Mythique route des Alpes: Mythical route des Alpes

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the mountains became accessible to motor car tourism. The Touring-Club de France decided to develop a project for a route that would link Thonon and Evian to Nice by following the ridges of the French Alps. The aim was to create "the finest mountain route in the world", the Route des Alpes, which was inaugurated in July 1911. The tourists, who used it would travel from the égraceful shores of Lake Léman to the sunny beaches of the Côte d'Azur", crossing five départements and ascending nine passes, some of which are more than 2 000 m high. They would discover the grandiose beauty and diverse landscapes of the high mountains in their own vehicles or on the PLM Railway Company's confortable coaches. The Route des Alpes, which inspired other itineraries, including the well known Route Napoléon, has now become extremely famous thanks to the Tour de France cycle race.