The big one: a genuine expedition to the southern Alps for Bronze Age rock engravings, returned wolves, and turquoise glacial lakes — base camp at Saint-Martin-Vésubie, gateway to the Parc National du Mercantour.
This is the farthest and most ambitious trip in the series — genuinely a different country's worth of driving, but it earns it. The Vallée des Merveilles, deep in the park's core zone above Saint-Martin-Vésubie and Tende, holds roughly 35,000–40,000 Bronze Age rock engravings (dated to c. 1800–1500 BCE) carved into glacier-polished schist — one of the largest concentrations of prehistoric open-air art in Europe. Above that sit genuine turquoise alpine lakes (Lac de Fenestre, Lacs de Prals) ringed by 2,800m+ peaks, and below it all, wolves — genuinely, verifiably returned to the Mercantour since 1992 after being extinct in France for 60 years, and now one of the most-monitored wolf populations in the country. Add the Roya and Vésubie gorges for good riding, and this is worth the long haul south.
Meudon-la-Forêt to Saint-Martin-Vésubie is about 910 km and 9–9.5 hours of driving (Paris–Nice alone is 931–932 km / ~8h19 by the A6/A7/A8 corridor, plus another ~65–69 km / ~1h15 up the Vésubie valley from Nice). This is not a weekend trip — budget two full driving days each way, with an overnight stop roughly at the halfway point.
Sources: distancecalculator.net, bonnesroutes.com (Paris–Nice ~931–932km, ~8h19); planderoute.net / himmera.com (Nice–Saint-Martin-Vésubie ~65–69km, ~1h15–1h18); Tesla.com Supercharger list (Valence, Aix-en-Provence, Nice locations); letribunaldunet.fr / quadoccaz.com (2026 toll pricing, ~€89–95 A6/A7/A8).
The nearest Supercharger to Saint-Martin-Vésubie is in Nice (Carrefour Lingostière, 606 Boulevard du Mercantour — 16 stalls, up to 250 kW), about 65–70 km / 1h15 below the valley. Top up fully there before the climb up to Saint-Martin-Vésubie (~1,000m altitude), since there is no Supercharger in the Vésubie or Roya valleys themselves — plan around this single anchor point for the whole park stay. Aix-en-Provence's Pont de l'Arc / Val de l'Arc Superchargers are useful backups if coming via the coast route instead of straight down the A7.
Source: Tesla.com Supercharger list, chargemap.com.
Long driving day down the A6. Charge fully at Valence Supercharger (217 Avenue de Provence) and stop for the night nearby — an aire or a cheap hotel, since there's no bivouac terrain worth using this far from the mountains.
Continue down the A7, cut across on the A8 toward Nice, top up fully at the Nice Supercharger, then climb the D2565/D19 up the Vésubie valley into Saint-Martin-Vésubie (44.07°N, 7.26°E). Settle in, easy village walk, early night — you'll want energy for the Merveilles the next day.
Drive to the Lac des Mesces / Cabane Vieille trailhead (or the Fontanalba side near Tende) and hike in. Engravings visible right along the marked trails can be seen freely, but the core protected zone — where the majority of the ~35,000–40,000 engravings actually are — legally requires a state-certified mountain guide, and access has needed mandatory online booking since 2018 via vallee-merveilles.com. Guided tours run daily June–September (weather/snow dependent), last about 3 hours at a moderate pace, with a reduced rate of €8 for students/job-seekers (book ahead for the full adult rate). Don't wing this one — reserve before you drive down.
Hike up to Lac de Fenestre (genuinely turquoise glacial lake beneath the Italian border ridge) or the Lacs de Prals loop if you want something quieter. The Mercantour is one of the best-documented wolf territories in France since their natural return from Italy in 1992 — actual sightings are rare and mostly dawn/dusk, but howls are a real possibility at camp, and park rangers run wolf-tracking info points in summer. Don't expect an encounter; do expect to genuinely be in wolf country.
Morning bike ride along the Vésubie gorges road out of Saint-Martin-Vésubie — quiet, dramatic, minimal traffic outside peak August. Treat meal in the village before leaving: look for a genuine Niçois/alpine specialty — socca, pissaladière, or a mountain-style tartiflette with local tomme cheese, depending on what's actually on the menu that day. Charge at Nice on the way out, then drive back up to Valence and charge/overnight again.
Retrace the A7/A6 route home, same charging rhythm as Day 1 in reverse.
Bike loaded inside per the Car Camping & Bike Guide — no range penalty, which matters even more on a 910 km trip like this one. The Vésubie and Roya valley roads are excellent, quiet road-riding once you're up in the mountains; leave the bike in the car for the Merveilles hike itself, since that's guide-led, on-foot, and often on protected ground.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tolls (A6/A7/A8, round trip) | ≈ €170–190 |
| Charging (Valence ×2, Nice ×2, ~910km each way) | ≈ €70–90 |
| Lodging (bivouac free / Camping St-Joseph ~€17/night, ~1–2 nights) | €0–35 |
| Valence overnight stops (aire or budget hotel, ×2) | €0–60 |
| Guided Vallée des Merveilles tour | ≈ €8–35 (student/reduced–full adult rate) |
| Treat meal (socca/pissaladière/tartiflette) | ≈ €18–25 |
| Food (self-cooked, 6 days) | ≈ €60–75 |
| Total | €330–420 |