Campervans on L'Alpe d'Huez during the tour!

Late Starter
Late Starter Posts: 48
edited June 2008 in Tour & expedition
A few friends and I are hoping to take a campervan/motorhome to the Alps this year during the tour. The main aim is to watch the tour go up L'Alpe d’Huez and ride some of the climbs in the area.

Is it feasible to park a campervan on the L’Alpe d'Huez and if so, how many days before do I need to get there to get a suitable spot? Once parked, we don't plan to move the campervan until we leave to come home!

Any advice much appreciated!

Comments

  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,553
    I did the Marmotte in 2006 and the Tour was coming to Alpe d'Huez a week later so it was something of a surprise to see a few camper vans parked up on the higher parts of the Alpe that early. To be safe I reckon you'd want to be there at least a couple of days before hand.
  • cyclomonkey
    cyclomonkey Posts: 2
    there are plenty of places to park nearby , why not park nearby and ride up on the morning of the stage? to park on the climb you will need to be there at least a couple of days before.
  • a_n_t
    a_n_t Posts: 2,011
    plus probably a couple of days to get back down!
    Manchester wheelers

    PB's
    10m 20:21 2014
    25m 53:18 20:13
    50m 1:57:12 2013
    100m Yeah right.
  • nick hanson
    nick hanson Posts: 1,655
    a_n_t wrote:
    plus probably a couple of days to get back down!
    Too true!
    Also,if you go for a ride,you only have one option,wheras if you stay in,say,Bourg d'oisans,you have quite a few ride options.
    Having said that,if riding isn't in the plans,& partying is,go for it,but get there EARLY.
    Spoke to an English couple on top of the Galibier in LA's last TDF in 05,& they had been up the Galibier 3 days before,& it was busy then!
    Oh,and it was COLD
    Have fun,it's a life experience
    so many cols,so little time!
  • Late Starter
    Late Starter Posts: 48
    Thanks for the advice.

    Current plan of action is to get to the Alpe Sunday evening and leave early Thursday morning, the day after the stage.

    Partying is on the agenda (as well as riding!) so that is why we thought that we'd park up on the mountain. Thought that would be the place to be! However, I have no experience of this so any advice is well appreciated!

    Will getting of the mountain the next day be a real nightmare? Any ideas how long it will take?
  • russell_in_france
    russell_in_france Posts: 124
    You'll see campervans in the key places a few days before the stage, and as for leaving, the Tour doesn't leave the area until the next day so you'll still have the world and his wife in Bourg d'Oisans and Alpe d'Huez as well as the French police closing the road early enough for the race to leave. They head towards Grenoble on the only real road out of the mountains - there is an alternative via La Mure. The caravan leaves Bourg d'Oisans at half past ten, and the race at midday.

    Cheers, Russell
    www.grenoblecyclng.com

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