Le Tour de France Gourmantic

Coinciding with Le Tour de France 2010, Gourmantic will feature a special series for the month of July. Le Tour de FranceGourmantic will take you on a food and wine journey through travel narratives from a road trip around France.

Introduction

Before the internet was at everyone’s fingertips, when phones were still attached to sockets, GPS was an unfamiliar acronym, digital cameras were a pipe dream and the Euro hadn’t replaced French Francs, a young couple from Australia took to the French roads on a whirlwind Tour de France.

Armed with SLR cameras, rolls of film, a Hi8 digital videocam, a map of France and boundless enthusiasm, they took their Renault 19 and went on a cultural and culinary discovery. Le Tour de France Gourmantic is their story.

The route

Starting in Nice and ending in Paris, Le TdF Gourmantic passes through the French Riviera and towns in Provence, veers towards Languedoc and Toulouse, stops at a few notable wineries in Bordeaux and the Médoc, breathes in the town of Cognac, meanders towards La Rochelle, traverses the Châteaux de la Loire, stops in Epernay before the grand finish in Paris.

Notable aspects of Le Tour:

• navigating with one fold-out map covering all of France
• flying on autoroutes with French drivers
• walking along the Monaco Grand Prix circuit
• looking for Brigitte Bardot in St-Tropez
• a dinner in Toulouse worthy of D’Artagnan
• and other surprises

Stage Towns Covered with Overnight Stays:

Nice, Cannes, Avignon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Orléans

Main Towns and Regions Covered During Le Tour:

Nice, Monaco, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Cannes, St Tropez, Marseilles, Aix en Provence, Avignon, Pont du Gard, Fontvieille, Carcassonne, Languedoc, Toulouse, Condom, Bordeaux, Médoc, Cognac, La Rochelle, La Loire, Orleans, Fontainebleau, Epernay, Paris.

So put on your maillot jaune, that coveted yellow jersey, and come along for a Gourmantic ride through la belle France!