Spectator Provence, Alps & Paris

Welcome to France! We will be picking up at the Avignon TGV train station at 14:00/2pm. Our 4-star hotel has a great location outside the city of Avignon in the northern part of Provence.

From the TGV station pick-up, we’ll make our way to the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct that spans a picturesque river. This is a world heritage site and has been featured in the Tour several times as the racers have ridden across the bridge.

Tonight we’ll enjoy our welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant. In addition to meeting our fellow travel guests at dinner, we’ll go over the itinerary for our trip. Each guest will receive a gift from Custom Getaways.

This morning we will enjoy an experience that is unique to the Provence region…a lavender tour! In addition to making the landscapes beautiful, lavender smells great and has been know to have healing properties.

Today’s stage viewing will be in the Izoard VIP venue, located down the mountain from the finish line. TV’s are located within the Izoard venue where we will watch the racers battle before they pass right in front of us on Mont Ventoux! This venue is a great way to see the race with snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee, water, TVs and private restrooms. Champagne will be served to toast the stage winner.

We will enjoy another group dinner tonight as we talk about our favorite teams and riders.

We begin the day with a tour and tasting of a winery in the Provence region. This region of France produces excellent and unique wines.

The group will say goodbye to Provence and will transfer to the alpine city of Chambery, located in southeast France. Our hotel is a short walk to the Chambéry Cathedral. You won’t want to miss the 1838 Elephant Fountain which honors the 18th-century general Benoît de Boigne. Chambery has hosted la Tour on many occasions and generally dresses the elephants in la Tour “jerseys”.

Tonight we will enjoy a group dinner tasting some of the local flavors of the region.

Good morning! Today we have a little free time before we head to our next VIP viewing of the Tour. According to Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France director, “today is the most demanding stage of the 2025 Tour, with 5,500 metres of vertical gain”.

Our venue for the day is called Relais Etape and is located along the course and serves an excellent 4-course meal for lunch. It also offers snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee and water. Once the race finishes, champagne will be served to toast the stage winner. Another nice feature of this venue is that it has TV’s to watch the race until the racers pass right in front of us.

The caravan parade will pass with all its bells and whistles prior to the racers passing our venue. The caravan pumps up the crowds with colorful floats and the tossing of small prizes. Each Relais Etape guest will receive a gift from le Tour upon exiting the venue.

After the racers pass, we will transfer back to our hotel in Chambery. You’ll be on your own for dinner tonight.

Today is another unique VIP experience. The group will experience crossing the finish line before victoriously standing on the podium. We’ll tour the official podium and have pictures taken individually and as a group.

After the podium, you’ll have time to have lunch before we join the enthusiastic crowds to watch the race pass on this decisive climb.

We will transfer to our next hotel in Lyon and will stop along the way to have dinner before our late arrival into Lyon.

After breakfast we will drive to the Start Village of today’s stage, located in Nantua. You will love the energy of the Tour de France in the village. You will have VIP access to the Start Village with coffee, snacks, tour officials and merchandise tents. You will also be able to see the riders interviewed at the sign-in stage.

Another great feature of the start village is that you will have access to the team bus paddock. You can walk around the team busses and cars before the race begins. However, you need to be careful as the racers will ride around you to get to the sign-in stage and to the starting line…a really cool experience!

Once the racers depart, we will get a quick lunch on our own in town and head to the train station in Bourg en Bresse.  A trip to Paris isn’t complete until you’ve experienced the famous Metro. We’ll bypass the Paris traffic and take the Metro close to the hotel.

You will have the evening free to explore Paris. Our hotel is ideally located….a ten minute walk to the Arc de Triomphe and a 15 minute walk to the famous Champs Elysees. You’ll be on your own for dinner with many options along the Champs Elysees or surrounding neighborhood.

You will have the morning free to rest after a late night in the City of Light or sight-see. Around mid-afternoon, hospitality tents will open. We will walk as a group to our VIP venue, Rive Gauche. Our venue is located before the finish line and offers catered food, open bar, TVs and a private terrace to view the race. Private restrooms are also at the venue.

You will have an excellent vantage point from which to view the finish of the Tour de France. You will see the riders pass 16 times on the Champs Élysées. There is also a terrace on the rail for even closer viewing of the race.

After the finish, you can walk back to the hotel with your guides or stroll back and take in the excitement of the final stage of the Tour de France. The Champs Elysees is always exciting where you can find a cafe for a bite to eat, a drink and to people watch.

Check out of your hotel by noon or extend your stay in the City of Light. You are responsible for your transfer from the hotel.

Custom Getaways hopes you have amazing memories of this unique experience.

Au revoir!