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| July 4, 2009 | to | July 26, 2009 |
Each July the French get very excited about 180 or more professional cyclists who cover 3,500km over three weeks racing around France, including staggering climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees.
Tour de France 2009
With lots of razzamataz, commercial sponsorship, scandal and sporting achievement, it is a spectacle well worth seeing - especially as it is free. However, the downside is that the Tour can cause major disruption with roads closed for hours, hordes of people and traffic - and all hotel rooms along the route booked.
In 2009 the tour starts in Monaco on 4 July 2009, travels down the Mediterranean coast into Spain to Barcelona - then up through Andorra to the Pyrenees. With a skip to Central France the route heads east through northern Burgundy to Alsace, south the the Alpes and then heads for Paris and the final stage which finishes on the Champs Elysees on 26 July 2009.
Sat 4 July Monaco
Sun 5 July Monaco > Brignoles
Mon 6 July Marseille > La Grande-Motte
Tue 7 July Montpellier
Wed 8 July Le Cap d’Agde > Perpignan
Thu 9 July Gérona > Barcelona (Spain)
Fri 10 July Barcelona > Andorra
Sat 11 July Andorra> Saint-Girons
Sun 12 July Saint-Gaudens > Tarbes
Mon 13 July rest day - Limoges
Tue 14 July Limoges > Issoudun
Wed 15 July Vatan > Saint-Fargeau
Thu 16 July Tonnerre > Vittel
Fri 17 July Vittel > Colmar
Sat 18 July Colmar > Besançon
Sun 19 July Pontarlier > Verbier
Mon 20 July rest day - Verbier
Tue 21 July Martigny > Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Wed 22 July Bourg-Saint-Maurice > Le Grand-Bornand
Thu 23 July Annecy > Annecy
Fri 24 July Bourgoin-Jallieu > Aubenas
Sat 25 July Montélimar > Mont Ventoux
Sun 26 July Montereau-Fault-Yonne > Paris Champs-Élysées
For more info on the Tour de France see www.letour.fr
| July 10, 2008 |
The Tour de France 2008 (21 stages, 3500 km) Stage 6 is on 10 July 2008 and starts from Aigurande (36 Indre, Centre) and runs 195.5km through the Creuse department (23 Limousin) to
Super-Besse (63 Puy-de-Dome, Auvergne)
For more on the Tour de France 2008 see www.letour.fr/
For details of coverage on ITV see www.itv.com
| July 9, 2008 |
The Tour de France 2008 (21 stages, 3500 km) Stage 5 is on 9 July 2008 and starts from Cholet (49 Maine-et-Loire) and runs 232km to Chateauroux (36 Indre, Centre) via Loudun (86 Vienne, Poitou-Charentes)
For more on the Tour de France 2008 see www.letour.fr/
For details of coverage on ITV see www.itv.com
Le Canard au Parapluie Rouge, or the “Duck with red umbrella” has a good start with a memorable name for a B&B - sounds a bit more exciting than the Hotel de la Gare (Station Hotel) which was its original name.
Situated south of Argenton-sur-Creuse (36 Indre, Centre -see map) just off the A20 autoroute about 200 miles south of Paris, this could make an ideal stop-over en route to or from the Dordogne, Lot and Toulouse - and tends to be one of those areas that many of us hurtle through (especially with the new A20 Autoroute “l’Occitaine”) on our way south or north.
Argenton-sur-Creuse is known as the “Venice of the Berry” (a former province of Central France) is a delightful spot on the River Creuse with medieval streets and chateau in the middle of an unspoilt area of France.The quiet and pretty small village of Celon is a few kilometres south.
“Le Canard au Parapluie Rouge is a lovely period country home situated on three and half acres of grounds and gardens. …. Now the property has been completely updated with all modern conveniences and offers several en-suite bedrooms. You will find the style of Le Canard a delightful mix of eclectic furnishings from around the world creating a very cozy & welcoming ambiance.”
For more info see www.lecanardbandb.com.
