Turin ITALY to Paris FRANCE 2015

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1 AllTrails Bicycle Tours Cycling holidays and bicycle tour adventures in Australia since Turin ITALY to Paris FRANCE 2015 See the Tour de France in Paris Tuesday 14 July, 2015 to Sunday 26 July, 2015 Imagine waking up in a beautiful little French hotel, the breakfast presented beautifully and tasting even better, before mounting your road bike and heading off over the alps or perhaps making your way through vineyards and rolling countryside with a group of other like-minded cyclists. We have recommended meeting points up the road for your morning tea and lunch stops so that you can cycle with other riders of the same speed if you wish, or go at your own pace, navigating by chalk arrows on the ground, or a GPS if you have one. You will also see a support vehicle 2-5 times per day as they drive the route to ensure cyclist safety. The mountains on this tour are there to be climbed and we know that many of you will relish the opportunity to challenge yourself on some of these famous hills. Tough sections of the ride like this, however, will be one of the designated sections where our support bus will pick up some cyclists and take them ahead, in order to cut out either some big climbs or some long distances. Tour Leaders will work with the group before each day to identify pickup and drop off points for those who may not wish to ride the entire day's route and would like to relax and absorb the scenery from the bus. Cyclists don't have to ride in a group - the route is marked and suggested cafes and towns are pointed out for your snack and lunch stops but you are free to ride and stop where you wish. We ride up and stay the night on top of the famous Alpe d'huez and offer an optional route to climb Col du Galibier. On most days you will have the opportunity to catch the last part of the Tour de France race live on TV in our hotel as we enjoy our own ride to Paris. Tour participants should aim to be able to cycle at 20-25kph on flat terrain. We expect a normal day's cycling to finish between 2-5pm where we then have the afternoon and long summer evenings to explore the village or relax at the hotel. An evening meal is often provided, leaving other evenings for your choice of meal and restaurants. Location Distance Date B L D A Turin NA Tue 14 July Y Y Turin to Susa 57km Wed 15 July 2015 Y -- Y Y Susa to Briancon 68km Thu 16 July 2015 Y Y Briancon to Alpe d Huez 81km Fri 17 July 2015 Y Y Y Y Alpe d Huez to la Cote St Andre 123km Sat 18 July 2015 Y -- Y Y la Cote St Andre to Macon 141km Sun 19 July 2015 Y Y Macon to Beaune 104km Mon 20 July 2015 Y Y Beaune REST DAY NA Tue 21 July 2015 Y Y Beaune to Semur en Auxois 90km Wed 22 July 2015 Y Y -- Y Semur en Auxois to Auxerre 102km Thu 23 July 2015 Y -- Y Y Auxerre to Fontainebleau 125km Fri 24 July 2015 Y Y -- Y Fontainebleau to the Eiffel Tower Paris 88km Sat 25 July 2015 Y -- Y Y Paris NA Sun 26 July 2015 Y Total distance cycled 979km Average daily distance 98km 1 / 5

2 Meal and accom inclusions noted as B, L, D, A (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Accom) Turin NA Tue 14 July D A Day 1 (Pre Tour). Highlights: Turin. For cyclists joining us in Turin, we strongly suggest arriving on the 13th or earlier to prepare yourself and explore the area before meeting the tour leaders and riders. Many cyclists will have started this tour in Rome in which case today is their rest day. Turin was the first capital of a unified Italy and a major business and cultural centre for the country, it is also the capital of the Piemonte region, famous for its wines and monasteries. Turin to Susa 57km Wed 15 July 2015 B - D A Day 2. Highlights: Italian Alps. The beauty of the Alps begins to open up to us today as we leave the city of Turin behind and head for the mountains. Today is a pretty flat ride but it is truly beautiful as we cycle up the Dora Riparia - the magnificent valley taking us to Susa and the snowfield region of Bardonecchia, a popular holiday resort in the heart of the Alps where the Winter Olympics took place in Susa to Briancon 68km Thu 16 July 2015 B - - A Day 3. Highlights: Climbing the French Alps, Briancon. Today we cross the French border then head south to the lovely Alpine town of Briancon. At 68km this is a reasonably short ride but it marks the start of the mountain climbing so it will be a nice warm up for tomorrow's attack on the famous Tour de France climbs and you will enjoy the afternoon in beautiful surroundings. We are going to pass through Bardonecchia, the last village in Italy before climbing the Colle della Scala/ Col de l'echelle which marks the boundary between Italy and France. From the top of the Col (1762 metres) we will gently ride downhill into Briancon, the highest town in the European Union at 1325 metres, with its magnificent fortifications of the Vauban. Briancon has often been the final stage of the Tour de France and the Giro d'italia. There are a number of good restaurants and eating options in Briancon and our Tour Leaders will point you in the right direction for you to go forth and explore individually, or you may want to team up with a few of your new-found friends to enjoy dinner together. Briancon to Alpe d Huez 81km Fri 17 July 2015 B L D A Day 4. Highlights: Col du Lautaret, la Meije, Massif des Ecrins, l'alpe-d'huez, Col du Galibier (optional). We cycle through the valley alongside beautiful river systems, before climbing Col du Lautaret 2058mt then on to La Meije, Massif des Ecrins. For those who want the ultimate Tour de France cycling experience you have the opportunity to ride up and down Col du Galibier before we all climb the world famous Alpe d'huez. Today we will send you off with a packed lunch so that you can stop and admire the view from one of the many vantage points on this day in the mountains. Stand on the podium at the top of Alp d'huez for a great picture opportunity before retiring to our accommodation right here at the top of the famous mountain for our overnight stay (unless you want to go down and do Alpe-d'Huez again!). Don't worry if you do not want to tackle all of the hills today - our support vehicle will be there to help you along where required (and remember that tomorrow is pretty much all downhill). Many of the climbs that you ride on these days will be ridden by the Tour de France cyclists on the days before and after our tour as le Tour travels through the Alps. Alpe d Huez to la Cote St Andre 123km Sat 18 July 2015 B - D A Day 5. Highlights: Gorges de la Romanche, Chaine de la Belledonne, Grenoble. Today we head down from Alpe d'huez to Le Bourg d'oisans on a long downhill then wind our way between the stunning mountain ranges, heading on and through Grenoble along the Drac and then Isere Rivers. Grenoble is considered the capital of the French Alps and the city's history goes back more than 2000 years! We'll bike along the two rivers on a nice and flat bikepath before getting to a small and typical village of the region Rhone-Alpes: la Cote St Andre. 2 / 5

