2026 Spectator Short Alpe d’Huez & Paris

Welcome to France! We will be meeting at our 4-star hotel in Grenoble in the early evening. Grenoble has convenient train service from Paris, via Lyon. You will have the opportunity to arrive a day early and add that hotel night if you want a little time to explore Grenoble and adjust to the time difference.

Tonight we’ll enjoy a welcome dinner at our hotel. 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.

Good morning and let’s get going!  We’ll transfer to the mountain town of Vaujany, which is located on the backside of Alpe d’Huez. The group will board the chairlifts and trams that will take us over to the resort village of Alpe d’Huez. The views will not disappoint.

We’ll have the honor of walking across the finish line of today’s stage and standing on the official podium. We’ll have pictures taken individually and as a group. After the podium, you will be free to find a place for lunch before we enter the VIP venue, Izoard. TVs are located within the venue where we will watch the racers before they pass us live as they head to the finish line. 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.

Following the race, we’ll head back to the town of Vaujany, on the chairlifts and trams, where a BBQ dinner awaits us. After dinner, we’ll transfer by bus to our hotel in Grenoble, which will be a late arrival.

After a hearty breakfast and hotel check-out, we’ll head to today’s start village in Le Bourg de Oisans. Today is the Tour’s biggest mountain stage, featuring a cumulative vertical gain of 5,600 metres, is taking place on the race’s penultimate day for the first time. We will see the racers before they head out on this strenuous mountain stage. 

You will love the energy of the Tour as you’ll have access to the VIP 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 before they begin their ride.

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, you’ll have time to grab a quick lunch before we begin our transfer to Paris. This drive will take several hours and we will stop along the way for comfort breaks and to eat dinner. We will arrive at our hotel in Paris fairly late tonight.

Bienvenue à Paris! After a late night, you’ll have time this morning to either relax or head out and explore Paris and have lunch.

We’ll meet at the hotel in the afternoon to walk as a group to our VIP venue on the Champs Elysees. The Elysee grandstands are located about 150 meters from the finish line and are one of the most popular VIP venues from which to view the finish of the Tour. We will watch the racers pass 7 times in front of us and 7 times on the other side of the street!

This venue features limited snacks and drinks, cover for shade and a gift from the Tour de France organizers.

After the race ends, you can take your time to walk back to the hotel via the Champs Elysees and stop for a drink or a bite to eat in one of the many cafes the famous, tree-lined avenue.

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!