LE MANS 24 HOURS TOUR 
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We shall be repeating this tour in 2011,in the meantime if you would like to see photos from our 2010 tour, please click on the link below which will take you direct to our photo gallery:
http://picasaweb.google.com/classiccartoursinternational/LeMans24HoursRaceTour2010
Dates: |
June 10th-14th 2010
5 days/4 nights |
| Cost |
Luxury Tour 1,375 € per person (price fixed in euros)
£1,250 per person (based on £1= 1.10€)
Budget Tour 605€ per person ( price fixed in euros)
£ 550 per person ( based on £1= 1.10 €)
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LUXURY TOUR, the costs, per person, are based on two people per car sharing a hotel bedroom and include the following:
- Accommodation in a 4 star chateau hotel (4 nights )
- Gourmet, 4 course dinners ( 4 nights)
- Continental breakfast daily
- Rally plates
- Comprehensive road books with timed daily itineraries and detailed daily route notes
- Michelin France Map 2010 with highlighted route
- Services of a Tour Director throughout the tour
- Overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo with large 2-4 berth cabin, ( subject to availability)
- Return daytime ferry from Caen to Portsmouth with reclining seats, ( subject to availability)
- Spectator passes to Le Mans 24hrs race plus grand stand seats for 3 days plus car park passes.
NOT INCLUDED ARE THE FOLLOWING :
- Lunches,snacks,coffees etc.
- Drinks with dinner
- Entry to places of interest eg.chateaux,museums,gardens,villas etc.
BUDGET TOUR, the costs, per person, are based on two people per car sharing a hotel bedroom and include the following:
- Accommodation in a 3 star hotel (4 nights )
- Continental breakfast
- Rally plates
- Road books and maps
- Services of a Tour Director
- Outward daytime ferry from Dover to Dunquerque, ( alternative ferry crossings available subject to a premium price)
- Return daytime ferry from Dunkerque to Dover, ( alternative ferry crossings available subject to a premium price)
- Spectator passes to Le Mans 24hrs race for 3 days plus car park passes,( excludes grand stand seats)
NOT INCLUDED ARE THE FOLLOWING :
- Lunches,snacks,coffees etc.
- Drinks with dinner
- Entry to places of interest eg.chateaux,museums,gardens,villas etc.
Description, Luxury Tour
5 day tour including a weekend at Le Mans to watch the exciting, world famous Le Mans 24 hour race, incorporating a tour of the beautiful Loire Valley. Accommodation throughout in a sumptuous 4 star chateau hotel.
Description, Budget Tour
5 day tour including a weekend at Le Mans to watch the exciting, world famous Le Mans 24 hour race, incorporating a tour of the beautiful Loire Valley. Accommodation throughout in a 3 star hotel in the Loire Valley
LE MANS 24 HOURS OFFICIAL WEBSITE - CLICK HERE
- ITINERARY, LUXURY TOUR
- Wednesday, June 9th. Overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St. Malo at 8.30pm
- Day 1 - Thursday, June 10th, (approx 230 miles)
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Arrive in St Malo at 8.15am on overnight ferry from Portsmouth. Our route takes the pretty coastal road around Pointe du Grouin to Port Mer,an idyllic, secluded bay just north of Cancale where we enjoy breakfast. Our scenic route continues eastwards along the bay of Mont St Michel to Pontorson where we turn south and head down to Vitre a charming medieval town and our lunch stop.In the afternoon we head east to the Le Mans circuit for coffee and visit the famous Auto Museum. Having familiarised ourselves with the parking and spectating arrangements for the weekend races we leave Le Mans and head south to the Loire Valley to our to our sumptuous 4* chateau hotel, Chateau Rochecotte in St Patrice in the Loire valley which will be our base for the next four nights, (click on aerial photo below right click to visit their website or click on the following link: Chateau de Rochecotte.Dinner tonight in the hotel.
- Day 2 - Friday,June 11th,(approx 80 miles)
- Today we enjoy a leisurely tour of the Loire valley. We drive along the banks of the Loire and cross over onto a charming minor road to one of France's prettiest villages, Candes St Martin with a chance to walk along its medieval streets,visit its ancient church and walk up to a wonderful viewpoint over the Loire Valley before heading to our lunch stop Chinon where we enjoy a leisurely stroll around the medieval town nestling under the walls of the chateau.
