When does the 2027 Tour de France start?

Friday 2 July 2027, from Edinburgh. The race spends three days in Britain before heading to France.

No. Road cycling is free to watch, which is why the hotels and not the tickets are the thing to sort out early.

Where is the best place to stand?

For the start, anywhere on the Royal Mile or below the castle, two hours early. For the racing itself, a climb on the road south is worth more than a crowded city centre.

Is it worth staying for stages two and three?

Only if you are chasing the race. Edinburgh empties the moment the peloton leaves, and so do the prices.

How early do the roads close?

The centre starts closing the evening before and is shut on the morning of the start. Assume no car movement in the Old Town all day.

Tour de France Grand Départ 2027

Name: Tour de France Grand Départ 2027
Start: 2027-07-02
End: 2027-07-04
Location: Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

2–4 Jul 2027

Confirmed by organizer

The Grand Départ leaves Edinburgh on Friday 2 July 2027; the race spends its first three days in Britain before crossing to France.

244days to go

Hotels for these dates

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Our verdict

Go: Friday 2 July in Edinburgh, or Saturday on the road south
Stay: Old Town
Book by: October 2026 — Edinburgh prices move on announcements, not on dates

The first Tour start in Britain since 2014, and the first ever in Scotland. Watching costs nothing, which is exactly why the beds cost what they do: there is no ticket to limit how many people come. Book the room first and decide where to stand later.

Illustration: a cobbled northern city street below a castle rock on a summer morning, crowds behind barriers, a blurred peloton passing — Illustration — a generated image of the kind of scene, not a photograph of the venue.

Which days to go

Day	What happens	Hotel price	Our call
Stage oneFri 2 Jul	The Grand Départ under the castle, then south towards Carlisle	×2.6	Be in the city the night before; the centre closes to traffic early
Stage twoSat 3 Jul	The race moves on through northern England	×1.6	Cheaper and emptier — pick a climb on the route rather than a city
Stage threeSun 4 Jul	The last British day before the race crosses the Channel	×1.5	Worth it only if you are following the race; Edinburgh is over by now

Hotel price is what the same hotel costs on these dates against its rate four weeks before the event. Crowd and price are our estimates from how the event has run, not live rates.

Where to stay

Edinburgh CastleNorth is up. Numbers match the table.A number too close to read sits beside its dot, on a thin line.

#	District	To the venue	Price	What it is
1	Old Town	10 min walk	$$$$	The castle, the Royal Mile and the start line; you walk out of the door into it
2	New Town	15 min walk	$$$$	Georgian streets below the castle, next to Waverley and the trains south
3	Leith	25 min tram	$$$	The port end of the tram line; better value, and dinner without a queue
4	Haymarket & the west end	20 min walk	$$$	Hotels around the second station, useful if you are following the race south
5	Glasgow	80 min train	$$	Fifty minutes by train, and a city that will not sell out for a bike race

Hotel	What it is	Book
Old Town
Radisson Blu Hotel Edinburgh	On the Royal Mile, which is the start line's own street	Booking Expedia
New Town
The Scotsman Hotel	Above Waverley station, five minutes from the castle	Booking Expedia
Leith
Malmaison Edinburgh	On the water at Leith, with the tram into town	Booking Expedia
Haymarket & the west end
Premier Inn Edinburgh Haymarket	The predictable price near the second station, gone by spring	Booking Expedia
Glasgow
citizenM Glasgow	Fifty minutes by train when Edinburgh has nothing under £400	Booking Expedia

When to book

12 mo beforeJuly 2026
Old Town and New Town hotels at anything like a normal rate
Already gone
9 mo beforeOctober 2026
Short-lets in the centre, and the best Carlisle rooms
Already gone
6 mo beforeJanuary 2027
Leith, Haymarket and the rest of Edinburgh
3 mo beforeApril 2027
Anything in the city; Glasgow and a morning train is the fallback

Getting there

Edinburgh Airport is 30 minutes from the centre by tram, which runs from the terminal to Princes Street and on to Leith. Waverley station is in the middle of the city, five minutes below the castle.

Watching a Grand Départ needs no ticket: the start is free to stand at, and so is every mile of road afterwards. The trade-off is that the centre closes to cars from early morning.

To follow stage two or three, the train south to Carlisle takes about ninety minutes — book it the day the route is published.

Flights to EDI Trains and buses

Tickets

Route, fan zones and official information (letour.fr)Official

Questions

When does the 2027 Tour de France start?: Friday 2 July 2027, from Edinburgh. The race spends three days in Britain before heading to France.
Do I need a ticket?: No. Road cycling is free to watch, which is why the hotels and not the tickets are the thing to sort out early.
Where is the best place to stand?: For the start, anywhere on the Royal Mile or below the castle, two hours early. For the racing itself, a climb on the road south is worth more than a crowded city centre.
Is it worth staying for stages two and three?: Only if you are chasing the race. Edinburgh empties the moment the peloton leaves, and so do the prices.
How early do the roads close?: The centre starts closing the evening before and is shut on the morning of the start. Assume no car movement in the Old Town all day.

Updated 2026-10-29 ·See every event in 2027