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Scenes of France

The perfect backdrop for any car.

By The Drive Staff

Updated

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It’s good and pouring at 5am in Paris. Cobblestones are slick, traffic is already starting to back up. It will present a serious test to the Volvo S90’s Pilot Assist.
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We leave from the Arc de Triomphe, one of Paris’ starring tourist attractions and a huge traffic circle.
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Roy, a one-time resident of Paris, takes the morning shift through town.
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Traffic, on this side of town at least, starts out light.
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A look at one of Paris’ signature broad, treelined thoroughfares.
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Onto the highway, into thunderstorms. Bad weather slows us down, the helping hand of Pilot Assist keeps Roy's spirits up.
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Breaks in the clouds reveal France’s pastoral countryside. Castles come and go at freeway speed.
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Our next glance of traffic comes in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. Our average speed creeps even lower when we hit Grenoble.
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Cantle takes the wheel for the start of the record run in Vizille during a break in the clouds. The good weather doesn’t last.
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With miles of historic and twisting tarmac, the Route Napoléon is handily one of the finest driving roads in the world—when the weather’s clear.
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Even dodging thunderstorms, skirting the French Alps at speed is unimprovable.
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We reach Golfe-Juan, between Antibes and Cannes. It was here, in 1815, that Napoleon began his march to Paris, forging the path that would become the Route Napoleon.
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Without the plaque marking the launch point for Napoleon’s departure to Vizielle and Paris, this little intersection wouldn’t be more remarkable than any other on the Côte d'Azur.
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45-minutes east, through Nice and over French coastal roads, Monaco and it’s ritzy harbor are our final destination for the French leg of the trip.
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It’s a gorgeous evening in Monaco.
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The next day in Monaco is perfectly cloudless and warm as we prepare for our next endurance run in Spain.