Leaving France the day the Tour de France comes to town

[Russell]

We've booked our trip to France and as we are retired chose an arbitrary date in early July for the return on Euro-tunnel.  We wondered where the TdF would be and as (bad) luck would have it that day's stage is Dunkerque to Calais.

We don't think that there should be a problem as the terminal is directly off the autoroute and not in Calais itself, but even so....

[Nuncio]

I can't offer any useful advice but I am reminded of when I went to stay with a friend in Paris when the TdF was finishing. But I obviously hadn't stressed to my friend how interested I was in the event because he'd booked us on to a day trip to Fecamp/Etretats on the Normandy coast, on the day of the final stage. It was therefore extra galling (gauling?) for the return across Paris to be so slow because of all of the extra traffic. And my friend had no TV so it wasn't until the next morning when I bought a L'Equipe that I discovered that it was 1989 (IYKWIM).

[Russell]

it was 1989 (IYKWIM).

I didn't remember but Wiki soon reminded me.  As you say, gauling. 

In a similar vein, we went out on a house hunting tripin 2004 the month after the TdeF's visit to that area but we didn't realise until we saw all the road grafitti.

[Salvatore]

I can't offer any useful advice but I am reminded of when I went to stay with a friend in Paris when the TdF was finishing. But I obviously hadn't stressed to my friend how interested I was in the event because he'd booked us on to a day trip to Fecamp/Etretats on the Normandy coast, on the day of the final stage. It was therefore extra galling (gauling?) for the return across Paris to be so slow because of all of the extra traffic. And my friend had no TV so it wasn't until the next morning when I bought a L'Equipe that I discovered that it was 1989 (IYKWIM).

Also not useful advice, but I think I still have that very copy of L'Equipe (but at the mo I can only find a couple of copies from 1993). Incidentally it was the weekend of the (post-LEL) National 400 in Cheshire and N Wales. We finished on Sunday and Wes May phoned his wife before we drove home, He didn't want to know the result as she had recorded it on Eurosport, but she said it was "worth watching".

[BFC]

From my experience of travelling across France during the TdF (and pausing to ride the bikes whilst getting paid on the way to Italy).

The travelling spectators migrate from each days stage to the next stage after the roads are opened, the keen ones that want a prime spot are the quickest to launch. Parking and behaviour standards on the night before the race goes through are interesting, many get moved on! Day spectators add to the chaos.

Roads used for the race are closed on the day for the publicity Caravan through to the race going through, and only re open after the broom wagon.

Following a day behind the TdF is no problem - everyone has buggered off!
On the day of the race in the area traffic disruption is to be expected from diverted traffic being forced to take a a diversion, allow spare time.

[ElyDave]

Sounds like when I lived in Castle Donington, you soon learned to either not be there, or bank on not leaving on superbike weekends, unless you knew the seekrit back way out of town

[bhoot]

And like living in the Isle of Dogs on marathon day!

[mzjo]

The TdF in Limoges (had it several times, various routes in and out) is nothing like as bad as the Confolens Folkdancing Festival (closures all week) or even as the Tour de Limousin for me (TdL shuts off my entire part of town, fenced off ghetto and fairly inadequate traffic rerouting). IME the TdF organizers take a lot more care of the passers-by who might not be interested in the race and probably blugeon the local authorities into doing it right (or more right than they would otherwise do). (IOW if you think TdF is bad try one of the other events or even a market or town centre "vide grenier" to get a real idea of chaos).

[Russell]

As predicted there was no problem but the slip road off the autoroute and the road leading to our last minute supermarket/petrol station stop were signed to be closed 3 hours after we had been through.  So our experience of the TdF consisted of a couple of signs, sigh.

Still we can now watch it on ITV4!