fame sitting on every barrier. The road is tighter than a modern Alpine pass — masonry, trees, and limited runoff. Surface is generally good except where winter has had it. Snow at the col is possible in winter, which is why the rally uses it. Les Trois Vallées sits on the summit, open all year, walls full of rally photographs. That is the food and the obvious stop. Fuel at Sospel before you climb; it is the last.

An hour from the Côte d'Azur, which is why it is busy when the coast is full. Weekdays, or out of the July–August peak. The summit lay-bys just below the col are safer than stopping in a hairpin to read a stage note that is not there.

Pair it with the Route Napoléon corridor and the Grande Corniche if you are heading to Menton, or with the rest of the Route des Grandes Alpes if you are already on that trip. It is a rally road that happens to be public; drive it as a mountain lane with history, not as a recce.

The night stage is someone else's job, on tyres you are not carrying. Daylight, and leave the walls some paint. The Sospel side is the classic rally climb; the Bollène side is quieter and just as tight. In winter, chains or a decision to stay in the valley — the rally weather is not a novelty for a hired Clio. Park at the hotel if you are eating; the col itself is a junction, not a car park. Pair with the Authion or the coast only if you still have daylight; this is not a twenty-minute extra from Nice.

Highlights of the Col de Turini

Where to stop on the Col de Turini

Drive the Col de Turini

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Route research: HunterMoss · More roads in France

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