Will you follow the Tour de France 2026 from one of the Huttopia campsites?
The Tour de France is the cycling event of the year. Many cyclists have nothing to do with racing, but when the Tour comes, many make an exception. True fanatics follow the tour almost every day, like Karel Magry (read his findings at our sister platform It's Heading!). Others seek out a nice cycling spot to watch the Tour go by. Then there are the climbing goats who like to tackle the Tourcols. But you also have just plain enthusiasts. We give you a great route book for the Tour, along with some great places to stay on or off the route.
The Tour de France
For those who have nothing to do with racing, a brief intro. In 1903, the first Tour de France was held. In short, a lap through France. In 122 years, this event has become the cycling race of the year. Since a few years, the women's version has also been revived with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The Tour de France is generally held in July, lasts three weeks and 20 to 21 stages. The finish is traditionally in Paris, the start varies from year to year, as does the route. The women's version is nine days and follows immediately after the men's version.
Why do you want to follow the Tour? The Tour is a party. You have an advertising caravan beforehand, villages are often an open party ground for a day and there is also plenty to see and do in the finish places. In the process, you can see a high-level sporting event pass by for once. That's pretty cool to see (and if you cycle a bit on the course yourself, you'll be encouraged too!)
Tour de France 2026
The 2026 Tour will start in Barcelona on 4 July. After that, the circus moves through the Pyrenees towards central France, towards the Jura, the Alps and finally the finish in Paris. Along the route there are several beautiful places to spend the night. We worked with Huttopia to create your own Tour de France. Just grab your pen and paper. The women's version starts on 1 August in Lausanne, Switzerland. We are now focusing on the men.
Your overnight schedule for this Tour
Day 1 to 3 - Barcelona Pirineos
The Tour starts in Catalonia and stays there for three days before arriving in France on 6 July.
For the first three days, we recommend staying at Huttopia Barcelona Pirineos to stay. This is a relatively new accommodation and the third stage on 6 July practically passes by here. From here you can also visit stage one and stage two, although you have to drive a bit to do so. Stage two goes from Tarragona to Barcelona, Stage 1 is around Barcelona. The campsite is 1.20 minutes outside Barcelona.
You still have perfect time to tackle one of the beautiful climbs in the Catalan Pyrenees in the morning before heading down to ‘Barca’. For stage 3, you can even get out in front of the peloton and the ‘Caravane’.
Day 4 to 6 - Tour watching in the Gers - Lac de L'Uby
The fourth stage is between Carcassonne and Foix. Those spots are both further away from a Huttopia campsite, so we recommend heading towards Huttopia Lac de Luby in the Gers pull. Then you can catch a pick of stage 4 along the way and be in position for stages 5 and 6. Those circle around Pau, which is only 1.5 hours by car. Stage 6 starts in Hagetmau and then heads further up towards Bordeaux
Day 7 to 9 - The Dordogne - Pays des Bastides
On days 7 and 8, you will be with Huttopia Pays de Bastides - (now Vallee du Lot) in the Dordogne is totally fine. The finish in Bergerac is just over an hour from here and the region is also perfect for doing another lap yourself.
Neal was already once travelling in this area and you can see the (medieval) villages and hamlets right in front of you. For stage 8, start in Malemort. You can choose, as the day after is a rest day to then cross to the next campsite, Huttopia Lac de La Siauve, which is quite close to the next leg of the Tour.
Day 10 and 11 Lac de La Siauve in Auvergne
This part of the Tour de France revolves around the Auvergne. There, Huttopia has several options. In 2025, the Tour de France also rode around here and they went straight past Huttopia Royat. That was near the Circuit de Charade, a nice round to do on the bike. From Camping Lac de La Siauve lies the Auvergne at your feet and you are just over an hour away from Le Lioran, the finish of the next stage. This one is on 14 July, quattorze juillet, the bank holidays in France. We say: hop on your bike, park it along the side and get swept up in the festivities.