3 la Cote St Andre to Macon 141km Sun 19 July 2015 B - - A Day 6. Highlights: rolling French countryside, Macon wines and Beaujoulais vineyards. Long but flat ride for today as we cross the Rhone River and head north through the marshy plains of the Dombes region, also known as the thousand lakes region - you'll see why as our route sees us pedalling from one pond to the next. In the morning we will pedal through the beautiful countryside on small roads with no traffic before getting into the Burgundy region with its production of excellent wines. The cycling to Paris from today has a lot less hills - vineyards are the beauty of this area, enabling us to enjoy the wonderful scenery and atmosphere of the French countryside and villages. Our final stop is Macon. The city lies on the river Saone and has a wonderful recently restored romanesque cathedral and many cafes along the river where you can taste some wines of the Maconnais! Macon to Beaune 104km Mon 20 July 2015 B - - A Day 7. Highlights: Burgundy vineyards - Tournus, Meursault, Volnay. Highlights today are many as we cycle through Burgundy's famous Vineyards: Meursault Volnay, and Pommard. A scenic flat ride through some of the best known vineyards of France. We will start the day biking along rolling roads in the middle of the countryside before getting to the medieval town of Tournus where you can stop by to visit the massive church of Saint Philibert. From Tournus you will bike through the famous vineyards and chateaux of Burgundy before getting to Beaune, the capital of the wine region, where you will enjoy a relaxing afternoon winetasting event (a great introduction to the region's wines), ready for your rest day tomorrow. Beaune REST DAY NA Tue 21 July 2015 B - - A Day 8. Rest day today in the Capital of Burgundy Wines to prepare for the final push on to Paris. Explore the town or relax at the wineries scattered around every corner. Beaune to Semur en Auxois 90km Wed 22 July 2015 B L - A Day 9. Highlights: Burgundy vineyards (Aloxe-Corton), quiet country roads, chateau de Chateauneuf. Burgundy Vineyards beautify this area, which has many quiet back roads through medieval villages built on a pink granite bluff. We pedal the small roads again before a short climb to the splendid medieval chateau de Chateauneuf where you can stop for a visit and enjoy a magnificient view of the countryside. There will not be many villages today along our route so we will send you off with a packed lunch for you to enjoy at your leisure as you soak up the beauty of the green, flowery countryside before arriving in the fortified town of Semur en Auxois which is encircled by River Armancon and was the start of 2007 Tour de France. Semur en Auxois to Auxerre 102km Thu 23 July 2015 B - D A Day 10. Highlights: Auxerre - Capital of Lower Burgundy. From Semur we will experience the bucolic side of France, pedaling through flat roads before a short climb to Avallon, an architectural medieval pearl in the middle of Burgundy. Take the time to explore the village and do not miss the collegiate de Saint Lazaire. From Avallon we will continue on quiet roads till the entrance of Auxerre where we will pedal through the historical centre on small medieval lanes to our hotel. Auxerre is the Capital of Lower Burgundy and home of some of the most famous wineries in France. Not to be missed is the historical center with its half-timber houses and the exquisite flamboyant Gothic Abbey of St. Germain. Auxerre is simply stunnning: explore the city and taste some typical local wines Chablis or the Cremant de Bourgogne. Auxerre to Fontainebleau 125km Fri 24 July 2015 B L - A Day 11. Highlights: Fontainebleau. Great ride today as we cycle the flat and easy terrain, passing through villages and crossing the border with our final region that is the Ile de France region. A nice picnic lunch along the way will keep you going before reaching a few last short rolling hills as you near our final destination of Fontainebleau. Here you will admire one of the most famous French royal palaces: Fontainebleau. The Palace and the surrounding forest are popular destinations for Parisians to get out in the country and a lovely way to appreciate where the kings of France once lived. 3 / 5

4 Fontainebleau to the Eiffel Tower Paris 88km Sat 25 July 2015 B - D A Day 12. Highlights: Pedaling into Paris, Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, Moulin de Senlis. Pedalling into Paris, the scenery, vineyards, villages, churches, magnificent architecture to Notre Dame Cathedral then finish under the Eiffel Tower with a champagne toast, photos and 3 cheers before cycling down to our hotel which is exceptional, placed between the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysees, in a lovely area of Paris. Paris NA Sun 26 July 2015 B Day 13. Highlights: See the Tour de France & enjoy Paris. Today we wander the sights of this wonderful city, and as an optional extra, some clients have bought a hospitality package on the Champs Elysees, with food, drinks and a giant screen opposite. Others are scouting around, grabbing their best vantage points for the last day of the Tour de France. Don't miss it! Optional Extras: enjoy the final day of the Tour de France in Paris with a fully catered grandstand package as the riders race up the Champs Elysees - see 'Pricing' tab on our website. Accommodation tonight an optional extra - see 'Pricing' tab on website. 4 / 5

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