Route Napoléon to Sisteron
France > Provence > Eastern > Route Napoléon to Sisteron
North of Castellane, the Route Napoléon passes through the barren scrubby rocklands of some of the most obscure and empty parts of Provence. The road was built in the 1930s to commemorate the great leader's journey north through Haute Provence on return from exile on Elba in 1815, in the most audacious and vain recapture of power in French history. Using mule paths still deep with winter snow, Napoléon and his 700 soldiers forged ahead towards Digne-les-Bains and Sisteron on their way to Grenoble – a total of 350km – in just six days. One hundred days later, he lost the battle of Waterloo and was permanently incarcerated on the island of St Helena.At Barrème, the road is joined by the narrow-gauge Chemins de Fer de la Provence, also known as the Train des Pignes, which runs between Nice and Digne-les-Bains. Other stations on the line are Annot and St-André-les-Alpes, both with bus connections to Castellane. Local tourist offices will have timetables.
Pages in section ‘Route Napoléon to Sisteron’: Digne-les-Bains, Sisteron.
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