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| Spyns traditional morning ride on the Champs Elysees, pre-race. |
As the entire Spyns team diligently prepares for the 2011 Tour de France, a number of clients have had questions about the Paris finish. As our loyal blog readers may already know we offer both week long Tour de France trips and shorter 3 day Paris finish tours. The Paris finish tours include grandstand seats to watch the Tour de France finish whereas our week long tours include either rooms overlooking the race course and or grandstand seats. The question is: do you need Tour de France grandstand seats?
I believe it's purely a question of cost. Demand far outstrips supply as far as grandstand seats are concerned. If you're unfamiliar with the Tour de France grandstand seat system, allow me to explain it. Every year the Tour de France finishes in Paris. This is always stage 21. The final stage is usually a formality as the winner is generally known. The riders start roughly 20 to 30 km outside Paris and ride into the city center following the same route along the Seine River up the rue de Rivoli and up the Champs Élysées. While the route into Paris changes from year to year as does the stage starting point, the Paris race route remains unchanged.
As you can imagine the crowds watching the tour arrive are enormous. If you're familiar with the New York City Macy's Day Parade, the crowds are roughly the same size and composition. That is to say people who are standing four deep, waiting 5 to 6 hours before the tour arrives, and rowdy but good-natured. If you'd rather not wait with the riffraff then you can reserve grandstand seats for the Paris finish. But they come at a price.
Spyns has offered Paris finish grandstand seats as part of tours for the past 3 years. In any given year I estimate that 80% of the seats have already been pre-sold by the Tour de France organizers to corporate sponsors or to the French government. This means that 20% capacity is left for the general public - including our clients. The grandstands are set up in tents or temporary structures at the base of the Champs Elysees. There are roughly 5 to 6 different kinds of tents each with a different name. For example, this year Spyns was able to purchase Grand Palais and Triomphe grandstand seats. Both grandstands are located at the base of the Champs Elysees but to gain access to them is quite expensive.
The Grand Palais is located on the east side of the street about 100 yards from the podium (where they award the yellow jersey). There are 15 to 20 rows under each tent not unlike what you would see at any outdoor sporting event. The Triomphe tent on the other hand is the more exclusive grandstand area and so seats are quite a bit more expensive. This particular area is more like a press center with a small white picket fence separating the tent's tables from the race course, various tables set up, bar service, and appetizers served all day so you can leisurely watch the tour.
For pricing information please see our website, a link to which is provided at the end of this blog. If you're traveling to France on a budget and can't afford Tour de France grandstand seats, you have the option of watching from the street. Here are a few tips if you're planning to do so. First, I would avoid the Champs Elysees altogether. People start lining up along the street 5 to 7 hours before the riders arrive (around 10 AM) and by the time the tour arrives at around 3:30 PM, unless you're in the front row along the barriers you won't see anything. If you do plan to watch from the street, I'd suggest 3 locations: near the Place de la Concorde which is at the base of the Champs Elysees (think the square with Napoleon's obelisk); anywhere along the Seine River; or along the Rue de Rivoli.
If you don't fancy waiting streetside for hours another possibility is to rent a hotel room along the racecourse. This too can be expensive unfortunately. When Lance Armstrong decided to return to pro cycling in 2009 and 2010 demand for hotel rooms during the Paris finish shot up and so did hotel rates. Hotels like the Westin which is located on the rue de Rivoli started charging 2 to 3 times more their regular rates for rooms with views. Still it's often less expensive than Paris grandstand seats during the Tour de France. From my experience, there is nothing better than opening your window and watching the tour below while having access to your own bathroom, room service, and a minibar. It's heaven!
In closing I have the following suggestions: if money is no object then by all means you should reserve Tour de France grandstand seats. These are part of our week long Tour de France tours and Paris finish packages. If you reserve one of our premier packages, you won't have Tour de France grandstand seats but rather a room that overlooks the race course. If you do choose to watch the race from the street, my only advice would be to avoid the crowds on the Champs Elysees.
I hope you've enjoyed my blog but please feel free to call me toll-free at 1.888.825.4720 with your questions about Tour de France grandstand seats.
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.
