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2008 Tour de France Info not yet available
Tour de France - A DIY Guide
The Tour
de France is the world’s most famous cycling race. It lasts
for three weeks every July and the circuit which changes every year
visits many parts of the country. Often it starts in or visits other
countries, but always ends on the Champs Elysee in Paris.
The Tour has been a tourism marketer’s dream with a global TV
audience of hundreds of millions of people glued to the screen and
an ever changing French landscape.
The 2007 Tour de France ran from 7 to 29 July and actually began in
London then detoured through Belgium and eventually entered France
for the bulk of the event.
Below is a do it yourself guide to following the Tour de France in
2007. There is a breakdown of the tour route along with handy links
for accommodation, cheap flights and relevant tourism sites. As the
tour is around three weeks long and you may only want to catch a few
days. If you are basing yourself in the UK, this is a useful resource
for planning a 'commando raid' (or several) to see the bits you want
to see. If you are already in France and want to drop in and out of
the circuite the guide provides the essential information and links
you need.
With a little planning you can get a taste of the Tour de France for
a fraction of the price of some of the organised tours on offer.
To findUse ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions:
Logis de France - network of small independent hotels with charm
(searchable map)
Campanile
- chain of comfortable motels with restaurants specialising in regional
areas
Hotel
Formule 1 - modern budget accommodation with Europe wide coverage
(searchable map)
2007 TOUR DE FRANCE PROGRAM
Day Zero - Saturday 7 July 2007
8km street circuit around London
London | UK
See
the UK section website
Day 1 - Sunday 8 July 2007
London to Canterbury,
203km
The course will be a mainly flat run favouring the sprinters.Canterbury
is an important cathedral city in southeast England with a population
of approximately 45,000. It is approximately 95km from London and
28km from Dover and the channel ferry to Dunkerque or Calais. Norfolk
Line Ferries operates from Dover to Dunkirk.
Overnight Canterbury | Kent | UK
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Day 2 - Monday 9 July 2007
Dunkerque (Dunkirk) to Gand (Ghent), 167km
Racing from the northern French port city of Dunkerque (once the scene
of the Dunkirk
evacuation) across the border into southern Belgium. The terrain
is largely flat. Competitors will have to deal with occasional wind
gusts and spectators crowding the narrow roads.
Overnight Waregem
| West Flanders | Belgium | 8790
Air Access ex UK London Stansted to Brussels with Ryan
Air
London Heathrow to Brussels with BMI
Baby
London Waterloo to Lille on the Eurostar
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation: see Logis
de Belgique for a comprehensive hotel listing or Hotel
Formule 1 locations for Belgium
Day 3 - Tuesday 10 July 2007
Waregem to Compiègne 236km Waregem is just inside Belgium,
halfway between Ghent (Gand) and Lille. This route which finishes
in the town of Compiègne is the longest leg of the tour. It
is slightly hilly, but finishes with a long straight sprint. The Tour
overnights in the nearby town of Villers-Cotterêts located in
the heart of the Retz forest.
Overnight Villers-Cotterêts | Aisne | Picardie | 02600
Air Access ex UK
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 4 - Wednesday 11 July 2007
Villers-Cotterêts
to Joigny
190kmThe route skirts around Paris to the north crossing the Champagne
region across the Brie Plains and into Bourgogne (Burgundy) finishing
in the town of Joigny.
Overnight: Joigny | Yonne | Bourgogne | 89300
Air Access ex UK London Luton to Paris CDG with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try
Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 5 - Thursday 12 July 2007
Chablis
to Autun, 184km. This stage starts in the famous white wine producing
town of Chabils and travels through classic vineyard country to Autun.
Overnight Chablis | Yonne | Bourgogne | 89800
Air Access ex UK London Luton to Paris CDG with Easyjet
Orly or Lyon with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 6 - Friday 13 July 2007
Semur-en-Auxois
to Bourg-en-Bresse 200km. The race departs Semur-en-Auxois (21140)
which is 74km from Chablis and heads south leaving Bourgogne for Bourg-en-Bresse
in the Rhône-Alpes Region.
Overnight: Semur-en-Auxois | Côte d’Or | Bourgogne | 21140
Air Access ex UK London Luton to Paris CDG with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 7 - Saturday 14 July 2007 (Bastille Day)
Bourg-en-Bresse to Le Grand-Bornand 197kmThis is the start of the
mountain section finishing at Le Grand-Bornand.
Tignes
will be the Tour de France’s base for the next 3 days.
