Fromentine -
Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile -
Challans -
Les Essarts -
La Châtaigneraie -
Tours -
Blois -
Chambord -
Montargis -
Troyes -
Nancy -
Lunéville -
Karlsruhe -
Pforzheim -
Gérardmer -
Mulhouse
Fromentine
Its first appearance as a stage town. Fromentine will host the start of the 2005 Tour de France.
It is the residential and tourist area of La Barre de Monts (2,000 inhabitants). The “Gateway to the Islands”. Port of embarkation for the Ile d'Yeu and access point for the Noirmoutier Bridge. A region of oyster farming.
• Web site of the town:
www.ville-labarredemonts.fr
• Special web site of the Conseil Général :
http://tour-de-france.vendee.fr
Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile
Its first appearance as a stage town.
District town of the Vendée. 5,000 inhabitants.
This fishing and sailing resort houses a shipbuilding museum. The Island of Noirmoutier, linked to the mainland by a bridge, has 9,000 inhabitants. Its salt marshes alternate with polders and cultivated areas of land, which produce a highly appreciated variety of potatoes.
• Web site of the town:
www.ile-noirmoutier.com•
Special web site of the Conseil Général :
http://tour-de-france.vendee.fr
Challans
First hosted a stage in 1999 (winner: Kirsipuu).
District town of the Vendée. 18,000 inhabitants.
Capital of the Breton-Vendée Marais, renowned for its markets and its quality “label” poultry farming: ducks and black chickens.
• Web site of the town:
www.ville-challans
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.otsi-challans.com
• Special web site of the Conseil Général :
http://tour-de-france.vendee.fr
Les Essarts
Its first appearance as a stage town.
District town of the Vendée. 5,100 inhabitants.
Former fortress whose name remains associated with the violent battles of the Vendée Wars during the French Revolution.
• Web site of the town:
www.ville-les-essarts85.fr
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.ot-paysdesessarts.fr
• Special web site of the Conseil Général :
http://tour-de-france.vendee.fr
La Châtaigneraie
Its first appearance as a stage town.
District town of the Vendée. 2,840 inhabitants. An important market town in the heart of the wooded Vendée landscape. Home of the former French champion, Roland Berland.
• Web site of the town :
www.paysdelachataigneraie.org
• Special web site of the Conseil Général :
http://tour-de-france.vendee.fr
Tours
First hosted a stage in 1955 (winner: Brankart) and most recently in 2000 (winner: Van Bon).
Prefecture of the Indre-et-Loire and historical capital of the Touraine. Sits on the river Loire. 137,000 inhabitants (including environs: 265,000 inhabitants).
Situated in the heart of the “Garden of France”, this Gallo-Roman city was the religious capital of the Gauls and an important abode of the Kings of France in the Middle Ages. Birthplace of Balzac. The Loire region is renowned for its wines. Paris-Tours is the fastest classic in history (Zabel raced at an average speed of 47,551 km per hour in 2003).
• Web site of the town:
www.tours.fr
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.ligeris.com
Blois
First hosted a stage in 1992 (winner: Indurain) and most recently in 1999 (winner: Cipollini).
Prefecture of the Loir-et-Cher. Sits on the river Loire, bordering on the Touraine and the Sologne regions. 50,000 inhabitants (including environs: 80,000 inhabitants).
Royal town, in the 16th Century, under the reign of Louis XII and François I. The Duke of Guise was assassinated here, upon the order of Henri III, in 1588. The magnificent castle reflects four centuries of architecture.
• Web site of the town:
www.ville-blois.fr
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.loiredeschateaux.com
Chambord
Its first appearance as a stage town.
A small town in the Loir-et-Cher region. 204 inhabitants. Its imposing castle, built at the request of François I, symbolises its power. It is a model Renaissance masterpiece and the biggest castle in the Loire region.
• Web site of Domaine of Chambord:
www.chambord.org
Montargis
First hosted a stage in 1969 (winner: Van Springel).
Borough town of the Loiret. Sits on the river Loing. 16,000 inhabitants (including environs: 60 000 inhabitants). Main Gâtinais town, 110 km from Paris. Built on the water, it has more than 120 bridges and gangways. Renowned for its honey and its confectionery (its famous sugared almonds), it is the traditional stronghold of the Hutchinson company.
