France Travel

A Walking Tour of Paris’ Fascinating Latin Quarter

Helen Page — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:18:56 +0000

Get in on the secrets, myths and mystique of Paris Latin Quarter:

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

Paris’ history began on the Left Bank or Rive Gauche. The area, south of the River Seine, has always attracted great artists, writers, philosophers, revolutionaries and musicians. Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Robespierre, Danton, Benjamin Franklin, Bonaparte, Victor Hugo, Verlaine, Musset, Oscar Wilde, Sartre and Hemingway are just some of the famous people who were regulars at the cafés in the area. As such, Paris’ Left Bank is bursting with history and contains more beautiful monuments than anywhere else in the city.

The best way to discover the Left Bank is on foot. You can do this on your own, but if you want to get in on the hidden secrets of this fascinating Paris riverside district, you can join a walk through the Latin Quarter with local experts. Not only will they provide you with valuable insights into Paris, its people, art and spirit, but they will also spice up your walk with myths and mystique of the Left Bank’s famous inhabitants.

The leisurely two-hour walking tour makes its way from the Pantheon, the final resting place of France’s most famous citizens, to the manicured Luxembourg Gardens. You’ll walk along the Latin Quarter’s ancient streets and see Paris’ three most beautiful churches:

Notre Dame Cathedral – the setting for Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
St. Chapelle – built to house Christ’s crown of thorns and a piece of the cross
St. Etienne du Mont – a beautiful church that houses the tomb of St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris

The walk also passes famous institutes and universities, exquisite fountains and statues, art treasures from the Middle Ages, student haunts and the Left Bank abodes of Sigmund Freud, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, the beat poets and Jim Morrison.

Sights that you’ll see on this Latin Quarter Walking Tour include:

"Bouquinistes" along the Seine River bank

Notre Dame Cathedral – Learn about its history, architecture and its detailed facade
Sorbonne University – the most prestigious university in France
Conciergerie – The Conciergerie witnessed the days when the king lived on the island and has an enormous Gothic hall. During the French Revolution it was turned into a prison for those waiting to be guillotined. It was here that the Queen Marie-Antoinette spent her last days before her execution
Cluny Museum – the Middle Ages museum of Paris, containing the famous “Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries
Place St. Michel – the pulse of the Latin Quarter
“Boquinistes” – the famous book and poster vendors lining the banks of the Seine River

And at the end of the tour, why not reward yourself with a drink at one the Left Bank’s famous cafés: Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore or the Brasserie Lipp.

See our partner Viator’s website for further details about the walk and how to book out. This is a popular walking tour so consider booking early.

Did I leave anything out?

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Rendez-vous at Paris Cafés Renowned for their Famous Clientele

Helen Page — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:12:03 +0000

Historic Cafés of Paris:

Les Deux Magots - St-Germain-des-Prés

Paris is famous for its café scene and an enduring image is of Parisians passing time at a café reading their newspaper, friends having a rendez-vous over a slow drink, businessmen and women discussing deals in a relaxed environment or people just chilling out and watching the world go by.

But for many visitors, the romantic vision of eminent writers, philosophers, artists and musicians mingling and having animated discussions about the issues of the day in Paris Left Bank cafés hold great attraction. Imagine sitting in the seat where Hemingway sat or the table at which Jean Paul Satre wrote for hours each day.

St-Germain-des-Prés was a melting pot of artistic and intellectual life in the 1950s, all centred around its cafés and bars. Writers, philosophers, musicians and actors consorted in the bars and cafés discussing anything from art to music and having debates on new philosophical ideas.

Three of the celebrated cafés that enjoyed the patronage of these eminent people are within striking distance of each other. The leading lights are long gone, but the cafés are as popular as ever. These days their clientele may include publishers and writers, the rich and trendy, some who come to see and be seen and the curious tourists.

St-Germain-des-Prés today is a more affluent area with antique shops, designer fashion boutiques and trendy shops. After a busy day pounding the pavements of Paris, having a drink at a historic café is a nice way to refuel nd relax. On my first visit to Les Deux Magots, when the Australian dollar was quite worthless, I remember being shocked at the A$12 cost of a glass of mineral water. So be warned that the drinks are rather pricey – €5.90 for a soft drink – but then you’re entitled to sit there for as long as you like.

Café de Flore - St-Germain-des-Prés

Historic Literary Cafés

Les Deux Magots
6 Place St-Germain-des-Prés
Paris 75006

Les Deux Magots actually started life in 1813 as a drapery, selling silk and other luxury items. The name of the café ‘Les Deux Magots’ was taken from a successful play of the time – ‘The Two Magots of China’. On the central pillar inside the café, you’ll see two wooden Asian statues.

