Tour de France Holiday

[dme916]

I have always enjoyed watching the Tour de France since I was a child and decided this year prior to start of the Tour to go and watch it for real. Having looked on the internet I found a travel company who were offering an organised tour to see the event but, with a cost of in excess of a £1000 for 3 days excluding flights.



There is no way I am paying a £1000+ to watch cycling for 3 days so for next year (2012) have thought about going over to France independently to experience it. However, not knowing any French and only having been to Calais for a day trip in my childhood I have no experience of driving in France.



Are there any websites or books that can provide information for people wishing to visit France independently to watch the Tour on travel, accommodation and things to avoid? Or are there other travel companies who provide trips to watch the Tour at a cheaper price then a £1000?



Regards,



Dan

 

[chris-s]

I recently came back from watching the end of the tour in Paris after cycle camping there from Roscoff. After this and speaking to others who have seen the tour elsewhere, i reckon this is one of the best places to see them. They go past so fast it's all over in 30 seconds, at least here you get to see them go past 18 times plus all the team parades afterwards.

If you cycle, then make a trip of it and camp at bois de boulogne, if not then eurostar to Paris and stay in a cheap hotel for the weekend.

To travel and see several stages is going to be quite expensive tho you could drive and camp yourself. Driving and camping on France is easy without much French.

Chris

 

[lilolee]

3 friends and myself saw the starting 3 days of this years TdF. Average cost was £350 including everything. Find a well placed Gite near where you want to watch and cycle to a good vantage point. Easy as that really.

 

[cd365]

Driving in France is a lot easier than in the UK. You might be on the wrong side of the road but you very quickly get used to it. Having watched the tour this year in France this year the best advice I can give is watch them on a hilly stage! I was on a flat stage and down the bottom of a slight hill, they flew past in seconds!

If you like camping then that is the easiest and cheapest way of doing it.

 

[mc1]

Hi All,

Does anyone know where abouts in Boulogne the third stage of the Tour De France finishes?

 

[Ruary]

Hi dme916
A group of us hired a camper van last year and followed the tour through the pyrenees, it's well organised and there are so many others following that other than the distances you need to cover it's fairly easy to do and alot of fun to be part of, I got away with schoolboy french since there is such a mix of nationalities following you can always get by!
If I was to do the pyrenees this year I'd fly to tolouse with a tent and hire a car, that will be significanlty cheaper than a package and judging from what everyone else did last year you can just pitch up where you please along the side of the roads once they are closed for the stage, which in the mountains was the evening before.

mc1
I'm heading over to Boulogne to watch the stage finish this year, there doesn't appear to be an official finish point yet but I'd hazard a guess it will be somewhere around Blvd Eurvin next to the stadium and Chateau since thats where last years french championships finished, the full route details will be out in June but I wouldn't worry too much about where in Bolougne it's finishing coz you won't miss it when your there and all the hotels are just about full already.

 

[oldfatfool]

I am planning on riding up the Toumalet the day before and down the day after, just need to find a space to bung the tent inbetween

 

[pepecat]

I went to see the Tour in 2009 - we were going to france on holiday anyway, staying in avignon, and we hired a car for the weekend and got up at some ungodly hour and drove up to Mont Ventoux to see the tour go up.
We were on the lower slopes so they still zipped by pretty quickly, but it was well worth it!!
If you can't get to Paris, try a mountain where they'll be a (wee) bit slower than on the flat!