Two days from Grenoble: the first follows a route we have ridden ourselves, over the Col de Parquetout, the Col du Noyer, the Champsaur, the Col de Moissière and the Serre-Ponçon balcony road, with a night in Embrun; the second crosses the Col de Vars to reach Barcelonnette and the show, then heads home down the Ubaye valley, Serre-Ponçon and the Route Napoléon.
Base map © IGN · Géoplateforme. Day one is our own track, recorded from the handlebars. Check that the passes are open before you set off.
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.
| Dates | Friday 4, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Edition | The 10e, after a 9e that broke every record |
| Roadbook | Free at the show desk — 14 routes in the valley |
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 organiser announces more than 80 exhibitors for 2026, established brands and newcomers alike.
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.
Our route reaches the Parc de la Sapinière in the middle of the morning on day two, after the Col de Vars. That leaves the show, a test ride or two and lunch before setting off for Grenoble in mid-afternoon. To enjoy the guided rides or an evening, you need one more night in the valley: leave on the Friday and come home on the Sunday.
Day one was not worked out on a map: it is ours, recorded from the handlebars. It leaves the main road at Laffrey to take in the Valbonnais and the Col de Parquetout, rejoins the Route Napoléon at the Sautet dam, then crosses the Col du Noyer into the Champsaur. It is longer than the direct road, and that is the whole point.
All these photographs come from day one, ridden on this route, from Grenoble to Lake Serre-Ponçon.
After the Noyer, the Drac valley is followed up to Pont-du-Fossé, then the Col de Moissière (1,573 m) drops into the Gap basin. The road then reaches Saint-Apollinaire and its balcony over Lake Serre-Ponçon, and finally Embrun, set on its rock above the Durance: the evening stop.
Day two climbs back to Guillestre then crosses the Col de Vars, at 2,109 metres, into the Ubaye. The descent to Barcelonnette is long and open, between pastures and larches, with the Parpaillon massif opposite. Leaving Embrun early means crossing the pass before anyone else.
From Barcelonnette, the way home follows the Ubaye valley then the south shore of Lake Serre-Ponçon, a corniche above turquoise water for some thirty kilometres. Gap, the Col Bayard and the Route Napoléon then lead back to Grenoble across the Matheysine plateau.
No. Entry to the show, in the Parc de la Sapinière, is free and open to all with no registration, on 4, 5 and 6 September 2026, from 9 am to 6 pm and until 5 pm on Sunday. The guided rides and secret lunches, however, are booked online in advance, and places go fast.
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.
Day one, yes: it is our own track, recorded from the handlebars, over the Col de Parquetout, the Col du Noyer, the Champsaur, the Col de Moissière and the Serre-Ponçon balcony road. Every photograph on this page comes from that trip. Day two is the Col de Vars and the descent to Barcelonnette, then home through the Ubaye valley and Serre-Ponçon.
200 km on the first day, then 100 km per extra day, i.e. 300 km over two days. This loop is 449: the 149 km of excess are charged at €0.50 to €0.70 per kilometre depending on the bike, so €75 to €105 to allow for. Over three days the allowance rises to 400 km, and the excess drops to 49 km. Code AAMF2026 adds 150 km, which wipes out exactly the excess on the two-day loop.
Yes, with one reservation to know about before you leave. The Col du Noyer, the Col de Moissière and the Col de Vars are wide and well surfaced. The Col de Parquetout, though, is a small single-lane mountain road, with tight hairpins, blind sections and gradients reaching 16 %: it is ridden at walking pace, in confidence, and it is better not to take it on a heavily loaded bike on a wet day. Anyone who would rather avoid it stays on the N85 from Laffrey to Corps: the rest of the day is unchanged. Our Triumph Tiger Sport 660 and our BMW F 900 R are A2-restricted and suit it perfectly, with the top box for the overnight luggage.
June to October. The Col du Noyer closes in winter and reopens depending on the snow, and so does the Col de Parquetout. The Col de Vars is the highest road pass in France cleared all year round: it stays open through the winter, apart from temporary closures during snowfall. Check that the passes are open the day before you leave.
No. The night is booked directly with the host, in Embrun. The bike and the accommodation are two separate bookings. Ask for a locked garage: after a day of passes, you do not want to leave the bike and the luggage outside.
Our Triumphs and BMWs (A2 and A licences) are prepared, insured and serviced. Book online, self-service pick-up 24/7 in Grenoble. With code AAMF2026, 150 km are on us for this festival weekend.
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