Overnight: Tignes | Savoie | Rhône-Alpes | 73320
Air Access ex UK
Birmingham to Chambery with FlyBE
London Stansted to Turin (Italy) with Ryan
Air
London Stansted to Grenoble with Ryan
Air
Manchester to Chambery with Jet2
London (Luton or Gatwick) to Grenoble with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 8 - Sunday 15 July 2007
Le Grand-Bornand to Tignes 200km
A gruelling section through the Savoie region of the French Alpes
Overnight: Tignes | Savoie | Rhône-Alpes | 73320
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 9 - Monday 16 July 2007
Tignes environs, 165km
Overnight Tignes | Savoie | Rhône-Alpes | 73320
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 10 - Tuesday 17 July 2007
Val-d’Isère
(73155) to Briançon (05100), 161km A mountainous circuit through
the heart of the French Alps starting at the famous ski resort of
Val-d’Isère and finishing in the alpine town of Briançon.
The tour then moves 90km to Tallard where the next day’s leg
begins.
Overnight: Tallard
| Hautes-Alpes | Rhône-Alpes | 05130
Air Access ex UK
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 11 - Wednesday 18 July 2007
Tallard to Marseille, 229kmThe route leaves Tallard following the
Durance River into Provence and finishes at Marseille’s Stade
de Velodrome.
Overnight Marseille | Provence-Alpes-Côte
d'Azur | 13000
Air Access ex UK
London Stansted to Marseille with Ryan
Air
London Gatwick to Marseille with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation in Marseille try Otel
accommodation search engine
Day 12 - Thursday 19 July 2007
Marseille to Montpellier, 180kmMainly flat course from Marseille across
the Gard and Herault plains to the university town of Montpellier,
capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon
region.
Overnight: Montpellier | Languedoc-Roussillon | 34000
Air Access ex UK London Stansted to Montpellier with Ryan
Air
London Gatwick to Marseille with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation in Montpellier try Otel
accommodation search engine
Day 13 - Friday 20 July 2007
Montpellier to Castres 179kmBlurb
Overnight: Mazamet
| Tarn | Midi-Pyrénées | 81200
Air Access ex UK London Stansted to Montpellier with Ryan
Air
London Stansted to Carcassonne with Ryan
Air
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 14 - Saturday 21 July 2007
Albi
circuit 54 km indurance time trial
Individual time trial around the Albi area.
Overnight Castres
| Tarn | Midi-Pyrénées | 81100
Air Access ex UK
London Stansted to Carcassonne with Ryan
Air
London Gatwick to Toulouse with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 15 - Sunday 22 July 2007
Mazamet to Plateau-de-Beille, 197km
Blurb
Overnight Foix | Ariège
| Midi-Pyrénées
Air Access ex UK London Stansted to Carcassonne with Ryan
Air
London Gatwick to Toulouse with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 16 - Monday 23 July 2007
Foix to Loudenvielle
- Le Louron, 196km
Blurb
Overnight Pau | Pyrénées-Atlantiques
| Aquitaine | 64000
Air Access ex UK London Stansted to Pau or Biarritz with Ryan
Air
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions:
Logis de France - network of small independent hotels with charm
(searchable map)
Campanile
- chain of comfortable motels with restaurants specialising in regional
areas
Hotel
Formule 1 - modern budget accommodation with Europe wide coverage
(searchable map)
Day 17 - Tuesday 24 July 2007
Pau – Rest day
Overnight Pau | Pyrénées-Atlantiques | Aquitaine | 64000
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Day 18 - Wednesday 25 July 2007
Orthez to Gourette - Col d’Aubisque, 218km
A day of hill work in the Pyrénées
Overnight Pau | Pyrénées-Atlantiques | Aquitaine | 64000
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Accommodation suggestions: for small hotels with charm try Logis
de France (searchable map) or on a budget try Hotel
Formule 1 (searchable map)
Day 19 - Thursday 26 July 2007
Pau to Castelsarrasin, 188km
Leave the foothills of the Pyrénées and head north into
the French 'heartland' finishing for the day at Castelsarrasin
Overnight Cahors
| Lot | Midi-Pyrénées | 46000
Air Access ex UK London Stansted to Bergerac or Limoges with Ryan
Air
London Gatwick to Toulouse with Easyjet
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Day 20 - Friday 27 July 2007
Cahors to Angoulême,
210km
A mainly flat run through the rich agricultural land of the Lot and
Charente.
Overnight Angoulême | Charente | Poitou-Charente | 16000
Air Access ex UK London Stansted to Limoges/Tours/La Rochelle with
Ryan Air
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Day 21 - Saturday 28 July 2007
Cognac
to Angoulême, 55km Ind TTIndurance time trial around the flat
Charente
countryside famous for producing Cognac.
Overnight Cognac | Charente | Poitou-Charente | 16100
Air Access ex UK London Stansted to La Rochelle with Ryan
Air
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
Day 22 - Sunday 29 July 2007
Marcoussis
| Essonne | Île-de-France
| 91460
Train from Angoulême to Marcoussis then race into Paris Champs-Élysées,
130km
Use ViaMichelin.com
to plan your route
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