After a refurbishment in 1914, Les Deux Magots became the place to “see and be seen”. Legendary figures of the literary and art world frequented the café – people like Verlaine, Mallarme, Oscar Wilde, Guillaume Apollinaire and others frequently have lively debates on important issues of the day. Jean Paul Sartre, would take his seat at Les Deux Magots and, together with Simone de Beauvoir, would write for hours, often without a break. Sometimes he would stop to talk to Ernest Hemingway, another regular customer.

Whist the buildings in the St-Germain-des-Prés district have remained the same, life certainly has changed a lot in the area and literary elites such as Jean Paul Sartre, Hemingway or Oscar Wilde are rarely to be seen. Les Deux Magots still tries to maintain its history by have literary awards every year and its clientele would probably be a mix of publishers, writers, people-watchers and curious tourists.

Café de Flore
172 Blvd St-Germain
Paris 75006

Like its rival Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore, was also home to many literary elites. Satre, who appears to live in cafés, was a regular here and Camus, Picasso, and Apollinaire also frequented the Flore.

The Café has kept its classic Art Deco interior, red-seating, mahogany and mirrors and is still going strong even though the famous patrons have moved on. These days affluent Parisians and tourists are the new clientele.

Brasserie Lipp - St-Germain-des-Prés

Brasserie Lipp
151 Blvd St-Germain
Paris 75006

Brasserie Lipp is the third of the famous St-Germain-des-Prés cafés. The usual suspects were regulars at Brasserie Lipp – Hemingway wrote his pre-war dispatches from here and in the Fifties Chagall, Camus, Jean Genet, Balthus, Michèle Morgan, Françoise Sagan, Charles Trenet, Simone Signoret and Yves Montand were all regulars of this famous establishment.

Founded by Leonard Lipp, a refugee from Alsace, it serves Alsatian cuisine, Alsatian beer and excellent coffee – Marcel Proust used to send for the jugs of Alsatian beer from across town. It appears to be popular with politicians, fashion couturiers and tourists. The inside of Brasserie Lipp is quite atmospheric with its original 1926 art deco style, yellow tiles and Belle Epoque floral ceramics and mosaic panels and decorated mirrors.

Getting to St-Germain-des-Prés:

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Le Procope – the Oldest Café in the World

Helen Page — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:24:11 +0000

At Le Procope, the first literary coffeeshop was born:

Café Procope - St Germain-des-Pres

Paris’ Left Bank area is full of interesting and historical coffeehouses and cafés and one of the most fascinating must be Café Procope. It claims to be oldest coffeehouse in the world.

Le Procope is in rue d’lAnciennne Comédie which was previously called rue de Saint-Germain. It was founded in 1686 by Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, a Sicilian from Palermo. With its close proximity to the old Comédie-Francaise and a reputation for the excellent quality of its beverages, the popularity of the coffeehouse took off. Café Procope very soon became a meeting place for the city’s politicians, actors from the Comédie-Francaise and especially the literary elite. According to Francesco Procopio, the “first literary coffee-shop was born“.

For more than two centuries everyone who was anyone (including those aspiring to become someone) in the world of the arts, letters and politics frequented Café Procope. Its patrons included Voltaire, Rousseau, Beaumarchais, Balzac, Verlaine and Hugo and the list of the regulars at the coffeehouse reads like a who’s who in world of the French literary elite. If it’s at all possible to drink so much coffee without suffering from caffeine poisoning, Voltaire supposedly drank 40 cups of his favourite coffee brew and chocolate everyday!

Paris in the 18th century had become the centre of the new art movement and the heart of Romanticism and Le Procope was probably one of the locations where many of the new liberal philosophy was discussed and debated by the likes of Diderot, Voltaire, d’Alembert and Benjamin Franklin.

Menu at Café Procope - Paris

According to Café Procope’s literature, the history of Café Procope is closely linked with 18th century revolutionary ideas – Robespierre, Dantan, and Marat used the café as a meeting place as did the young lieutenant Napoleon Bonaparte who would leave his hat there as security while he went out in search of money to pay his café bill.

Café Procope was renovated in 1989 and maintains the style of the 18th century. There are two floors – the long and narrow downstairs dining room is decorated in red and gold with inlaid tile floors and cut-glass chandeliers. The upstairs is more elaborate with mirrors and oil paintings. Voltaire’s table is still there providing links to its distinguished past.