- After lunch we to nearby Fontevraud where we can visit the largest and most remarkably intact medieval abbey in France. We then drive on minor roads passing by the picturesque, fairy tale Chateau of Usse overlooking water meadows and the river Indre. Its romantic white turrets ,pointed towers and chimneys were the inspiration for Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty. We then continue along the banks of the river towards Langeais and then drive a few miles south towards Azay le Rideau where we visit a privately owned chateau with delightful gardens, open to the public nestling in a romantic setting in a secret valley.As an alternative for those who are not interested in gardens, nearby is the Maurice Dufresne museum, an amazing collection of all things mechanical, including motor cars, tractors etc.representing a lifetime's obsession of an avid collector, Maurice Dufresne. We then drive back to Langeais, across the river Loire and drive 5 miles back to our hotel where, subject to weather, you can enjoy the outside heated swimming pool.Dinner tonight in the hotel.
Option: Alternatively participants can make their own way to Le Mans to watch the start of the practising, and return to the hotel in the evening.
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- Day 3 - Saturday,June 12th.(approx 65 miles each way)
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We make an early start and drive up to Le Mans on a greatcross country driving road to spend the day watching the build up and afternoon start of the 24 hours race. Return to Chateau Rochecotte for dinner at 8.30 pm or alternatively stay in Le Mans and watch the atmospheric racing into the evening. Ladies, if they prefer, they can spend the day at Rochecotte enjoying the swimming pool and gardens.
- Day 4 - Sunday,June 13th (approx 65 miles each way)
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We travel up to Le Mans again early morning to watch Sunday's racing with the exciting finale in the afternoon before returning to our hotel where we enjoy a celebratory final evening dinner.
- Day 5 - Monday,June 14th(approx 220 miles)
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We say 'au revoir' to the Loire Valley and head back to Caen for the afternoon ferry via scenic minor roads to La Chartre sur-le-Loir where we stop off at the Hotel de France the headquarters of the Aston Martin Le Mans racing team in the 1950s and 60s. Over coffee you can browse through the nostalgic pictures of Le Mans legends that line the walls of this famous hotel. After coffee we head north to Alencon and on to Sees our lunch stop where we can also visit the magnificent cathedral with its twin spires. After lunch we continue 60 miles north to Caen and on to the car ferry port of Ouistreham for our 4.30pm ferry to Portsmouth, (arrives Portsmouth 9.15 pm).
ITINERARY BUDGET TOUR
- Day 1 - Thursday, June 10th, (approx 350 miles)
- Ferry from Dover at 8.00am arrives 11.00am in Dunkerque. Our route takes us via the autoroute south west to Le Mans where in the afternoon we stop for coffee at the Le Mans circuit and meet up with the luxury tour to visit the famous Auto Museum. Having familiarised ourselves with the parking and spectating arrangements for the weekend races we leave Le Mans and head South to our hotel in Langeais in the Loire valley which will be our base for the next four nights.
- Day 2 - Friday,June 11th (approx 80 miles)
- A tour of the Loire valley, we drive along the banks of the Loire and cross over onto a charming minor road to one of France's prettiest villages, Cande St Martin with a chance to walk along its narrow streets,visit its ancient church and walk up to a wonderful viewpoint over the Loire Valley before heading to our lunch stop Saumur where we enjoy a leisurely stroll around the medieval town nestling under the walls of the chateau.After lunch we visit the "tank museum" in Saumur where Europe's largest collection of military tanks is on display before we drive east along the river to nearby Fontevraud where we can visit the largest and most remarkably intact medieval abbey in France. We then drive on minor roads passing by the picturesque, fairy tale Chateau of Usse overlooking water meadows and the river Indre. Its romantic white turrets ,pointed towers and chimneys were the inspiration for Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty. We then continue along the banks of the river towards Langeais and then drive a few miles south towards Azay le Rideau where we visit a privately owned chateau with delightful gardens, open to the public,in a romantic setting in a secret valley.As an alternative for those who are not interested in gardens, nearby is the Maurice Dufresne museum, an amazing collection of all things mechanical, including motor cars, tractors etc.representing a lifetime's obsession of an avid collector, Maurice Dufresne. We then drive back to Langeais, across the river Loire and return to our hotel.
- Day 3 - Saturday, June 12th (approx 65 miles each way)
- We make an early start and drive up to Le Mans to spend the day watching the build up and afternoon start of the 24 hours race. Return to hotel in your own time staying as long as you like in Le Mans and watch the atmospheric night time racing.
- Day 4 - Sunday,June 13th (approx 65 miles each way)
- We travel up to Le Mans again early morning to watch Sunday's racing with the exciting finale in the afternoon before returning to our hotel for our final night.
- Day 5 - Monday,June 14th (approx 350 miles)
- We say 'au revoir' to the Loire Valley and head back to Dunkerque for the afternoon ferry via scenic minor roads to La Chartre sur-le-Loir where we stop off at the Hotel de France the headquarters of the Aston Martin, Le Mans racing team in the 1950s and 60s. Over coffee you can browse through the nostalgic pictures of Le Mans legends that line the walls of this famous hotel. After coffee we head north east on the autoroute to Dunkerque for the return ferry to Dover.
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