Tour de France 2005

Is it safe to assume you’ve already found the Tour de France web site? They give lots of information there.

We usually drive but public transportation is excellent in France. The only thing you might consider is that trains and buses may not go to wherever the Tour de France is going that particular day. A car makes it easier to go when and where you want.

We usually lease from Peugeot. They have an Open Europe Plan for anyone needing a car longer than 17 days. If you go for fewer days, you will need to rent a car. If you can drive a manual, you can save a bit of money. To find out about rentals click on the blue and red France.com above on this page. When you get to the Home Page, over on the right is a button for Cars or Rental Cars. Click on that and you can get your information. I think it’s AutoEurope and they are very reputable.

If you are interested in the Peugeot lease program, that web site is: http://www.peugeot-openeurope.com/html/fr/intro/default.htm

We’ve used it for years and it is very reliable. Get the smallest car you can stand because roads are narrow and village streets are tiny . . . as are the parking places. We use the Peugeot 206 (automatic because I’m a wimp) and it works very well for us. We’ve used the 307 and 406 models too. They were nice but a bit too large for our tastes. You need to consider gas mileage too. Fuel is expensive in France.

Check the Tour de France web site and get the route for this year. Then check the train schedules and see if they go where you want to go. If so, you can take the trains. That should let you know whether it’s car or train!

Check out the travel articles and information at the France.com Home Page too. There’s a lot of information right on this site.

Good luck.