2012 Self-Guided Pyrenees to Paris
July 16th to July 23rd, 2012
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This trip is based on 2 people traveling together and sharing a room. It can be modified to accommodate singles, as well as three or more people traveling together. |
| July 16th | |
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The trip starts in Toulouse airport where you will pick-up your rental car. We can arrange for other pick-up locations (Pau, Biarritz, Bordeaux, etc...); simply let us know. Toulouse is convenient and if you can arrive by 9:00am, you can see the start of today's stage. Arriving a bit later? Catch the stage further along the route or even at the finish!
You will then head for your first hotel which is located in the heart of the Pyrenees in an ideal location for the stages through the Pyrenees. |
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- July 17th - Hotel location: Beaudean Tour Stage N/A / Rest Day / 0km (0 miles) |
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The Tour takes a day off today and we will offer a few suggestions on places to see and things to do. Many of the teams will be staying in Pau, so a visit to the Castle could double as some Team sightings. Another popular place when in the region is Lourdes. The Italian and Spanish teams will tend to go by the grotto and that is a good place to see team Euskatel for example. Finally a visit to the Pic du Midi observatory is always a good option. |
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- July 18th - Hotel location: Beaudean Tour Stage 16 / Pau - Bagneres de Luchon / 197km (123 miles) |
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This is as classic a stage as there can be in the Pyrenees and with just a few opportunities remaining to make time differences, this will be a contested stage without a doubt!
There are a few places to see the stage from and we'll be sure to point out of the pros and cons of each, but your hotel is perfectly located! |
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- July 19th - Hotel location: Beaudean Tour Stage 17 / Bagneres de Luchon - Peyragudes / 174km (108 miles) |
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The final High Mountains Pyrenees stage of the 2012 edition ends atop Peyragudes which is a first. While the final climb isn't as difficult as others in the area, the Port de Bales just preceding it is another animal altogether and someone could launch an attack from this climb already. You'll be there first hand to witness the race unfold! |
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- July 20th - Hotel location: Paris Tour Stage 18 / Blagnac - Brive la Gaillarde / 215km (134 miles) |
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With the race starting so far from yesterday's finish and running North through the center of France, the best place to see the race is at the start in Blagnac! Starts offer great opportunities for pictures and to mingle with the teams and racers warming up (autographs as well?) You'll be heading up to Paris this afternoon, so this could also be a good time to enjoy some "off-TDF" time!
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- July 21st - Hotel location: Paris Tour Stage 19 / Bonneval - Chartres / Time Trial / 52km (32 miles) |
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This will be the last opportunity for the contenders to the Yellow jersey to make their mark on the 2012 Tour and you will be in the heart of the action.
Your train tickets will take you from Paris directly into Chartres. The exact location of the finish hasn't been announced yet but Chartres isn't very big and it should be reachable by foot from the train station. Once the time trial is over, you will head back to your hotel in Paris by train - very convenient! |
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- July 22nd - Hotel location: Paris, near Champs Elysees Tour Stage 20 / Longjumeau - Paris Champs-Elysees / 105km (65 miles) |
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Who will be wearing yellow on the Champs Elysees tonight? You will find out today as you watch the arrival from the side of the "World's most beautiful Avenue". Once the Tour festivities are over, you will get ready for a great dining experience. This year again we will be renting an entire boat for our sunset dinner-cruise along the Seine river. Great food and unbelievable sight-seeing of Paris by night will end our “sensory overloaded day”!!! The hotel is located within walking distance of the Champs Elysees, the Grand stands and the dinner cruise. Our position as Official Tour Operators for the Tour de France, allows us to offer seating in the Official Grand Stands alongside the Champs-Elysees as an option. This is a great option to get the best possible view without lining the course from 9:00am to 6:00pm! |
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July 23rd Departure! |
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RATE $1935 / PERSON (based on double occupancy)
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| INCLUDED |
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hotel nights
as mentioned - Breakfast every morning - 5 Dinners - Dinner Cruise on the 22nd - Car rental with A/C from 07/16 to 07/20 with unlimited mileage - Transfer to Paris on the 20th - Round trip train to/from Chartres on the 21st - Maps, Tips, directions for Tour viewing - General interest and recommendations for restaurants, places to visit or drive through. - Emergency local contact number to someone bilingual. - a TDF gift |
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OPTIONAL
- Reserved Grand Stand seating at the arrival in Paris = $395 - Preferred viewing of the Time Trial in Chartres (07/21) = tbd - Preferred viewing on Port de Bales (07/19) = tbd - Luggage transfer from Pyrenees to Paris on 20th = $tbd/person (To avoid having to shuffle luggage on train and in Metro in Paris)
- VIP access on various stages; see pricing here
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Registrations:
A 25% deposit per person is required to reserve a spot. If
places are still available when we receive your application
along with deposit, you will receive notification of your
registration. If the trip is sold out, you will be given the
option to be placed on a waiting list or choice of another
trip. Waitlist order is on a first come first serve basis as
well.