Soup, the signature dish of the venue for Stage 20, Marseille, could hardly be better timed. The challenging route with more than two dozen bends will take riders on mainly flat urban roads, along the Corniche and the Vieux Port. The main difficulty comes with a short but very sharp uphill climb to Notre-Dame de la Garde cathedral, the most famous landmark in France’s second-largest city. APERITIF: Visiting Marseille without trying pastis is like not tasting tea in China: A big mistake. When he left Marseille for Chelsea, Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba donated one of his shirts to the cathedral, which displayed it.

Source: National Post July 21, 2017 19:07 UTC