2025 Tour de France Brief Trip Report
I imagine some of you might be thinking about watching the Tour de France in person right about now.
Last year I personally had such a satisfying trip that
I'm posting this to share information and to brag a little haha.
Last year I watched the Tour de France in person on a schedule from
July 18 (Fri) to July 27 (Sun).
To get straight to the important points as a conclusion,
- Nice in, Nice out (via Dubai)
- Flight time: 12-15 hours (including layover)
- Travel expenses were about 10 million won for 2 people
- Accommodation was around 200,000-400,000 won per night via a travel app
- For breakfast, we chose the option included with the hotel whenever possible, and for some dinners we also included hotel dinner
- Brought 1 MTB bicycle (no separate charge on the airfare. Depends on the fare plan)
- Rental car was from Nice airport (booked a BMW X3 class but was assigned a Mazda SUV)
<Travel Itinerary>
See the 4th image below. Refer to the full route
7/18 (Fri, Day 1): Departure
7/19 (Sat, Day 2): Arrive in Nice, travel around Nice and Eze, then stay overnight at a chateau in the Verdon Gorge
7/20 (Sun, Day 3): Verdon Gorge - Carcassonne. Watched the Stage 15 finish in person.
7/21 (Mon, Day 4): Carcassonne-Mont Ventoux transfer + Mont Ventoux uphill climb
7/22 (Tue, Day 5): Stage 16, enjoyed the caravan procession and watched the final part of Mont Ventoux in person, then moved to Bollene
7/23 (Wed, Day 6): Watched the Stage 17 rider introduction & start in person at Bollene, then moved to Alpe d'Huez; due to time, couldn't ride the bike and just went through by car
7/24 (Thu, Day 7): Alpe d'Huez -> Galibier summit, Galibier downhill (enjoyed it while thinking of Tom Pidcock) + Lacets de Montvernier + watched the middle part of Stage 18 in person -> moved to Megeve
7/25 (Fri, Day 8): Megeve -> Chamonix Mont Blanc (Plan de l'Aiguille) -> moved to Sanremo. Saw the Milan-Sanremo course along the way
7/26 (Sat, Day 9): Sanremo (explored the Cipressa climb and Poggio climb) -> one lap of the Monaco F1 track -> Nice airport. Departure
7/27 (Sun, Day 10): Return home
<Impressive things during the trip>
- The city of Carcassonne was great, and at the Stage 15 finish I saw the team vehicles for the first time and got excited
- Climbing about 1100 meters up Mont Ventoux, I got excited again watching the cycling fans who had staked out spots and were partying since the day before
- On symbolic stages like Mont Ventoux, they control the vehicles from early on (no vehicle traffic allowed from the afternoon of the previous day). I stayed in the village right before the real start of Mont Ventoux, so I was able to pass through
- On the day of the Mont Ventoux event, from morning thousands, tens of thousands of people climbed all the way up to the cheering spot, either by bicycle (feels like 80%) or on foot (20%).
(See the photo below)
- On the day of the Mont Ventoux event, the lady who owned our lodging said it was the first time in her life she'd seen so many people. The Mont Ventoux finish was truly a race after a long time
- I grabbed about 10 goods that were randomly thrown out from the caravan procession before the race, but I shared the simple goods and snacks with the kids around me
- Fans of all ages and genders truly gathered at Mont Ventoux from all walks of life.
- When my son went wearing a Korea Army T-shirt, several people happily greeted us asking if we came from Korea and chatted (I wore the Korea T-shirt because I didn't want to be mistaken for Chinese, and it worked)
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- Got to visit Mont Ventoux and Alpe d'Huez, my dream places, in person
- At Stage 17, at the rider introduction spot/start line, if you get a good spot you can see the riders up close and get autographs
- Scored famous riders' autographs on the yellow hat I got from the caravan. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma), Tim Wellens (UAE, Stage 15 winner), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies, Netflix star), Mark Cavendish
* There probably aren't many Koreans who got Jonas Vingegaard's autograph... anyway, thanks to the Danish fan next to me, I got to get an autograph too.
- Did a full downhill of the Galibier, which Tom Pidcock made famous with his downhilling.
- Milan-Sanremo. Recommend the cafe on the Cipressa climb. Explored the Poggio climb
The 5th and 6th photos below
I arrived the evening before Stage 17 and went for a walk to the start point, where a worker was drawing the start line, so
I asked him to paint it on my hat, and he did. (Inspired by the movie Tour de France)
I got as many as 4 famous riders' autographs on that hat.
Everyone, hold onto hope and
try watching the Tour de France in person once.
It was the trip of a lifetime.
This year there are 2 Alpe d'Huez stages, so that area is going to be packed.
The goods you get during the trip are also so rewarding.
To get some goods, it helps if you're willing to swallow a little embarrassment ...^^
