Travel to the Tour de France, information and tips.

Plan your trip to the Tour de France to experience live the most important cycling race in the world.

Every year, hundreds of Basque men and women plan their trip to the Tour de France to enjoy one of the most important sporting events of the year. The explosiveness and harshness of the Pyrenees make this impressive natural space the perfect stage from which to cheer and admire the cyclists who compete in each of the curves they encounter along the way. Living the Tour de France from the inside, from the asphalt itself, is an adventure, a unique experience. Our recommendation is very clear, if you like the good atmosphere, nature and cycling, mount the bike in your car (if it is a van or camper better) and hit the road on the way to the Pyrenees, you will not regret it. The way to our destination may take us to be more than 4 hours on the road, but it is well worth it. Of course, we must take into account the route of each of the stages and the schedule in which they are disputed, and is that the gendarmes close the traffic in each of the ports that make up the Tour de France hours before the start of the stage.

In our case, we decided to see the stages of the Tour de France that passed through Iparralde (also known as Northern Basque Country or French Basque Country), taking advantage to enjoy the mountain stage that predicted him in the Cold’Aubisque or Aubisque pass. Thus, we enjoyed a great 2-day trip to the Tour de France in which we had a great time. Being able to climb the most emblematic passes of the Tour among the cheers of the thousands of fans who congregate in the ditches of the road is simply amazing. Once the jersey is sweated, once the pass is crowned, it’s time to rest, enjoy a good hamaiketako (lunch at 11 o’clock in Basque) and a cold shower to later watch how the cyclists fight for the leader’s position in the general classification.

It’s time to stop watching the Tour de France from the sofa at home, it’s time to enjoy the July afternoons from the side of the road. If you want to know who will be crowned king of the Tour de France on the Champs Elysees in Paris in first person, we recommend you to follow the day by day of the tour from a privileged position.

Since the Tour de France was created in 1903, there have been many heroes who have achieved authentic feats in each of its editions. Among them all, it is worth mentioning Lance Armstrong, the only person to have won 7 consecutive Tours de France (1999-2005). Unfortunately, this feat was clouded by the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) investigation, after which Lance Armstrong was accused of systematic doping. As a result, he was stripped of his 7 Tour titles. If we leave aside this case, the feats of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, the cyclists who have managed to win the Tour de France up to 5 times, are of obligatory mention. The French round is a real ordeal for cyclists and a great show for the spectator, dizzying descents, vertical ports or paradisiacal landscapes are enough to make this trip a successful experience.

The great atmosphere that is breathed in every trip to the Tour de France makes it a unique experience, a large format event that is perfectly organized to accommodate the volume of people who travel to the Pyrenees to see their favorite cyclists. Traveling to the Tour de France to enjoy the mountain stages is one of those experiences that every cycling lover should live once in a lifetime. And you, what are you waiting for?

Where to sleep in the Tour de France: Although most of the fans who attend the Tour de France choose to sleep in motorhomes, vans or tents, there are other options. The most demanded, hotels and campsites, of course, must be booked months in advance, as they are scarce depending on which area of the Pyrenees we are in. All these types of accommodation have their good and bad sides. And is that the vans, motorhomes and campsites can move them making it possible to go to each of the stages of the tour we want to see, while, if we set our headquarters in one of the hotels that we find in the vicinity, we must go and return each day, losing a nice time in displacements. In this aspect, what for us is the best formula is to rent a motorhome in Euskadi and enjoy the luxuries offered by these mobile hotels.

Where to eat in the Tour de France: As in the previous section, we must take into account that the roads are closed to traffic during the hours prior to the Tour, so we could say that we are trapped in a section of the road. This is why the best option is to eat in the vicinity of the road itself, in the mountain passes. It may not be the most comfortable but it is the most practical. Some good tables and chairs accompanied by a camping stove can help us to enjoy a meal in a group just a few seconds from the road where our idols are going to pass.

What to take to the Tour de France: The rural environment in which the mountain stages of the Tour de France are disputed, make that we can choose between 2 options: stay in one of the few hotels / hostels in the area or opt for motorhome, van or tent. Depending on the formula you choose, you will have to take some things or others. In our case, we went to the Tour as a group, 5 friends, in a van (3 people slept in tents and the other 2 in the van). To all the people who decide to travel like us, with the house on our backs, we remind you that it is difficult to find supermarkets in the surroundings, so we recommend you to take everything you need to survive for several days. Here is a nice list of things to bring to the Tour de France:

We are sure that we are forgetting something, but these are, in general terms, the basic things to take to the Tour de France, from this, everything is welcome. Anyway, remember that vans, cars or motorhomes do not have unlimited space, it is necessary to correctly classify the necessary and useful things, from the things that we may not use and can be omitted.

Weather: As you have been able to see, in the list we have just created about what to take to the Tour de France we mention two items as different as sunscreen and raincoat, one after the other. No, we were not wrong, the weather in the Pyrenees is very difficult to predict, very changeable, so it can rain as well as be sunny. In fact, it did exactly that to us, a very hot first day and the second day closed sirimiri, soft but continuous rain. We recommend not to wear only summer clothes, at these altitudes it is necessary to be prepared for all kinds of days.

