Le Grand Tour

Enzo’s biggest road trip yet

Neither Tracy or I had been to the South of France before, and taking Enzo seemed like a great way to experience it for the first time.

Route Napoléon was a road I'd wanted to drive for years, and we were ready to see what the F-Type could do on some proper French driving roads.

We set off for seven nights, taking the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais for the first time, and before long we were in France and heading towards our first overnight stop in Reims.

The following morning we visited the old Reims-Gueux circuit. With sections of the original pits and grandstands still standing beside the road, it made a fantastic backdrop for some photos of Enzo before we carried on towards Lake Annecy.

Enjoying the French roads

French motorway driving was a pleasure. We'd sorted an Emovis toll tag before leaving, which made the many péages simple, and the tolls themselves were more reasonable than we'd expected.

Our first stay in Annecy was at the Imperial Palace, a beautiful historic hotel nestled into the landscape with stunning views across the lake. We loved the area straight away, but there was something else I'd been looking forward to on the next leg - Route Napoléon.

Route Napoléon to the south coast

It lived up to everything I'd hoped for. The bends, climbs, quieter stretches and scenery made it one of those drives where the car and surroundings just came together. This was exactly the sort of place I'd wanted to bring Enzo.

From there we continued south to Nice, where the Radisson Blu became our base for exploring the Riviera. The hotel was good, if a little soulless, and while we enjoyed Nice, particularly the old town, it was probably a bit too built up for us.

Getting out along the coast was more our thing. We explored St Raphaël, Antibes, Cannes, St Tropez and Monaco, which was already being transformed for the Grand Prix. Barriers and preparations made navigating it interesting to say the least.

Cannes was in the middle of its film festival, and Enzo attracted plenty of attention. People were taking photos of him, although I suspect a few were disappointed when they looked back later and realised there weren't any film stars inside! That attention followed us throughout the week, with people asking what he was and one person even saying he looked like a Ferrari.

An oasis in the distance

One of my favourite unplanned moments came in St Tropez. We'd been sitting in traffic for what felt like forever and were more than ready to get out of the car. Tracy started searching Google Maps and spotted somewhere less than a mile ahead.

It turned out to be exactly what we needed. Cold drinks, fantastic food and a rooftop terrace where we could sit as the sun went down. Sometimes the stops you haven't planned are the ones you remember most.

Making our return to the UK

We hadn't booked our accommodation for the journey back, which gave us freedom to decide where to go next. Having enjoyed Lake Annecy so much, returning there was an easy choice and it also worked perfectly as a halfway point. This time we chose the Rivage Hôtel & Spa, a more modern place but equally lovely.

Rather than simply retracing our steps, we headed through Italy via Turin and planned to take the St Bernard Pass. We found out beforehand that weather conditions had closed it, which was disappointing, but not for long.

Our alternative took us through the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The approach, the scale of the mountains and then driving beneath Mont Blanc itself made it an unforgettable experience.

A valuable lesson learned

Our final night was in Troyes, which turned out to be a brilliant place to finish. The ibis Styles was chosen largely for its parking and wasn't our finest hotel decision.

Arriving to discover the car park was shared with a much nicer hotel next door was definitely a lesson learned! Troyes itself more than made up for it, with plenty of bars and restaurants and enough character that we'd happily return.

The following day it was back towards Calais, through the Eurotunnel and home after around 1,200 miles.

It was our longest adventure with Enzo so far, and he proved just as comfortable covering distance as he was enjoyable on the more interesting roads. We were also amazed by just how much luggage we could fit in the boot.

There isn't one highlight I'd put above everything else. Annecy, Route Napoléon, the Riviera, our unexpected stop in St Tropez and the Mont Blanc Tunnel all made the week what it was.

We'd absolutely head south again, although next time we'd swap Nice for somewhere a little quieter on the coast and see where Enzo takes us.