Its reputation might be damaged by drug-taking and some of its stars missing but the Tour de France remains one of the most exciting sporting spectacles, and this year it starts in London.

Ken Livingstone, as Mayor, his officials and sports bodies are delighted to have lured the event to the capital and welcome another chance to show off the city in the build-up to the 2012 Olympics. The opening time trials, known as the Prologue, take place on July 7 on an 8km (5mile) circuit through Hyde Park and past Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.

The race itself starts the next day in The Mall and is the first of many tests of speed and endurance as riders race the 203km through Greenwich, the Medway towns and Kent countryside to Canterbury.

You can capture the atmosphere of the opening by booking packages in London hotels with Superbreak, including two nights over the weekend in a deluxe room at the Thistle Victoria for £110.

Watching the riders fly by, with all the supporting rigmarole, and the street parties, will make an exciting start to a break in Kent. Thatches, a four-bedroom country house in Brenchley, is close to the route as it passes through Tunbridge Wells and is available for a week from July 7 with Fairhaven Holiday Cottages. The thatched house has a beamed lounge with inglenook fireplace, all modern facilities and a sauna and costs £795.

Eastwell Manor, a turreted house dating from the 13th century and now a Pride of Britain hotel with a large pool and spa, is 5km from the route as it passes through Ashford. Two nights’ B&B from July 8 costs £142.50, a 25 per cent saving. The rare chance to see the riders should guarantee a lively crowd in London and Kent, but for fanatical excitement you have to join spectators in France. The most gruelling stages are through the Alps with riders starting off from Val d’Isãre on July 17.

The route passes through several resorts featured by Peak Retreats, including Valloire at the foot of the Galibier Pass, where a chalet for four with indoor pool costs from £384 for a week from July 14, with a Dover-Calais ferry crossing.

On July 27, two days from the finish in Paris, the tour covers the 210km from Cahors to Angoulãme. Wake up in France has a new house with shared pool available for a week from July 21 at Praysac, close to the river Lot and in the heart of the Cahors wine-producing region. Claire Rive sleeps four and costs from £514.

*Superbreak: 01904 644455; Fairhaven: 01208 821255; Pride of Britain hotels: 0800 0893929; Wake up in France: 01484 680855; Peak Retreats: 0870 7700408

Plus - more late deals

British Isles

–– Head for the islands this summer for some of the best deals. Three nights’ B&B at the Mayfair Hotel, St Helier, for example costs £169 for adults this month and £99 for two children under 12 sharing a room with them. The offer with Modern Hotels includes a Fast Cat crossing from Weymouth or Poole.
01534 735511

–– High season deals to Jersey are available with 3X Travel: a week’s all-inclusive holiday from July 14, 21 or 28 at Hotel Ambassadeur for £469. Ferry travel from the mainland included.
0871 434 1410

–– Sail to St Mary’s in the Scilly Isles on July 6 and you will be offered a trip to neighbouring Tresco to catch part of the first jazz festival, which is being staged there from July 6 to 8. The trip is included in a three-night Travelsmith deal at St Mary’s Hall Hotel which costs from £329 with dinner, B&B and sea travel from Penzance. Air travel available at a supplement.
01621 784666

–– Enjoy Edinburgh before the summer and the Festival crowds take over with an offer this month at the city’s Apex Hotels. B&B costs from £54.50 a night at the Apex City and Apex International, where you can treat yourself to dinner at Heights Restaurant with views of Edinburgh Castle.

Both hotels are in the Old Town; the Apex European is in the West End.
0845 3650000

–– Special rates are on offer all summer at the five-star Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa, at St Andrews. B&B for two nights costs £230, with a £40 credit towards dinner, spa treatments, golf or clothes and equipment.
01334 474371

–– A Grade II listed fisherman’s cottage 30 paces from the sea in the village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, is available with holidaylets.net for a week from July 1. Lundy Cottage sleeps five and has been reduced to £450.
01234 757290

–– The Treadwell Drifters, Nigel Kennedy and Sandi Toksvig are at the Chichester Festivities from June 29 to July 15. You can stay at Woodstock House, Charlton, West Sussex, where double rooms with breakfast cost from £100 a night and there is a special four-night rate.
01243 811666

–– The Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel has a special rate during the Taste of Bath Festival, when signature dishes, beers and wines are on offer. B&B on June 28, 29 and 30 is from £74.50 a night.
0870 4008222