Price: Unlike other major sporting events, watching the Tour de France live is completely free. You don’t have to pay for access, or to take pictures, or to ride your bike minutes before the stage starts. Everything is free. What’s more, in the mountain passes themselves, at more than 1,500 meters of altitude, we find bars offering food and drink at very competitive prices. We must remember that we are in the mountains, surrounded by animals and forests, bars and stores are scarce, and yet, instead of taking advantage and imposing exorbitant prices, they offer us food and drink at very good prices. Many bars and restaurants should learn from them.

Ambience: Not atmosphere, but great atmosphere. The Tour de France is one of the sporting events where the best atmosphere is created, before, during and after the race, a party in style. Although the atmosphere is continuous, we recommend 3 moments that are essential to enjoy: pre-race atmosphere, the publicity caravan and the race. All of them have a large number of followers that creates a great party around cycling.

Advice: We must be clear that in any trip to the Tour de France you should go to enjoy the sport and the atmosphere that is created around it, but always with head. If things like being on TV doing something stupid or harming a rider have crossed your mind, we advise you to stay at home. For the rest, here are some tips that although they are very basic, it is always good to remember them before starting to plan our trip to the Pyrenees.

These are some of the most important tips for any trip to the Tour de France, but if you have any questions do not hesitate to leave us a comment, we will try to answer as soon as possible.

Planning: Every year the stages change, so it is impossible to plan your trip to the Tour de France more than 1 year in advance. However, there are some things that do not change and that are essential whatever the edition of the tour is. An example of this is the motorhome rental (in case we decide to opt for this type of accommodation), and leaving it to the last minute can become a real problem. Unfortunately, many other aspects, such as where to be located to watch the stage, will have to wait because until all the sections of the race are made public, it is difficult to make a choice.

Advertising Caravan: Although most of the things they give away are of little value, although it is an impressive sample of the capitalism and consumerism in which we live, although it is eternal, the advertising caravan of the Tour de France is a typical moment of the Gallic round. It is worth seeing, we have never before consumed such a volume of advertising. Once again, we must ask for caution, objects are thrown from the top of the floats that pass at high speed just inches away from people, it is not worth ducking or getting closer than necessary to the advertising vehicles, there are gifts for everyone, we attest. If you want to be present when this caravan passes by, you should be on the road an hour and a half to 2 hours before the cyclists pass by.

Basques: The Basque atmosphere is impressive, practically every kilometer we find a group of people from Euskal Herria. The support of the Basque people to this sport, and specifically to the Tour de France, is remarkable. The proximity of the mountain stages to some of the towns of Iparralde, makes people follow and support our people in each stage of this great competition.

Parking: Depending on the type of vehicle, parking in the mountain passes of the Tour de France can be quite a spectacle. Although you may see some absent-minded people the night before the race driving around with their motorhome, the general rule is to look for a place 1 or 2 days before the event, depending on how close we want to be to the road.

Traffic: Due to the large number of people who visit the Tour, it is usually chaotic to leave the place from where we have enjoyed the stage right after finishing, which is why we recommend waiting a couple of hours before starting to pick up. The flight of all the cycling fans from these places usually generates some monstrous caravans, it is worth waiting a little longer. In case you do not want to wait, we recommend you to be patient and cautious, because in addition to the hundreds of cars on the road, we also find cyclists and pedestrians on the road, all wanting to leave the scene as quickly as possible.

The day of the race: Each stage of the Tour de France is a party, even more so during the hours leading up to the race. It is usual to wake up among bicycles, helmets and jerseys, it is the time when the amateurs prepare the assault on one of the mountain passes of the Tour. The road begins to gain atmosphere with the comings and goings of fans trying to emulate their idols while they start to hear favorites, rumors about form and endless stories about the Tour. While some test their skills on the bike, others take to the mountains to enjoy some of the many routes with breathtaking views found in the Pyrenees.

Suddenly, there is a break, it’s time to eat, time to gather strength before heading to encourage our team. After eating, the ditches begin to gain prominence, a sign that the advertising caravan is approaching. We start to see the typical coolers and ikurriñas, it’s time to find the place from where to enjoy our long-awaited trip to the Tour de France. The advertising caravan is very pleasant, quite a show. After it, begins the movement of cars and motorcycles of the corresponding teams, it’s time, begin to see the helicopters that follow the race from the sky, the escapees are close. Although it is true what they say that cyclists pass in a matter of seconds, do not worry, in the mountain stages, between the escapees, the peloton and the stragglers, there is plenty of time to enjoy, encourage and take pictures. From the time we are on the road until the riders pass by, more than 3 hours can pass (in our case 2 hours and 40 minutes) but they fly by. And among the many people who travel to the mountain stages of the tour we always find someone who enlivens the party with some chanting and some other costume. Conclusion: A great day of celebration around cycling.

Videos: As in the last articles we have published, this time, we also wanted to upload several videos about the trip to the Tour de France to our YouTube channel. And is that, the atmosphere that is lived in each stage of the Pyrenees is simply amazing, it is necessary to see it and feel it to know what it really is.

We must bear in mind that not all the stages of the tour have the same security measures, and that, in addition to the fact that year after year the measures improve, it also depends on the level of affluence. The gendarmes establish different guidelines depending on each space. It is for this reason that we cannot extrapolate our adventure in Cold’Aubisque with that of other stages.

The Tour de France trip has been one of the most intense and special trips we have had the opportunity to enjoy. We recommend you to choose one or several stages of the Tour and start planning your own adventure in the Pyrenees. What are you waiting for?