These days the Café still attracts a mix clientele of writers, journalists, university professors, businessmen and some tourists. The menu is interesting and the prices won’t break the bank, but most of all the history of the place is priceless.

Getting there:

13 rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie
6th arrondissement
75006 Paris

Things to Do in Paris
Visit Paris Left Bank at Travel Signpost Gallery

Your Turn: Do you have any advice you would like to share? What tips would you like to add? Please comment below.

Rendez-vous at Paris Cafés Renowned for their Famous Clientele

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Canals of Paris

Helen Page — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:03:18 +0000

Discover the more intimate side of Paris on a Canal Cruise:

Canal St Martin Footbridge

Everyone knows the River Seine and most visitors to Paris would no doubt have taken a Seine river cruise and enjoyed the sights of Paris from the river.

But Paris also has three other waterways – canals that were built on the orders of Napoleon I. Like many European towns and cities, the canals and waterways were a means for the commercial transportation of goods and people before the advent of rail. These days, many are used by leisure boats and for sightseeing tours.

Canal St Martin

The Canal St Martin, in the 10th arondissement, is popular with locals and visitors. It was built in 1802, on the orders of Napoleon I, and was intended to create an artificial waterway for supplying Paris’ growing population with fresh water and to help avoid diseases such as dysentery and cholera.

Canal St Martin is the most popular and scenic for canal cruises.The northern section of the canal is the more interesting part. Beginning at Bassin de la Villette, it goes through four pairs of double locks and then enters a tunnel a block east of Place de la République. You can do a two and a half hour cruise that takes in both the River Seine and the Canal St Martin. In contrast to the grandeur of the Seine, the cruise on the Canal St Martin takes you through the quieter and more intimate part of Paris’ network of urban canals. A trip along the Canal Saint Martin also reveals a side of Paris that tourists don’t usually get to see – old swing bridges, half-moon footbridges and leafy horse-chestnut trees.

Canal St Denis

Canal St Denis is another of the canals that was built on the order of Napoleon. He wanted to reduce the number of ships and barges sailing up and down the Seine through the center of Paris and decreed that the canal be built to divert the Seine from below the Bassin de l’Arsenal to the Bassin de la Villette. The canal would continue through Saint-Denis to rejoin the Seine.

Better known for its industrial history and the canal is still used primarily by commercial barges and as such it is less scenic. On a Canal St Denis cruise you will sail near the historic Basilique Saint Denis and pass by the highest Ile de France lock (10 meters high). Other sights of interest include the Parc de la Villette, Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie (the biggest Science museum in Europe), Cité de la Musique (City of Music) and Musée d’Art et Histoire de St Denis (Art and History Museum). Next time you travel to Paris city centre from Charles de Gaulle airport, keep a look out for this canal. The highway and rail line pass over it just north of the Stade de France.

Canal de l’Ourcq

This canal is 108 km long and has 10 locks. Beginning at Bassin de la Villette, the canal goes through the woodlands in the northeast of Paris. It was originally built to divert water from the river l’Ourcq into Paris. These days the water is used for non-potable purposes and since 1983, the waterway has been designated for use by pleasure craft.

Viator, a specialist day touring company, offers a combined Seine River and Canal St Martin cruise. Canauxrama (www.canauxrama.com) in particular specializes in canal cruises in Paris.

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Nîmes’ Remarkable Jardins de la Fontaine

Helen Page — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:12:17 +0000

A Visit to Jardins de la Fontaine or Fountain Gardens:

Jardins de la Fontaine - Nîmes

A delightful place to enjoy some quiet time in Nîmes is at the Jardin de la Fontaine or Fountain Gardens. The Hotel Imperator, where are staying, is located on the Quais de la Fontaine, so we are within easy reach of the gardens. The Quais de la Fontaine were the embankments of the spring that provided water for the city.

When the Romans arrived in Nîmes, they discovered a town built by the Gauls and which was centred around the sacred spring. They named it Nemausus after the God of Rivers.

In the 18th century, the first civic gardens of France, were laid out here. Its classical beauty, which reflects the style of Mediterranean gardens, was enriched as changes were made. Today, Jardins de la Fontaine is on the Ministry of Culture’s official list of remarkable gardens.