Short haul

–– A house for four, a short walk from the sea, swimming pool and spa at Chatelaillon near La Rochelle is on offer this summer with Owners in France from £500 a week.
01273 597169

–– Meon Villas’ offer of a free flight with every booking made this month means that a family of four can enjoy a week from June 28 in the Algarve from £318 a person. The deal is for the spacious Casa do Barrocal with a large pool and sun terrace, 12km from Vale do Lobo, and includes a flight from Gatwick.
0870 9014011

–– A fortnight in a studio flat in Skiathos from June 29 is available at less than half-price with Olympic Holidays. Fly from Gatwick, stay at Roulla Studios, with a pool and 200m from the beach at Platanias, and pay £255.
0870 4294242

–– Enjoy the snorkelling and endless sunshine in Sharm el Sheikh from £299 for a week with Discover Egypt. The deal includes a flight from Gatwick on July 1 or 8 and B&B at the four-star Viking Club Resort.
020-7407 2111

–– A self-catering holiday in Corsica is on offer with a £199 saving from Corsican Places. Stay in Apartment Georges on the third floor of a block in the old citadel at Calvi with good views and a short walk from bars, cafés and the beach. The break now costs £269, based on four sharing, with a flight from Manchester on July 8.
0845 3302113

–– A week’s cruise to the Baltic is available at a £500 saving with The Cruise Line. Fly from Gatwick to Copenhagen on July 1 to board MSC Lirica and sail to Visbi, Riga, Helsinki and St Petersburg. Prices now start from £599 with full board and taxes.
0800 6527877

–– Start the school holidays on a Moroccan adventure with Families Worldwide. Trips start for a week on July 21 and 28 and combine the bustle of Marrakesh with walks and mule rides in the cool of the Atlas Mountains. Prices are £689 for adults, £569 for children under 12, with flights from London, accommodation and most meals.
0845 0514567

–– If you missed our offers a fortnight ago to coincide with events next month to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, here is another from Great Escapes: two nights’ B&B at the Novotel in Ypres from £99 with a short Channel crossing with car.
0845 3302089

Long haul

–– Scott Dunn, the luxury tour operator, has brought down prices to Far Eastern resorts by 20 to 30 per cent this month. Deals include a week at The Sarojin, a boutique beach hotel at Khao Lak, Thailand, from £985, with B&B, a flight from London, and an elephant-trekking excursion. A week in a whitewalled villa with a private pool at The Samaya on Seminyak Beach, Bali, is from £1,395 with B&B, flights and a massage.
020-8682 5060

–– A week in the Maldives from £599 is on offer with Hayes & Jarvis. The deal includes a flight from Gatwick on July 29, a 20-minute speedboat transfer and B&B at the four-star Bandos Resort on North Male Atoll.
0870 8503565

–– A six-day luxury tour of Jordan is available in July and August with Pettitts. It starts with a flight from Heathrow and includes a full programme of private excursions, nights in four and five-star hotels in Amman, Petra and by the Dead Sea. Cost: £1,050.
01892 515966

–– The Villa on the Beach, a three-bedroom house beside the sea on the West Coast of Barbados, is on offer for a week from July 13 with Fleewinter. The well-furnished villa is in Holetown, which is pleasanter than it sounds with lively bars, shops and quality restaurants. Price: £554 a person, based on six sharing, with a flight from Gatwick.
020-7112 0019

–– Exploring the remote Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica and snorkelling over the reefs of the Bocas del Toro Islands in Panama are among highlights of a guided 11-day Reef
0870 4448735

–– For a complete contrast, spend the week gambling or partying in the showboating city of Las Vegas where Bon Voyage has a choice of deals between July 1 and 21. Stay in the three-star Imperial Palace Hotel for £689 or the five-star Mirage Hotel for £839, both with scheduled flights from Manchester or Gatwick.
0800 3160194

–– Prices to Indian Ocean resorts in Kenya are rising as the peak holiday season approaches, but are still good value. African Safari Club has a fortnight’s full-board from July 14 at the four-star Club Hotel Watamu Beach for £636. The hotel is set in acres of tropical gardens beside a white sand beach and has a pool, sports facilities and a diving school.
0845 3450014

*All prices are per person and based on two sharing a room unless stated otherwise.

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