We went. Two days, 481 kilometres and eight passes between Grenoble and Barcelonnette, recorded from the handlebars on 4 and 5 September 2026: Parquetout and the Noyer on the way out, a night in the Champsaur, Serre-Ponçon and the Col de Pontis at first light, the show late in the morning, then home over Vars, the Izoard, the Lautaret and the Luitel. Here is the account, the photographs and the exact track, so you can ride it yourself next year.
Base map © IGN · Géoplateforme. Track recorded from the handlebars on 4 and 5 September 2026, passes cross-checked against OpenStreetMap. Check that the passes are open before you leave.
Away from the Grésivaudan at 3.45 pm, at 34 °C. That is late for a first day, and deliberately so: late-afternoon light beats midday heat, and the 165 kilometres of the stage come easily. Two motorcycles, a BMW F 900 R and a Triumph Tiger Sport 660, both A2-restrictable, with the top case for the night.
The N85 is soon left behind. After the Vizille climb and the Matheysine plateau, the first halt falls beside Lake Laffrey, under tall pines, at 47 kilometres. The water is flat, nobody about. The road then drops to La Mure and tips into the Valbonnais on country lanes, between maize fields, with the Obiou growing at the far end.
The Col de Parquetout comes at kilometre 88 — the Alps–Piedmont loop crosses it too. It is a single-track road, unmarked, climbing in tight hairpins through the forest before opening onto grassy ridges gilded by late summer. You ride it at walking pace and stop for no particular reason, except that at 1,398 metres the silence is complete and the Obiou is right opposite. It is 26 °C up there, eight less than at the start.
The descent rejoins the Route Napoléon at the Sautet dam, at Corps. You cross the arch bridge thrown over the Drac gorges, a hundred metres of air beneath the wheels, with the blue cube of the EDF information centre on the bank. Four hundred metres further on, a laid-out viewpoint, a cross, a wooden rail: an obligatory stop, with the Obiou and the spires of the Dévoluy lined up straight ahead.
Then comes the Col du Noyer, and it is the one you remember. The climb from the north follows a narrow gorge, the road clinging to the wall, with no parapet in places. At the top, at 1,664 metres, it is 24 °C and the sun is already low: the ridges turn orange, the valley below is in shadow. This is the moment of the day that explains why we set off at 3.45 pm rather than nine in the morning.
The descent into the Champsaur is spectacular and has to be earned: a run of hairpins cut into the cliff, with the plateau opening three hundred metres below. The tarmac still carries the marks of the Tour, red polka dots and "HAUTES-ALPES ♥ LE VÉLO" painted across the road.
Down below, at Poligny, a herd fills the village street on its way to the byre; engines off, and wait. Fuel in the Champsaur, and arrival at the Camping des Six Stations at 7.28 pm, at 26 °C. 165 kilometres, 4,637 metres of climbing, two passes.
Waking at 15 °C under the larches, the bikes in front of the chalets. Away at 8.45 am, long sleeves and thermal liner: it promises to be a long day, 316 kilometres and six passes, four of them above 2,000 metres.
The run down the Champsaur to Chorges and along the south shore of the lake leads to the Col de Pontis, at 49 kilometres, at 18 °C. It is a small pass of 1,301 metres that nobody mentions, and yet it is the finest balcony on the route: the D 954 comes out of the forest onto a gravel shoulder, and Lake Serre-Ponçon is there below, a turquoise that looks unreal, with the Pic de Morgon opposite and the Chanteloube viaduct set on the water.
The Ubaye valley is then followed upstream along the river, and at Saint-Pons, just before Barcelonnette, you come across an old transport aircraft set down in the middle of a field, propellers and silver fuselage in the sun. You stop, of course.
Barcelonnette at 10.26 am, 83 kilometres on the clock, 21 °C. The town is decked out for the festival, bunting strung across the pedestrian streets, the old church tower rising above the café terraces. We leave the bikes and walk up to the Parc de la Sapinière.
In the park, everything to do with travelling by motorcycle: manufacturers, equipment makers, workshops, specialist agencies, mapmakers. The novelty everyone had come to see this year stood on a pale wooden podium, front wheel resting on a pile of stones — the BMW F 450 GS, shown in France for the first time at this event.
Away from the show at 1.08 pm. Nine kilometres to Jausiers, nine more up the high Ubaye, and lunch at Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, at 1,308 metres, on the wooden terrace of the Saint Paul Saloon — an improbable log building at the end of the valley, where you park the bikes out front and eat under the awning.
The Col de Vars starts straight afterwards, fifteen kilometres of steady climbing on a wide road, high pasture and larch on either side, the Parpaillon massif opposite. Summit at 2,109 metres, 21 °C — warmer than Barcelonnette that morning, which tells you something about the day.
Down to Guillestre, then straight back up through the Queyras towards the Izoard. The last three kilometres before the summit cross the Casse Déserte: a cirque of ochre scree bristling with rock pinnacles, where the road winds through a landscape unlike anything else in the Alps. The Col de la Platrière (2,215 m) is crossed there without anyone noticing, two and a half kilometres before the Izoard.
Col d'Izoard, 2,361 metres, 18 °C. It is the high point of the trip, and the summit shared by most of our long loops, including the grand tour of the Écrins. The marker stands at the foot of a stone pillar, backed against the wall of scree, and there is a crowd of motorcycles that day.
From there it is all downhill. Briançon, then back up the Guisane to the Col du Lautaret, at 20 °C, in a corridor of high pasture between the Écrins and the Cerces — the same pass as the great passes of the Oisans. Eleven kilometres further on the road passes La Grave and the north face of the Meije appears all at once on the left, glaciers and all. You pull over on the D 1091 like everyone else.