• Web site of the town:
www.montargis.fr
• Web site of Montargoise and Rives du Loings agglomeration:
www.agglo-montargoise.fr
Troyes
First hosted a stage in 1939 (winner: Le Grevès) and most recently in 2000 (winner: Zabel).
Prefecture of the Aube and historical capital of the Champagne region. Sits on the river Seine. 62,000 inhabitants.
Homeland to master glaziers and now a large hosiery and textile centre, this town of character possesses a rich cultural heritage with nine listed churches. In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes delivered France to England.
Specialities: champagne and andouillette.
• Web site of the town:
www.ville-troyes.fr
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.tourisme-troyes.com
Nancy
First hosted a stage in 1905 (winner: Trousselier) and most recently in 1988 (winner: Golz). Hosted the start of the Tour in 1962 and in 1966.
Prefecture of the Meurthe-et-Moselle. Sits on the river Meurthe and the Marne canal on the Rhine. 105,000 inhabitants (including environs: more than 270,000 inhabitants).
Former capital of the Dukes of Lorraine, coveted by “Charles le Téméraire” (the Reckless), who died here in 1477, the town prospered in the 18th Century under Stanislas Leszczynski, after whom the sumptuous Place Stanislas, the pride of the town, was named.
• Web site of the town:
www.mairie-nancy.fr
• Web site of the Urban Community of Grand Nancy :
www.grand-nancy.org
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.ot-nancy.fr
Lunéville
First hosted a stage in 1964.
Start of a stage in 1964. Borough town of Meurthe et Moselle. On the river Meurthe. 21,112 inhabitants (Lunéville and its Community of Municipalities).
The castle, Lorraine's “Little Versailles”, was damaged by fire on 2 January 2003. Its reconstruction is under way. A vast project that will last at least ten years.
The greatest patrimonial restoration site in Europe. The favourite abode of Stanislas Leszczynski, creator of the Royal Earthenware Manufacture.
• Web site of the town:
www.luneville.fr
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.ot-lunevillois.com
• Web site of Conseil Général:
www.cg54.fr
Karlsruhe
First hosted a stage in 1987.
280,000 inhabitants. A town in the Baden-Wurttemberg region, former capital of the Bade Country, founded in 1715. Its castle was the abode of the Great Badois Dukes until 1918. The town houses an outstanding museum of Fine Arts. Birthplace of the Baron of Drais de von Sauerbronn who in 1817 invented the dandy horse, precursor to the bicycle.
• Web site of the town:
www.karlsruhe.de
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.karlsruhe-tourism.de
Pforzheim
First hosted a stage in 1987 (winner: Frison).
Enclosed in the landscape of the Black Forest, Pforzheim, the "Town of Gold and Jewellery", is the center of the German jewellery and watch-making industry. This main center of the region of the Black Forest with its population of approx. 120,000 inhabitants is the production site of more than 70% of all jewellery products which are manufactured in Germany. In the Jewellery Museum in the so-called "Reuchlin-Haus" (named after a famous German clergyman and philosopher) you can se the world-wide unique collection of genuine exhibits from five millenniums.
• Web site of the town:
www.pforzheim.de
Gérardmer
Its first appearance as a stage town.
Pronounced Gerardme.
District town and Vosges Summer resort. 9,573 inhabitants. Touring centre situated near to the Col de la Schlucht, renowned for its environment (a lake in wooded mountain scenery). Textile industry. The Gerardmer Tourist Office, founded in 1875, is the oldest in France.
• Web site of the town:
www.ville-gerardmer.fr
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.gerardmer.net
Mulhouse
First hosted a stage in 1925 (winner: N.Frantz) and most recently in 2000 (winner: Armstrong). Hosted the start of the Tour in 1959 and in 1971.
Borough town of the Haut-Rhin. Sits on the river Ill. 112,000 inhabitants (including environs: 220,000 inhabitants). Major Southern Alsace industrial centre specialised in textile and fabric printing. The town of one hundred chimneys is also that of twelve museums. Major attractions: its car (Schlumpf collection unique in the world), railway, and fabric and wallpaper museums.
• Web site of the town:
www.mulhouse.fr
• Web site of the tourist office:
www.tourisme-mulhouse.com
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