Designed by a Military Engineer

Jardins de la Fontaine was designed by Jacques-Philippe Mareschal, the military engineer of King Louis XV, who was in charge of the fortification of the Languedoc province. Mareschal’s design included as many of the ancient features as possible and was very much an enlightened ideal of town planning. This extraordinary garden was intended to be a central part of a spacious city, designed with the communal good in mind. That Jardins de la Fontaine continues to be so important to the people of Nîmes today and is one of the city’s sightseeing attractions bears testament to the success of Mareschal’s design.

Nîmes Coat of Arms

Except for a couple of graceful swans in the pond, the garden was quite deserted during our visit. All the action was down by the embankment where groups of local men were engrossed in their pétanque games. So, we were able to stroll around the garden in peaceful abandonment, enjoying its features, including Nîmes’ intriguing coat of arms on the wrought iron gate – a crocodile chained to a palm tree. The former symbolizes the Kingdom of Egypt which Augustus’ soldiers defeated and it seems that some of these Egypt veterans were part of the Roman army that founded Nîmes.

See more of Jardins de la Fontaine at Travel Signposts Nîmes Photo Gallery

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Les Arènes – Nîmes’ Roman Amphitheatre

Helen Page — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:14:22 +0000

Nimes’ amphitheatre is still as sturdy as the day it was built:

Les Arènes - Nîmes' Amphitheatre

Built at the end of the first century AD, Nîmes’ amphitheatre, Les Arènes, was built from stone and designed mainly to cater for the battles of gladiators. Les Arènes may not be the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire but it is one of the best preserved of its kind.

Inspired by Rome’s Coliseum, the architecture of Nîmes’ amphitheatre is a model of harmony and balance. Inside the oval structure, there are 24,000 stone seats, spread over several levels. These are accessed by internal staircases and galleries which ensured that people could leave their places safely and quickly. Like the many amphitheatres in the Roman Empire, Nîmes’ Les Arènes is evidence that the Romans loved their spectacular gladiator performances.

Nîmes’ Amphitheatre over the Centuries

At the peak of the Middle Ages, the amphitheatre was transformed into a fortress containing living quarters. Thankfully, these additions were destroyed in the 19th century and the monument was restored to its original grandeur. The first bullfight took place in the amphitheatre in 1863 and this tradition has continued ever since. So we can say that people today love their spectacular performances just as much as the ancient Romans.

Les Arènes is one of the main Nîmes sightseeing attractions. As well as bulls and matadors, the arena is used for rock concerts, jazz concerts, circuses, shows – even a Nativity. It has actually become the largest concert arena in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The Romans used a ‘canopy’ to cover the tiers, however these days the amphitheatre is covered for six months of the year with a mobile roof made of Plexiglas, canvas and aluminium.

Visit Nîmes with us at Travel Signposts Photo Gallery.

Map of Nîmes:

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Maison Carrée – Nîmes’ Magnificent Roman Temple

Helen Page — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:37:19 +0000

Maison Carrée is neither Square nor a House:

Maison Carrée, Nîmes

Right in the center of Nîmes is a magnificent little Roman temple, believed to be one of the most famous and best-preserved temples of the Roman world. Its name Maison Carrée suggests a Square House, but this building is neither square nor a house.

Maison Carrée is a beautifully proportioned Roman temple which was erected in 5 AD in honour of Caïus Caesar and Lucius Caesar, grandson and adopted son of Emperor Augustus.

In the old French language any shape with four angles is described by the word carré which is square in modern French. This is how the temple got its unusual name.

The Maison Carrée was part of the forum, administrative and economic centre of the town. Inspiration for the monument was drawn from the architecture of the Temple of Apollo in Rome.

Originally a Roman temple, the building later served as a court and as an office for the consuls of Nîmes. It then became a home, a stable and then a church. It was the conversion of the temple into a church in the 4th century that saved Maison Carrée from the widespread destruction of temples that followed when Christianity was adopted as Rome’s official state religion. Today Maison Carrée houses an exhibition tracing its history.

Take a walk around Nîmes with Travel Signposts Photo Gallery.

Getting to Maison Carrée:

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Saint-Valentin – A Lovers’ Village

Helen Page — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:11:55 +0000

Saint-Valentin named after the Patron Saint of Lovers:

Cupid

Deep in the heart of Champagne Berrichonne, in the Indre department, is the little village of Saint-Valentin which happens to be the only village in France carrying the name of the Patron Saint of Lovers.

With their village sharing the name of the Patron Saint of Lovers, the local community are committed to go all out to ensure that their commune is truly the “village of lovers”.

