This year it starts in Monaco (and in Rotterdam next year!) and visits the very French town of Barcelona (???), but the end of the Tour de France is always in Paris, and huge crowds gather on the Champs Elysées to see who’s the overall winner.

In 21 stages and 3 weeks, the cyclists will be crossing the country, and you can see them cross the finish line – always an exciting moment – in Paris on Sunday 26th July 2009.

The Champs Elysées is always packed that day, and the end of the race should be even more spectacular than usual as for the first time a mountain stage has been set for the day before. Personally, I didn’t know that the winner got 450,000 euros. Definitely good for your motivation…

IF you want to avoid the crowds and just see the cyclists pass by, there are other places in the city that you can watch from as the cyclists make their way to the Champs Elysées.

If you are staying at one of our hotels (the Hôtel Jardin de l’Odéon and the Hôtel Design de la Sorbonne are the nearest), you just have to walk a couple of minutes and pick a spot on Quai Saint-Bernard, Quai de la Tournelle, Quai des Grands Augustins or Quai de Conti around 4pm. If you want to see the end of the race, be on the Champs Elysées around 5pm.

For more information about the Tour de France (in English), check out the official site: www.letour.fr