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The Tour de France 2008 (21 stages, 3500 km) traverses France (with an excursion into Italy) starting in Brittany on 5 July and ending on the Champs Elysees in Paris on 27 July 2008.

Love it or hate it, you may not be able to ignore it. Roads are closed, towns come to a halt as a large proportion of the local population plus many spectators from around the world (plus press and publicity) descend on the individual stages. It is quite a spectacle with a great atmosphere - and yet unless it is a time trial or mountain stage, the actual racing cyclists can be come and gone in a matter of minutes. Mountain stages get manic with enthusiasts parking on the mountainside several days in advance to get a good position.
Because the French take the Tour so seriously be prepared for road and town closures on the route - it seldom affects main autoroutes, but other roads can be closed for several hours.

For details of coverage on ITV see www.itv.com

For details of the 2008 stages see www.frenchduck.com

The Tour has produced a short video which flies you across the landscape of France following the route of the 2008 Tour (worth seeing even if you are not interested in the race!):-

For more on the Tour de France 2008 see www.letour.fr/