Each year, on the weekend closest to February 14, Saint-Valentin celebrates lovers on a scale that surpasses the size of their commune’s population of 285 inhabitants. Visitors to the village can enjoy the Jardin des Amoureux (Lovers’ Garden), le Saule aux Coeurs (the Willow of Hearts), la Maison des Amoureux (the Lovers’ House) with its post office and its Saint-Valentin boutique, the church, the kiosk and the many celebrations in the village.

Saint-Valentin’s Rise to Fame

Saint-Valentin’s international fame as “Lover’s Village” can be credited to one man – the town’s mayor. When Pierre Rousseau became mayor in 1983 he noticed that the community enjoyed the National Day of Lovers which the village had been celebrating since 1965. But after the 3-day weekend of enjoyment, and after the flowers that lined the houses had faded, Saint-Valentin was still an unknown village with no famous monuments, citizens or landscape to boast about. With the assistance of his city council, he set about to build a Lovers’ Park where each year lovers could come and plant a tree in the four-hectare park. The name of the owner and the botanical name of the tree are engraved on a plaque by the tree.

Raymond Peynet – a Friend of Saint-Valentin

Saint-Valentin’s fame improved when Raymond Peynet became a friend of the village. Peynet was one of France’s most popular artist and illustrator. In 1942, he came up with the characters of ‘Les Amoureux’ (The Lovers). His charming series of simple pictures of two lovers have delighted lovers all over the world and Peynet drew over 6,000 pictures of ‘The Lovers’. One of his works titled ‘Valentine’ was also used as the artwork on a stamp.

Each year Peynet offered one of his illustrations to the Saint-Valentin during its St. Valentine’s Day celebrations. With the illustrations gifted from Raymond Peynet, Mon. Rousseau got the idea to approach the postal agency to also put his commune on a first day cover for St. Valentine’s Day. The stamps were a huge success with tourists.

Saint-Valentin Wins the Hearts of Many Japanese

As luck would have it a master of a Buddhist temple in Yokohama read about Saint-Valentin and was interested in its Lovers’ Park. The Buddhist master had a farm project called “Love and Peace” and was very interested in Lovers’ Park. His approach to Saint-Valentin culminated in the twinning of the two parks and municipalities. What started as a the twinning of two small communities has lead to business relationships and Saint-Valentin is hugely popular with the Japanese.

Saint-Valentin’s international fame grew with further relationships established with towns in Austria, Canada and others and Saint-Valentin is now visited by celebrities and others who come to plant a tree or put a love message on the willow tree.

And so ends the lovely story of how Saint-Valentin won the hearts of many towns and people around the world and sealed its reputation as a village of lovers.

If you’re travelling in the Champagne region, call into Saint-Valentin and plant a tree, post a love message, enjoy Lovers’ Park and the hospitality of this village of lovers.

What do you think? Please comment below to tell me.

Paris Designer Outlet – La Vallée Village

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Bonjour, would you like to bake like a French Pâtissier?

Helen Page — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:47:24 +0000

Learn Pastry and Dessert making from a French master chef:

My favourite Crème Brulée, Paris..

Paris’ patisseries are world famous and some like Ladurée, La Maison Stohrer and Angelina’s are Parisian institutions.

Life’s Sweet in Paris – walk around the city and you’ll see patisseries overflowing with the most tempting sweet treats. Dessert connoisseurs don’t seem to mind waiting in long queues to have a taste of those mouth-watering macarons, crème brulée, tarte tatin or truffes au chocolat. This we saw for ourselves in Paris in winter, when a huge queue of people was waiting outside Ladurée in the winter cold.

On your next Paris vacation, why not do something different and learn to cook like a French dessert chef. At least you’ll be coming home with a new skill and not another dust-gathering souvenir. There’s no doubt that the French are the world’s master pâtissiers so who better to learn the art of dessert making than from the French.

This French pastry and dessert cooking class is held in Montmatre and you can learn the art of dessert cooking from a chef trained in some of the most famous kitchens.

You will learn to cook typical French pastries and desserts at the hands of a chef trained in the kitchens of Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducasse and who has worked as Executive sous chef in five star hotels around the world. Don’t worry if your French language skill is limited to ‘oui’ and ‘merci’ because your chef is bilingual and classes are conducted in English. And, at the end of the class, you’ll get to eat your own creations.

What you will learn

At each class you will prepare the following:

Mouth-watering pastries in Paris..

