Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs
They say Le Tour finale is the best day in summer to visit Paris because everyone is crowded around the Champs-Elysees.
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Or do all the French take the day off from work and shut everything down?
Realistically I was in France during the Tour and didn't see anything like that.
Watching the Tour go by is both quite anti-climatic and simultaneously something I think any serious cyclist should go do if they get the chance and are in the right area.
When I went it's just a big buildup an then WHOOSH they're here and gone and it's over. With the crowd it's hard to even recognize anyone or really see what's going on. I was right on the barriers and it still seemed like that. The crowd extended so far you still can't see till they're right upon you. But it's still really cool.
Florence might be a zoo but there are tons of places to see the Tour where it really doesn't take much of your day. You go somewhere and do a bunch of other things that non-cycling members of your trip like. 30-60 minutes before the race goes by the whole town runs over the barriers and gets super excited. The race goes by and it's over in 15-20 minutes and everyone goes back to their day. It doesn't have to be "camp out on Ventoux all day". It's way less painful than insisting the whole family go to a MLB or NFL game for hours and hours.
It wasn't a zoo and it wasn't for the tour but Florence was great when I got to visit as well. Stunning city.