Italian day via Montgenèvre

In 1800, Napoleon designated Montgenèvre as an all‑season Alpine crossing to speed dispatches from Briançon to Turin. The same ridge road, topping out at 1,860 m, now sweeps into the Susa Valley in about 40 minutes from Serre Chevalier before climbing to the Sacra di San Michele, a 10th‑century abbey poised on Mount Pirchiriano. Down in the plains, Turin’s historic cafés keep their wood‑paneled charm, while Susa shows off the Arch of Augustus (8 BC) along the Via Francigena.

Your day stays fluid: hotel pickup in Serre Chevalier, Mercedes at your disposal, and while you taste and tour, your driver handles the mountain roads and parking. Pause for views at the pass, continue to the Sacra—by shuttle or a short final walk depending on access—then sit down to a Piedmontese lunch in Turin or Susa before wandering between Piazza San Carlo and Porta Palazzo market. It’s roughly 110 km from Briançon to Turin; you’ll return by the same route with unhurried stops built around your pace.