One ice cream
One chocolate dessert (similar to a plated restaurant type dessert)
One dessert (similar to what you would find in a typical Parisian patisserie)
One crème brulée (flavor of the day)
One pastry type: madeleine or macaron

Examples of pastries and desserts you might prepare are:

Eclair au chocolat et cafe
Famous Macaron, lemon, strawberry, pistacchio, chocolate
Madeleine – Orange tuile or Coconut Rocher
Chocolate tart
Almond pana-cotta
Crème Brulée
Savarin (Baba au Rhum)
Chocolate truffle
Crispy Chocolate tuile with sauteed banana and Chocolate sorbet
Gingerbread ice cream
Caramel and salted butter ice cream or Strawberry ice cream
Pineapple and Rum sorbet

Please be aware that recipes change regularly at the discretion of the chef and no one argues with a chef!

Fancy being able to make desserts like the above back home and what a piece of dinner conversation when your guests learn that you trained at the hands of a top French pâtissier.

If travelling with friends, get them to join you as this would be a fun thing to do in Paris. See here for more details of the course and how to book.

What do you think? Please comment below to tell me.

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Tour de France – Le Tour 2010

Helen Page — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:49:05 +0000

From Rotterdam to Paris Champs-Élysées:

Tour de France 2010 Route..

The 97th Tour de France will start from Rotterdam on Saturday July 3rd and finish in Paris on Sunday, July 25th, 2010. This year’s race will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages covering a distance of 3,600 kilometres.

Race Stage Profiles

1 prologue
9 flat stages
6 mountain stages and 3 summit finishes
4 medium mountain stages
1 individual time-trial stage (51 km).

Particular features of this year’s race

le Tourmalet will be climbed twice
there’s a hint of the classics and cobblestones*
2 rest days
23 level 1, level 2 and highest level mountain passes

*Each year the organizers think of new ways of inflicting additional pain on the riders! For the 2010 Tour programme, the 3rd stage, Wanze-Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, will include 7 cobbled sectors over a total distance of 13.2 kilometres, split up as follows:

3 sectors over a total distance of 2.2 kilometres in Belgium
4 sectors over a total distance of 11 kilometres in France

Oooh! I feel the pain! The last 5 occasions when cobbled sectors were included in the Tour were in 1981, 1983, 1985, 1989 and 2004.

11 New Stage Towns

In talking to fellow travellers, many have become keen followers of the Tour de France as it also has an interesting travel element in it. The Tour coverage is rather like a travel show and many who watch this race have been to various parts of France and this great race brings back memories of those trips. This year there are 11 new stage towns to excite travellers with:

Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, Bourg-de-Péage, Bourg-lès-Valence, Gueugnon, Longjumeau, Pamiers, Pauillac, Sisteron, Station des Rousses, Tournus, Wanze (Belgium)

The selection of the above towns goes through a rigorous process. The town must be able to ensure that the peloton’s arrival and departure is able to take place under optimum conditions in terms of sporting entertainment and rider and public safety. There are lots of other practical considerations as well.

So fans of this great and gruelling race, yours truly included, if you’re doing any travels to Europe, you may wish to plan a little detour in your itinerary so that you can witness this great race.

Tour Route

Sat 3 Jul – Rotterdam > Rotterdam
Sun 4 Jul – Rotterdam > Bruxelles
Mon 5 Jul – Bruxelles > Spa
Tue 6 Jul – Wanze > Arenberg Porte du Hainaut
Wed 7 Jul – Cambrai > Reims
Thu 8 Jul – Épernay > Montargis
Fri 9 Jul – Montargis > Gueugnon
Sat 10 Jul – Tournus > Station des Rousses
Sun 11 Jul – Station des Rousses > Morzine-Avoriaz
Mon 12 Jul – Morzine-Avoriaz
Tue 13 Jul – Morzine-Avoriaz > Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
Wed 14 Jul – Chambéry > Gap
Thu 15 Jul – Sisteron > Bourg-lès-Valence
Fri 16 Jul – Bourg-de-Péage > Mende
Sat 17 Jul – Rodez > Revel
Sun 18 Jul – Revel > Ax-3 Domaines
Mon 19 Jul – Pamiers > Bagnères-de-Luchon
Tue 20 Jul – Bagnères-de-Luchon > Pau
Wed 21 Jul – Pau
Thu 22 Jul – Pau > Col du Tourmalet
Fri 23 Jul – Salies-de-Béarn > Bordeaux
Sat 24 Jul – Bordeaux > Pauillac
Sun 25 Jul – Longjumeau > Paris Champs-Élysées

Please share your thoughts on this by posting a comment below.

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