with the permission of local landowners.
Food and drink
Where to eat
There are thousands of places where cyclists can eat and drink, varying from snack bars, hot dog stands and local inns to Michelin starred restaurants. Locations of many places to eat are listed in stage descriptions, but these are by no means exhaustive. English language menus are often available in big cities and tourist areas, but are less common in smaller towns and rural locations. Bars seldom serve food, although some offer snacks such as sandwiches, quiche Lorraine or croque-monsieur (a toasted ham and cheese sandwich). Tipping is not expected in Switzerland. In France, since 2008, tips are by law included in restaurant bills and must be passed on to the staff.
When to eat
Breakfast (German Frühstück; French petit déjeuner) is usually continental: breads, jam and a hot drink with the optional addition particularly in Switzerland of cold meats, cheese and a boiled egg. Birchermüesli, made from rolled oats, nuts and dried fruit, is the forerunner of commercially produced muesli.
Traditionally lunch (German Mittagessen, French déjeuner) was the main meal of the day, although this is slowly changing. Service usually ends by 1.30pm and if you arrive later you are unlikely to be served. Historically, French restaurants offered only a number of fixed price two-, three- and four-course meals at a number of price points. These often represent very good value, particularly for lunch if you want a three-course meal. Almost all restaurants nowadays also offer an à la carte menu and one course from this menu is usually enough at lunchtime if you plan an afternoon in the saddle. The most common lunchtime snacks everywhere are sandwiches, salads, quiche and croque-monsieur.
For dinner (German Abendessen, French dîner) a wide variety of cuisine is available. Much of what is available is pan-European and will be easily recognisable. There are, however, national and regional dishes you may wish to try.
What to eat
Fondue made with Swiss cheese
As francophone Switzerland is mainly an agricultural area, regional dishes tend to make use of local produce, particularly vegetables and dairy products. Varieties of cheese include Emmental, Gruyère and Vacherin. The high Alpine valleys provide good conditions for drying hams and bacon. Rösti is finely grated potato, fried and often served with bacon and cheese while raclette is made from grilled slices of cheese drizzled over potatoes and gherkins. The most famous cheese dish is fondue, melted cheese flavoured with wine and used as a dipping sauce. Papet Vaudois is a dish of leeks and potatoes usually served with sausage. For meat, veal sourced from male calves produced by dairy cattle herds, is popular. Geschnetzeltes (veau a la mode Zurich in French) are thin slices of veal in cream and mushroom sauce. The most common fish are trout from mountain streams and zander (often referred to as pike-perch) found in Swiss lakes. As Swiss cooking uses a lot of salt, it is advisable to taste your food before adding any more. Switzerland is rightly famous for its chocolate and the headquarters of Nestlé, the inventors of milk chocolate bars, are passed in Vevey (Stage 5).
French Savoyard cuisine is similar to that of neighbouring regions in Switzerland and many of the same dishes can be found. A local speciality is tartiflette, a casserole of potatoes, bacon lardons and onions covered with melted Reblochon cheese.
ESCOFFIER TO NOUVELLE CUISINE
France is widely regarded as a place where the preparation and presentation of food is central to the country’s culture. Modern-day French cuisine was first codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in Le Guide Culinaire (1903). Central to Escoffier’s method was the use of light sauces made from stocks and broths to enhance the flavour of the dish in place of heavy sauces that had previously been used to mask the taste of bad meat. French cooking was further refined in the 1960s with the arrival of nouvelle cuisine which sought to simplify techniques, lessen cooking time and preserve natural flavours by changing cooking methods. This was pioneered at La Pyramide in Vienne (Stage 11) and taken up enthusiastically by Paule Bocuse who operates a number of restaurants in Lyon (Stage 10), often described as the world capital of gastronomy.
Local specialities in Lyon include mâchons, morning snacks made from charcuterie accompanied by Beaujolais red wine and formerly eaten by silk workers. Other dishes include rosette de Lyon (cured pork sausage served in chunky slices), salade lyonnaise (lettuce, bacon and poached egg), cervelle de canut (cheese spread made with herbs, shallots, olive oil and vinegar), pommes de terre lyonnaise (potatoes sautéed with onions and parsley) and quenelles de brochet (creamed pike in an egg-based mousse).
Provençale cooking in southern France makes use of local herbs, olives, olive oil and vegetables including tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and garlic. A traditional provençale dish is ratatouille, a vegetable stew of tomatoes, peppers, onions, aubergines and courgettes. Daube Provençale is beef and vegetables stewed in red wine. In the Camargue, local black bulls are sometimes used for the meat in daube. Mediterranean fish are widely used, a typical dish being bouillabaisse fish stew with tomatoes, onions and herbs. Rice is grown in the Camargue; the most northerly place in Europe it can be cultivated.
What to drink
The Rhone flows through some of the greatest wine producing regions of both Switzerland and France. In Switzerland the vineyards of Valais (Stage 3), Chablais (Stage 4) and Lavaux (Stage 5), both in Vaud, and La Côte (Stage 6) near Geneva produce mostly Fendant dry white wine from chasselas grapes and Dôle soft red wine from pinot noir and gamay grapes. Swiss wine is one of Europe’s best-kept secrets as the Swiss consume almost all the production and export very little. Wine by the glass in restaurants is usually priced by the decilitre (1dl = 100ml) and is served in 1dl, 2dl or 5dl carafes. The nearest equivalent to a UK 175ml standard glass is 2dl.
Local wine bottles outside a wine merchant in l’Hermitage (Stage 13)
The French regard themselves as the world’s premier quality wine producing nation and some of the highest quality wines are made in the Rhone valley, particularly at l’Hermitage (Stage 13) and Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Stage 18) both producing full-bodied red wine. Other areas producing AC (appellation contrôlée) quality wines include Seyssel dry white and sparkling wine in Savoy (Stage 7), Côte Rôtie red wine and Condrieu white wine from Viognier grapes (Stage 12) and Tavel and Lirac rosé wine (Stage 19). The greatest quantity of wine, however, comes from 150 AC communes spread throughout the lower valley from Vienne to Avignon (Stages 12–18) known collectively as the Côtes du Rhône and from an even greater number of vineyards in Gard (Stages 18–19) producing VDQS and Vin de Pays wine (less rigorous quality standards, but nevertheless very drinkable and considerably cheaper) mostly from Carignan and Grenache grapes. Listel, the largest producer in France, produces high quality wines from vineyards on the sands of the Petit Camargue, fertilised by bringing mountain sheep down from the hills to graze the vineyards in winter. They are particularly known for Gris de Gris, white wine made from red grape varieties.
Although western Switzerland and southern France are predominantly wine drinking areas, beer consumption is increasing. Main varieties are Blonde (light coloured lager) and Blanche (cloudy slightly sweet tasting beer made from wheat). Pan-European breweries, such as Kronenbourg and Heineken, produce most of the beer, however, there are a growing number of brasserie artisanal local breweries brewing distinct local beers.
All the usual soft drinks (colas, lemonade, fruit juices, mineral waters) are widely available. Local specialities include Rivella, a Swiss drink sweetened with lactose (milk sugars) and available in a number of varieties. The spring from which Evian water (one of the world’s biggest
