Le Tour de France 2023

In the mountain stages everything depends on whether you want to be. At the finish, on the side of the road during an ascent, or elsewhere on the course.
The first two will be overrun with people. Many of them sometimes settle 2 days before the passage of the Tour.

If you are traveling by car, be aware that all roads leading to the Tour de France route will be closed to traffic in the morning. (even the night before in some cases).

Plan to book your accommodation well in advance. Not all spectators go camping, and the thousands of people following and working for the Tour de France have rooms already booked.

Thanks so much and indeed!! Accommodations are already booked (whew!) - looking for suggestions or a reference/referral on stage placements….getting to/from for viewing (locals etc). We won’t be driving.

Since you have already booked your accommodations you will see when you will be there, depending on where they are located.

Have you consulted the official Tour website?

There is a lot of information, including race main route, timing, and how to get there.
A detailed route map will be published shortly

Here for the stage which arrives at St Gervais Mont Blanc

https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-15

Passing on experience of a friend whose son was a professional cyclist and rode the Tour 10 times.

Take a hat and a raincoat. Be prepared to wait for many hours sitting in a ditch or leaning against a rock wall. Occasionally sponsor caravans will drive by blasting music and throwing free stuff into the crowd - energy drinks, hats, snack bars etc. You will need water and snacks with you.

It is boring, very boring, then when the riders come past it is frantic. Then it's a long wait until all the straggling cyclists get past and they let spectators onto the road, then potentially a long walk back to wherever your transport is. There's a reason on mountain stages why spectators often have bicycles as they will walk them up the hill, then ride down again afterwards.

If you want a souvenir bidon then position yourself about 50 to 100m past a feed zone or soigneur.

Thanks so much thus far! Appreciate all the perspective and context!