Yup!
Many bars/cafes/restaurants will have a screen showing the stage. Can be heaps of fun, but beware of old mate at the bar trying to talk to you after his 57th ‘petit coup de blanc’. That would be mostly the case in villages/towns in the region of the day’s stage.
All those places are very cool, but you’ll be spending a lot of time travelling between them, especially with the Strasbourg leg. Also you’ll be seeing a lot of big cities (Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg). They’re all great, but they’re still big cities. So maybe I’d ditch Strasbourg to get an extra day in Chamonix, because it’s awesome. And you still get to see big and beautiful cities. Then From Lyon get on the TGV and boom you’re in Paris in a couple hours.
If you do Cham, I’d recommend taking the cable car of the Aiguille du Midi. Pretty incredible views of Mont Blanc, Valée Blanche, etc. Also well worth doing a day hike in the area, there’s many to choose from.
Cheers Seb - I’d still like to do the Strasbourg because of the German feel it is supposed to have. I will see if I can squeeze a couple of extra days out of the boss man!
So this trip is a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
- Postponed by two weeks within 48 hours of being due to fly out.
- No time to holiday afterwards
- Negotiated more time to holiday afterwards
- Kept in touch with my mate in Belgium and lined up to hang out with him, drink trappist beers and eat frittes
- Found out that we both had our dates messed up and we are going to miss each other completely.
So now i have more time up my sleeve and visiting cities won’t be as rushed as before. There is a chance to even check out Switzerland.
Thoughts on this:
2.5 days in Lyon
2.5 days in Chamonix
2.5 days in ???
2 days in Paris before flying home.
From Chamonix I don’t really know where to go. If the original plan of Strasbourg was really that good of a plan or not - I do like that the town seems to have a strong German influence but it is a bit of a way from where I will be in Chamonix.
I could even shift everything down a bit and head to Belgium for a couple of days (Antwerp, Brussels or Ghent). The only problem I have is the starting point (Cherbourg) is so remote that to get to anywhere from there, I have to travel 3hours back to Paris.
Good thing you don’t also have to choose a colour
eyyyyy
Head up to Belfort and do a day trip to Ronchamp. I hear there’s a chapel there.
Should see if you can get a copy of the official TdF guide book that P&P and the other broadcasters get each year. I hear thats got some great background on churches and stuff.
Classic!
Anyone got any Paris Tips? Mainly where to stay? My lunch research tells me that Le Marais and 11th Arrond. is good for bars, coffee etc.
I went to an awesome Thai restaurant in Le Marais. But I can’t remember the name and it was 9 years ago so it’s of no use to you.
But it was a great place, just so you know.
So what’s the french equivalent of Thai Me kangaroo Down Sport
One of the best rated restaurants in the town I am working in is of Thai cuisine - I guess if I am craving vegetables, I know where to go.
le Thai Me Kangaroo Down Sport
This was also a great place, and not far from Le Marais.
Currently in Lyon - what a great place after coming from Paris (Paris was… meh)
wut??!!
Yeah I just didn’t get into it. It could the language barrier… it could be how hot it was, the amount of people there… but it just wasn’t awesome. I walked a hell of a lot, got a hire bike, got some good beers and coffee…
The best thing was getting a falafel from The Marché des Enfants Rouges markets. Made fresh on the spot and had a really good interaction with the young man who made it for me. I could tell he was really proud of what he served me and it was the first time I legit got goosebumps from eating something in a while. I then ran 2kms to the train station with a half eaten falafal because I was running late.
Anyway, Lyon is amazing. Just a bit quieter… more my speed.