the hotels will soon be full, restaurateurs and tourism players in the host cities are ready

2025, a Tour de France with northern accents, start of the famous cycling race on Saturday July 5 in Lille. In the capital of Flanders or in Lauwin-Planque, another stopover town, Hauts-de-France is preparing for four days of festivities. Hotels, restaurants and tourism players on the lookout.

“The 4 and 5 next July, we is almost full on our fifty rooms. These are important dates for the metropolis”confides Léa, receptionist in a hotel near the Grand Palais in Lille. The effects of the 2025 Tour de France are already starting to be felt. Accommodation places are taken by storm. In this hotel, to the east of the capital of Flanders, reservations are flourishing.

Read also: Tour de France 2025: a big start from Lille and 4 stages in Hauts-de-France

After Bilbao in 2023 and Florence in 2024, in 2025, the cycle race starts in Lille. First stage: a 185 km loop, mainly flat, around the Lille metropolis. Curious people, tourists or cycling aficionados, get organized. “The rate ofoccupation of the hotel for the evening of the stage and the previous night shows 90%. We'll be full at the end of the week.”says the receptionist.

Attracting attention to Hauts-de-France

Private dormitories or rooms familyall these hosting offers are already unavailable. These buyers will have paid 110 euros to sample the sporting event. “People like to plan ahead. They come for the Tour de France and for sightseeing.”analyzes Léa, the employee of the Lille hotel.

Like everything boomreservations, hoteliers are adapting. “Usually there are two of us at reception. There, there will be four of us to welcome customers in the best possible conditions. We will surely order more to serve enough breakfasts.”confides the young woman.

Usually there are two of us at reception. There, there will be four of us to welcome customers in the best possible conditions.

Léa, receptionist at a Lille hotel

In Villeneuve-d'Ascq, on the outskirts of Lille, a different story in a hotel near the Pierre Mauroy stadium. Reservations are not yet open. Here, the hotelier explains that he expects to see “of the people from various regions, even other countries.”

The Tour de France is thus proving to be an asset for the region. François Navarro, general director of Hello Lille, the attractiveness agency of the European Metropolis of Lille, means “attract attention to Hauts-de-France during ait is of the most beautiful countryside de communication in the world.” The locations envisaged for “highlight Lille”, according to him, are means of transport, cafes, museums and restaurants.

From reception points upon arrival in the city, to the presence of tourism agents on board trains, via a festive village, “the organization around the sporting event has not yet been finalized.” The European Metropolis of Lille, the municipality of Lille and the Hauts-de-France region work together to “ensure the best of these four days.”

For the tourist or the Lille resident, the spectator's journey of the Tour de France, in Lille, will be “fluid”indicates François Navarro. The idea: “Transformer those curious about the event into future visitors of tomorrow.”

Olympic Games 2024, Rugby World Cup 2023, this is not the first time that Lille has hosted a world-class sporting event. “During these events, the The challenge of welcoming thousands of visitors was met with flying colors. I have no doubt that the Tour de France in Lille will be magnificent”says the general director of Hello Lille.

Hauts-de-France will be able to count on their sense of “welcome and hospitality”adds François Navarro. To charm visitors, the region will highlight its culture and gastronomy. Clément Marrot, president of the union of hotel trades and industries, has these assets in mind. “With the Tour de France, we will be on television and we will talk about our beautiful city ofe Lille. We are going to prove that in Hauts-de-France, we know how to party.”exclaims the retired cook.

With the Tour de France, we will be on television and we will talk about our beautiful city of Lille. We are going to prove that in Hauts-de-France, we know how to party.

Clément Marrot, president of the union of hotel trades and industries

The Tour de France is not the first time that the restaurateur with a 44-year career has been faced with it. First before the 2000s, in 1980 and 1982, then recently in 2014 and 2022. The former restaurateur, however, recalls bitter memories of hosting the Tour de France in Lille. “One year, because of the anti-attack barriers in front of my business, my sales were cut for the day of festivity. The presence of the Tour caravans also diverted customers from the businesses in the city center.”

Clément Marrot's expectations for the 2025 Tour de France: “more cooperation with local actors.” Between two pelotons of cyclists, visitors will be able to eat a good waffle, a pancake or even enjoy some good fries. But sometimes restaurateurs prepare to welcome people, without significant reconomic fallout… “Our restaurateurs are always hoping to have as many customers as possible. They are going to prepare for a large-scale event.”explains Clément Marrot.

As for possible hotels that would accommodate Tour cyclists, there is room for discretion. “If we knew it, we would not announce it to ensure the privacy of the teams. If we are called upon, we will be ready.”assures a hotelier in the Lille metropolis.

In Douaisis, near Lauwin-Planque (1,500 inhabitants), a unique town, start of the 2nd stage of the race, on Sunday July 6, 2025, hotels are also preparing to accommodate teams. On the side of a hotelier from Douai, “No requests yet. I think we will be asked later”she says. Welcoming teams constitutes a technical challenge. “We will have to transform the seminar room for the care of runners, I fear we will run out of space”specifies the hotelier.

If this hotel in Douai does not welcome runners, it hopes that the Tour de France will boost its attendance, but to date the reservation period has not yet started. “It will settle by the end of the year. More and more, thePeople do it at the last minute. It'sIt's still early to feel the Tour de France effect.”estimates the hotelier.

In certain hotels in Douaisis, despite a few reservations for the period from July 2 to 8, things are not yet taking off. While the Douai hotel network risks quickly being saturated, guest houses are on the lookout. “We’re small, but we can accommodate up to 15 people”underlines Marc Thierry, co-president of the Douaisis hoteliers club and manager of a guest room. The event, a boon for the hotelier: “It will fill us up on the weekend, because normally in summer the attendance rate does not exceed 20%.”

“We don’t have the sea, nor the mountains and the Eiffel Tower, so any event that can bring tourist activity is good to take”he laughs. Sylvie Debreyne, president of the Union of traders and craftsmen of Douai, is of this opinion. “It will highlight our tradition of giants, because the Tour takes place during the Gayant festivals”she said.

We don't have the sea, nor the mountains and the Eiffel Tower, so any event that can bring tourist activity is good to take.

Marc Thierry, co-president of the Douaisis hoteliers club

A restaurateur, she expects a lot of people on her terrace. “For these holidays, the restaurant is always full a week in advance. I will accommodate 300 guests and I will hire eight more people, but despite the Tour, our capacity will not be expandable”jokes Sylvie Debreyne.

Boost reservations, large numbers of people in the stage towns, the arrival of the Tour de France 2025 in Hauts-de-France promises to be economically beneficial. For example, in an interview given to Capital, CChristian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, reveals that “dIn all the studies carried out by cities, a ratio of 3 to 8 emerges between the amount invested and the return on investment. Thus, the city of Albi published a study following the passage of the Tour in 2019, estimating the impact at 1.5 million with a ratio of 9 euros for 1 euro invested.