"Footage of the Route Napoleon" Topic

Gents, I recently had the pleasure of driving the Route Napoleon, the N85, from Golfe Juan to Grenoble over a few days as part of a Napoleonic themed trip to France which also took in Lyon and Paris.

I've prepared a 10 min YouTube clip of the trip along the Route you may find interesting. Its not intended to be a doco about the Route, just a fun holiday package, so no nitpicking please!

The clip is here: link

If I had to make one observation it is that the men of the Guard Napoleon's entourage who marched that track (as it was then) were true men of iron. The road is difficult enough now and to see how far they came each day on foot over incredible climbs was humbling. The Polish Lancers also had to carry their saddles all the way to Castellane before they got mounts, a very long way!

Some of the villages haven't changed very much at all as you'll see.

Thoroughly worthwhile taking the drive if you can some day.

Hope you enjoy the clip.

Cheers

Phillip

Thanks for the tour. Some very nice images in your clip.

Now we understand so much better the winter barracks.
Very nice.

Terrific, Phillipaj, loved it. Didn't by chance, go to the Musée de l'Empéri outside Marseille did you?

emperi-museum.org

Great footage.

My wife's been reading up on the French Resistance who used that country and it gives me a better idea of some of the country she's been talking about.

Thanks Lads for your comments- much appreciated.

Erwin: yes it was freezing, the Mistral was blowing as well! Got down to -10C in Gap over night.

Dave: yes we did. We were based in Arles for a bit and so it was a 45 minute drive to Salon de Provence where the Musee de l'Emperi is. Its fantastic, but a little quirky. We had the place to ourselves which was fab.

Of course it shut for two hours in the middle of the day for lunch (fair enough), and the shop had some great stuff, like books, figures and shako plates but they were only available by contacting the friends of the museum.

Here is the link for the museum: emperi-museum.org

Re the collection, its superb and hard to take in that its the real stuff you are looking at. They had the personal effects of General Dorsenne of the Imperial Guard, captured Austrian flags from Austerlitz, letters from Davout, lots if Imperial Guard uniforms. I've several photos and will try and post some.

138Sqn: interestingly there is a Resistance Museum on the Route near Castellane (if I recall correctly) and I noted several markers on the road commerating a resistance fighter who died at that spot. It wss perfect ambush country, slow bends, remote, narrow passes.