We didn't plan it this way, but our last day on our London/France vacation that starts later this week puts us in Paris on Sunday 7/21, which is the day the Tour de France finishes. If I'm reading the schedule right, it looks like the riders don't actually get into Paris until the evening, and their route takes them down the banks of the Seine for a stretch that includes going right by the Eiffel Tower. We'll be staying at a hotel near the Eiffel Tower, and can easily walk to it. I'm guessing it is a mob scene near the finish line of the race, but are there good viewing opportunites if I head in the direction of the Eiffel Tower and then find my way to a spot on the river bank? Or is it a mob scene everywhere along the course?
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1068 posts
Here's what The Daily Mail had to say: For all the race's recent problems, the final stage is one of sport's most iconic spectacles, those riders still standing after three hard weeks on the road mustering the dying dregs of their energy for eight gruelling laps of a three-mile circuit that takes in the Champs Elysées, the Place de la Concorde, the Jardin des Tuileries, the right bank of the Seine, the Louvre and the Rue de Rivoli. Of course, you'll need to be an early bird to find a spot on the route, as viewing space fills up long before the cyclists turn up around mid-afternoon (Parisians take the Tour's arrival on their patch very seriously) – but if you point your feet towards the Marais district as soon as the applause finishes (north of the Rue de Rivoli, roughly between the Rue du Renard and the Boulevard Beaumarchais), you should find any number of excellent restaurants where you can reward your dedication with a little local cuisine. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/holidaytypeshub/article-610153/The-One-Minute-Guide-To2008-Tour-France.html#ixzz2XvBJo4rw
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Posted by
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
355 posts
Here's the official website that shows the route for the final stage. You can enlarge the map on the page and see the exact route of the race as it comes in to Paris. http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2013/us/stage-21.html
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
We're tour fans and were at the Tuilleries Gardens to watch the finish in 2001. My advice... if you want a chance to really see the riders, your best spot is somewhere near or on the Champs Elysee where the riders go around many times. If you are in an area where they only go by once, you will see very little b/c they are going very, very fast. It will be a blur. But if that's all you're interested in, it's still fun. No, it won't be a mob scene along the river near the ET. The crowds are where the riders go by many times b/c the serious fans want to see them more than once.
Posted by
Paris
10192 posts
Just a note to emend Kira's daily mail quotation the mid-afternoon of the riders on the Champs is, as you correctly noted, going to occur instead this year early evening instead. When reading any articles covering the Tour from other years, be sure to keep the different schedule this year in mind so as not to be led astray!!
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7937 posts
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT MISS THE TOUR DE FRANCE. Talk to the concierge or desk clerk in your hotel or a waiter and get some tips on where they think might be a good spot. It will be a very different scene because of the evening timing. Vive le Tour!
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
What a fun way to end your trip Bruce! It's so thrilling to see them go by... and you can't get more French than the Tour... ;)
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA, USA
30 posts
Funny thing is our schedule almost put us on a collision course with the Tour earlier in the trip - it will be at Mont St. Michel 3 days before we're there, and then follows the route from there we'll be driving to get to Amboise. I hadn't even thought to check. Glad to miss the Tour on that part of the trip, since it would have been disruptive, but I'm looking forward to catching it in Paris, even if only as a blur. With the Tour having the evening entry into Paris for this year, we'll have finished our day's touring, so getting to a viewing spot and being part of the crowd is all an extra bonus. And it will be our last hurrah on the trip, the next morning we get on a plane and head home.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
We were in Paris for the end of the Tour a few years ago and watched the end on the Champs about halfway between the Arc de Triomphe and the finish at the bottom of the hill. The riders go up and down and around the Arc numerous times and it is thrilling to watch and hear! That said...yes. There are hoards of people at the finish. We got there 4 hours early to stake out a spot at the rails but had to guard it with our lives! We had the luxury of time because we were in Paris for an extended stay but if you're a race fan or are at all interested in this race I highly recommend using your time this way. The spot near the Eiffel Tower may be less crowded (?just a guess on my part?) but the bikes will whiz by in about 17 seconds and then it's over. The sponsors parade goes by about 45 mins to an hour before the riders arrive and people start to gather well before that. We've seen the race in several parts of France and the parts of the route in towns are always crowded.
It's well worth it though so join the throngs and enjoy!
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
This will be the first time (at least since 2001) they actually go around the Arc de Triomphe, which will make it all the more fun. We watched from a corner of the Tuilleries Gardens (the left corner if you're looking at Place de la Concorde) and it wasn't crazy crowded there and we got a great view (plus there are bathrooms very close by). The Champs Elysee is not on a hill, but it is slightly sloped down towards Place de la Concorde.