Col de Restefond (el. ) is a high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, near the border with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is situated on the flanks of le Restefonde within the

Mercantour National Park Mercantour National Park (french: Parc national du Mercantour) a French national park located in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes departments. Since it was created in 1979, the park has proven popular, with 800,000 visitors annu ...

in the department of

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the west ...

. The actual pass is situated on a gravel track leading off the D64 close to its summit at the

Col de la Bonette Col de la Bonette (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated within the Mercantour National Park on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The road over t ...

(2715 m). The passage over the Col de la Bonette is often mistakenly referred to as the ''Col de Restefond'', and in the

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regu ...

the summit was referred to as the ''Cime de la Bonette-Restefond''. Stage 16 of the tour approached the summit from

Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée (, literally ''Saint-Étienne of Tinée''; ; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Sant Estève d'en Tiniá'') is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It was part of the historic County of Nice until 1860. T ...

(south-east), and after reaching the Col de la Bonette, took a loop round the

Cime de la Bonette Cime de la Bonette (el. ) is a mountain in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated within the Mercantour National Park on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, between the Ubaye Valley a ...

reaching the summit of 2802 m, which is the highest point reached by the Tour de France, before re-passing the Col de la Bonette. On the descent to

Jausiers Jausiers (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Jausièr'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Politics and administration Population See also * Ubaye Valley *Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department ...

, the actual Col de Restefond was passed on the right approximately 1 km from the summit. This pass, like many others in the region, is generally impassable due to ice and snow from November to May. Close by are various ancient blockhouses, remnants of the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...

's Alpine extension, the

Alpine Line The Alpine Line (french: Ligne Alpine) or Little Maginot Line (French: ''Petite Ligne Maginot'') was the component of the Maginot Line that defended the southeastern portion of France. In contrast to the main line in the northeastern portion of Fra ...

. The Ouvrage Col de Restefond consisted of three infantry blocks facing

References

External links

Profile on climbbybike.comMap of the Col de la Bonette and the Col de Restefond
(print)
Col de Restefond on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Restefond, Col de Mountain passes of the Alps Landforms of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Landforms of Alpes-Maritimes Mountain passes of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Transport in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur de:Col de Restefond