Day 12 to 14- two nights in Meursault
From this point on, the violence of the mountain stages will erupt. There is another transition stage from Nevers to Chalon-Sur-Saône (in Saône-et-Loire, in Burgundy) Which is perfect to watch from the Huttopia Meursault. The Die finish is only 30 min from the campsite, ideal also to do it by bike. Burgundy invites you for a delightful ride through the hilly countryside before topping off with a local glass of one thing or another. After all, Burgundian life starts here. Day 13 is nice, then, as you'll take in the Start in Dole. Great to start with and then ride on.
15 to 17 - Near the border with Switzerland in the Jura - Divonne Les Bains
The course heads to the Vosges. There you have several options for beautiful Huttopia accommodation such as Fôret des Vosges. That one may soon be fully booked. Although you may miss the stage to Le Markstein, we say pull it through to the jura and Huttopia Divonne Les Bains, because then you will be in a perfect seat to watch the stage from Champagne to Plateau de Solaison take part. Even after that, you can explore this beautiful area on the rest day, with climbs in France and Switzerland (e.g. the Barillette, a splendid climb. Also grab a coffee at Tete de Course in Nyon!) This is also a great place to take in some stages of the Tour de France Femmes along. You drive straight into Switzerland and are relatively close to scenic routes!
Week three of the Tour - days 18-19-20 in Savoy - Lac d'Aiguebelette
After Divonne Les Bains, you have two choices. You can stay an extra night and then ‘cross over’ to see the stages at Evian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains. If you do that, then move on to a campsite such as Lac d'Aiguebelette in Savoy. You will have to book that one in time because it fills up very quickly. From there, the Alps are at your feet. Want to test yourself? Then tackle le Mont du Chat Whether the Col des Prés.
Again, this is relatively close Annecy, where Robert already spread his wings once.
The final days - Vallouise
For the spectacle around Alpe d'Huez, we recommend campsite Vallouise to in the Hautes-Alpes region, although you will have to drive a bit. There is no Huttopia closer. Anyway, you'll be there anyway. Should we give you any more route tips in this region? No right? Here again is Pol's article about his experience in that region.
The final stretch, the stage to Paris. If you're going to make that long drive, the best place to park is at Huttopia Versailles, right under the smoke of Paris! Want a real city experience? Then grab the CityKamp Paris. - Camping de Paris
Would you like to know more about Huttopia or about the Tour? Let us know, send a message in the comments.
| Stage | Date | Stage length | Start location - Finish location |
| 1 | 4 July 2026 | 19 km | Barcelona - Barcelona |
| 2 | 5 July 2026 | 182 km | Tarragone - Barcelona |
| 3 | July 6, 2026 | 196 km | Granollers - Les Angles |
| 4 | 7 July 2026 | 182 km | Carcassonne → Foix |
| 5 | 8 July 2026 | 158 km | Lannemezan → Pau |
| 6 | 9 July 2026 | 186 km | Pau → Gavarnie-Gèdre |
| 7 | 10 July 2026 | 175 km | Hagetmau → Bordeaux |
| 8 | 11 July 2026 | 182 km | Périgueux → Bergerac |
| 9 | 12 July 2026 | 185 km | Malemort → Ussel |
| Rest day | 13 July 2026 | — | Rest day in central France |
| 10 | 14 July 2026 | 167 km | Aurillac → Le Lioran |
| 11 | 15 July 2026 | 161 km | Vichy → Nevers |
| 12 | 16 July 2026 | 181 km | Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours → Chalon-sur-Saône |
| 13 | 17 July 2026 | 205 km | Dole → Belfort |
| 14 | 18 July 2026 | 155 km | Mulhouse → Le Markstein Fellering |
| 15 | 19 July 2026 | 184 km | Champagnole → Plateau de Solaison |
| Rest day | 20 July 2026 | — | Rest day in the Alps |
| 16 | 21 July 2026 | 26 km | Évian-les-Bains → Thonon-les-Bains |
| 17 | 22 July 2026 | 175 km | Chambéry → Voiron |
| 18 | 23 July 2026 | 185 km | Voiron → Orcières-Merlette |
| 19 | 24 July 2026 | 128 km | Gap → Alpe d'Huez |
| 20 | 25 July 2026 | 171 km | Le Bourg d'Oisans → Alpe d'Huez |
| 21 | July 26, 2026 | 130 km | Thoiry → Paris Champs-Élysées |
