My husband and I are planning to travel in France (and possibly Barcelona) between July 17-28, 2015. We are limited to this time period and are just beginning for form an itinerary. I'm a bit concerned about the Tour de France. Although we are not particularly interested in it, are there areas to avoid or advice if we wanted to catch part of the race? In our preliminary discussion we were thinking 3-4 days Paris, head south to Provence and possibly Barcelona. Or possibly Paris, go north and then hit Basque Country. Very flexible except for dates.
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon...Formerly Ventura, CA
2261 posts
If I were going to be in France I would certainly try to see a stage or two! If you are not interested you can easily avoid it.
The route has been announced:
http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2015/us/overall-route.html
Posted by
San Diego
1540 posts
I was on a tour of France several years ago and we saw THE TOUR pass thru a small town. I think it was 1988 and Greg LeMond was racing for US.
They flew past in just a few minutes and we also saw dozens of cars and vans pulling trailers of extra bikes and other assistance stuff.
It was pretty exciting to see - but was gone is just a few minutes.
Posted by
Wynnewood, PA, USA
271 posts
Joe, in '13 we stayed in Albi for two nights, two days prior to the Tour passing through, and other than the "no parking signs" there was no impact on our sight seeing. If our itinerary had been a bit more flexible we might have lingered for the burst of excitement as the Tour passed by. Several days later, encountered a road closing and minor detour near Sete as our ramblings crossed the Tour's route.
Paris to Barcelona is a terrific itinerary especially if you rent a car and enjoy the many small towns en route. If you like a suggestion or two (e.g., La Roque Gageac and Collioure) please send a PM.
Posted by
Kingsburg, California, USA
137 posts
If you're not into Le Tour it is easy to avoid. Since the TDF has announced the route for next year you can plan your itinerary accordingly.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3391 posts
It is easy to avoid but fun to see! Pick a little village that they will be passing through, park yourself by the side of the road and wait. You'll need to budget at least 3 hours or so. The "vendor/sponsor parade" comes through first tossing out samples to the crowd and selling Tour merchandise. About an hour or so later the peleton zips past in about 18 seconds followed by the support vehicles loaded down with spare tires and the like. It's certainly fun to see!
They do close roads down for several hours before the race comes through so you do need to be strategic. One summer we were unaware that our itinerary and the Tour coincided in several places. We had made reservations to see some cave paintings in the Pyrenees and couldn't get there due to closed roads. Just study the planned route, build your itinerary accordingly and you should be fine!
Posted by
Grasse
43 posts
Hi Joe
The Tour often passes by us here in Grasse and there is considerable disruption as all the roads get shut. We tend to go out for the day, leaving early before the roads get blocked off, then come back in the evening when everything is opened up again. So if you are not interested and don't want to be affected either avoid it or plan to leave early. There are plenty of signs posted around indicating what is happening.