Gorges du Verdon Viewpoint
Francescenic

Verdon Gorge: Route des Crêtes

Europe's deepest canyon, turquoise water 700m below, and a clifftop road with no barriers

Distance
65 mi
104 km
Driving
3 hr
excl. stops
Suggested
2 days
balanced split
Stops
5
curated

Distance and driving time are measured along the mapped route through the 5 stops listed below. Officially signed versions of famous routes often quote a longer figure, since they include promoted detours this line doesn't take.

Gorges du Verdon Viewpoint · Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Opens the planner with every stop loaded. Free, no card needed.

Day by day

Distances are measured along the actual road geometry, not straight-line. Drive times exclude stops, traffic and ferry waits.

What the drive is like

About 56% of it is on the D952, and most of the rest on the C3 and the D17.

There's real climbing in this one: the road gets up to roughly 1,030 m near Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, with something like 1,854 m of ascent over the whole drive.

The Route des Crêtes du Verdon is 0 km off the route if you have time for a detour.

  • D95256%
  • C319%
  • D176%
  • C46%

How high it goes

~1,030 m near Moustiers-Sainte-MarieMoustiers-Sainte-MarieCastellane · 100 km
Height above sea level along the driving route, measured at about 50 points. Total climb roughly 1,854 m.

Passes and famous roads

From the 500-plus roads drivers collect in the Plan Your Road Trips app.

Famous road · 0 km off the route

Route des Crêtes du Verdon

Famous road · 2 km off the route

Corniche Sublime (D71)

Famous road · 4 km off the route

Route Napoleon (N85)

Before you go

Best time to drive it

May to June, or September

July and August are hot and busy on the narrow gorge roads. Some of the minor roads on the rim close in winter.

Indicative costs

  • Fuel (40 mpg petrol)€14
  • Tolls€7

Tolls assume ~65% of the distance on tolled road. Fuel prices move constantly: treat these as a range, not a quote.

Driving rules

Emission zones, mandatory equipment and licence requirements change country by country, and in 2026 several of them changed mid-year.

Driving in France

Every stop on the Verdon Gorge: Route des Crêtes

  1. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

    Start

  2. Lac de Sainte-Croix

    +22 km from the last stop

  3. Route des Crêtes

    +40 km from the last stop

  4. Point Sublime

    +12 km from the last stop

  5. Castellane

    +26 km from the last stop

Worth a detour

Curated places within 25 km of the road.

Show 6 more

  • Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

    landmark

    A faïence-making village wedged in a limestone cleft, with a gold star strung on a chain between two cliffs.

  • Corniche Sublime (D71)

    famous road

    The southern rim road of the Verdon Gorge, running along the cliff edge with balcony views down to the green river.

  • Belvédère de l'Escalès (Verdon)

    scenic viewpoint

    A guardrail-edge belvedere on the Verdon's one-way Route des Crêtes, looking straight down 300 m of limestone.

  • Route des Cretes, Verdon Gorge (Bond-style corniche)

    film location

    The clifftop one-way loop above Europe's deepest gorge is the archetypal Riviera driving road used in car chase cinematography and manufacturer films.

  • Route Napoleon (N85)

    famous road

    The 325km route from Golfe-Juan to Grenoble that Napoleon took in 1815, now a flowing sequence of Alpine foothill curves.

  • Route des Cretes, Verdon Gorge

    famous road

    A one-way clifftop loop above Europe's deepest canyon with 14 belvederes, exposed and unforgettable.

Common questions about the Verdon Gorge: Route des Crêtes

How long does the Verdon Gorge: Route des Crêtes take?

The driving itself is about 3 hr across 65 miles (104 km). Most people spread it over 2 days: the day-by-day breakdown on this page splits it into balanced stretches rather than equal ones, so no single day is all driving.

How many miles is the Verdon Gorge: Route des Crêtes?

65 miles, or 104 km, measured along the actual road rather than straight-line between towns.

When is the best time to drive the Verdon Gorge: Route des Crêtes?

May to June, or September. July and August are hot and busy on the narrow gorge roads. Some of the minor roads on the rim close in winter.

What does the Verdon Gorge: Route des Crêtes cost in fuel?

Roughly €14 in fuel for a petrol car averaging 40 mpg, plus about €7 in tolls. Indicative only: fuel prices move.

More routes like this