Then the Oisans, Le Bourg-d'Oisans, and one last pass to avoid the main road: the Luitel, 1,262 metres, a small forest road above Séchilienne. It is still 22 °C, the light is golden, and horses graze loose at the roadside. They come over of their own accord.
Home at 7.21 pm, at 31 °C. 316 kilometres in the day, 6,532 metres of climbing, six passes. Over the two days: 481 kilometres, 11,169 metres of climbing and eight passes.
It is the biggest French gathering devoted to motorcycle travel, and it fits into three days in a single valley. The show occupies the Parc de la Sapinière, right in the heart of Barcelonnette; the brands set up base camps in the neighbouring villages; and between the two, the valley becomes a full-scale test ground. Entry is free, with no registration.
| When | Three days, Friday to Sunday, in early September |
|---|---|
| Venue | Parc de la Sapinière, 10 avenue de la Libération, 04400 Barcelonnette |
| Opening hours | 9 am to 6 pm, closing at 5 pm on Sunday |
| Entry | Free, with no registration |
| Roadbook | Free at the show desk — 14 routes in the valley |
| 2027 dates | Announced on alpesaventuremotofestival.com |
Manufacturers, gear makers, custom builders, specialist travel agencies, map and GPS publishers: the park gathers everything to do with motorcycle travel. In 2025, the 9e edition drew 101 exhibitors, including 20 constructeurs and 25 travel agencies, with nearly 20 % more visitors than the year before. The new arrival of the 2026 edition was the BMW F 450 GS, shown there for the first time in France.
This is what sets the festival apart from a show under a roof: you test the bikes on the roads of the Ubaye, passes included, not on a car park. In 2025, 4,200 test rides were taken over the three days. The brands also open off-road areas in the surrounding villages, with instructors, for those who want to leave the tarmac. Bring your licence and full kit: without them, no test ride.
Part of the programme is about learning rather than buying: GPS navigation and planning a long-distance trip, a refresher on the highway code, cornering lines coached by the Gendarmerie nationale, first aid adapted to riders. These are short sessions, taken on the spot according to the posted times.
Every day, guided rides leave the show for the Ubaye, the Queyras, the upper Durance and even Italy, from around fifty kilometres to more than two hundred and fifty. Some end with a “secret lunch” — the place is only revealed en route, often an isolated table at the head of a valley. Others have a theme, such as the women-only ride. These rides are booked online in advance, and places go fast.
Concerts, travel-film screenings and encounters with long-distance riders fill the evenings in Barcelonnette. The Sauze zip line, just above the town, rounds off the programme for those who still want more. And the roadbook handed out free at the desk — 3,500 copies gone in 2025 — gives fourteen waymarked routes in the valley: enough to extend the weekend.
In full, on 4 and 5 September 2026, on two of our motorcycles. The track offered for download is the one from the trip, recorded from the handlebars: 481 km, 11,169 m of climbing and eight passes. Every photograph on this page comes from those two days, and each pass has been cross-checked against OpenStreetMap for its name and altitude.
No. Entry to the show, in the Parc de la Sapinière, is free and open, with no registration. Guided rides and secret lunches, on the other hand, are booked online in advance, and places go quickly.
Yes, the test rides have nothing to do with what you arrived on: they are taken on the manufacturers’ bikes, on the roads of the Ubaye. You need your licence and full kit: helmet, gloves, jacket and boots covering the ankle. Our pack provides the helmet, gloves and jacket; the boots are down to you, and without them the manufacturers refuse the test ride. In 2025, 4,200 test rides were taken over the three days.
200 km on the first day, then 100 km per additional day, that is 300 km over two days. This route runs to 481: the 181 km over the allowance are charged at €0.50 to €0.70 per kilometre depending on the bike, so €91 to €127 to allow for. Over three days the allowance rises to 400 km and the excess falls to 81 km, which is the formula we recommend: it also leaves time to enjoy the show.
Yes, and we rode it on two A2-restrictable motorcycles, a BMW F 900 R and a Triumph Tiger Sport 660. The Noyer, Vars, the Izoard and the Lautaret are wide and well surfaced. Two sections call for easing off: the Col de Parquetout, a single-track road with tight hairpins and gradients reaching 16 %, and the Noyer descent into the Champsaur, cut into the cliff. Anyone who would rather avoid Parquetout stays on the N85 from Laffrey to Corps: the rest of the day is unchanged.
We rode 3 h 43 on the first day for 165 km, and 7 h 54 on the second for 316 km, not counting the show, so 11 h 37 on the road over the two days. It is manageable, but the second day is long: away at 8.45 am, home at 7.21 pm. Over three days the same loop becomes comfortable and leaves a full day in Barcelonnette.
De juin à octobre. Le col du Noyer, le col de Parquetout et le col d'Izoard ferment l'hiver et rouvrent selon l'enneigement. Le col de Vars, le plus haut col routier de France déneigé toute l'année, et le col du Lautaret restent ouverts, à l'exception de fermetures temporaires pendant les chutes de neige. Vérifiez l'ouverture des cols la veille du start.
No, the night is booked directly with the campsite. We slept at the Camping des Six Stations, in Saint-Jean-Saint-Nicolas in the Champsaur, 165 km from the start and 83 km from Barcelonnette: a well-placed stop, with room to spare when the Ubaye valley is full. Ask for a pitch where you can park the motorcycle alongside.
We rode this route on our motorcycles: Triumph Tiger Sport 660 and BMW F 900 R.
Our Triumphs and BMWs (A2 and A licences) are prepared, insured and serviced, with a top case for the overnight bag. Book online, self-service collection 24/7 in Grenoble.
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