The Tour de France for Foodies: work up an appetite along the world-famous cycling route

From 1-3 July 2022, the first section of the Tour de France, the Grand Départ, will take place in Denmark. And as luck would have it, lycra might well be the best thing to wear whether you’re cycling or not - with so many delectable foodie delights on offer, a stretchy waistband will come in handy. Follow along the route and discover groaning tables of cakes, the world’s best restaurants, distilleries and more. Bring your appetite, hop on a bike, and let’s go! 

Stage 1 Highlights: Fine Dining, Sustainability and Pastries in Copenhagen 

Our Tour de France for foodies begins, like the race, in Copenhagen. When the world’s best bike race hits the world’s most bike-friendly city, the athletes won’t struggle to find eateries to fuel their cycling - and travellers won’t either.  

• Dine out at the two best restaurants in the world, Geranium, and noma. Noma was awarded the top spot in the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants rankings in 2021, closely followed by Geranium, which ranked at number two. Both restaurants hold three Michelin stars. 

• Pair this with a taste of something more relaxed and down to earth. Explore one of the largest street food markets in Europe at Reffen, go on a food journey through seven different kitchens at  Toldboden Seaside or try noma’s burger at POPL. All these restaurants are located on Copenhagen’s waterfront right by the Grand Départ route.   

• Sustainability is part of Copenhagen’s DNA when it comes to gastronomy. Restaurants such as Amass Øens Have, Lola and Bistro Lupa are also on the Grand Départ route, and they are all known for their focus on sustainability and social responsibility.  

• A handful of Copenhagen-based food and drinks brands – Mikkeller, Coffee Collective and Vin Supernaturel – have their own cycling clubs, combining beer, coffee and wine with cycling so travellers can put the two together. 

• At the final corner of the Copenhagen stage, check out the city’s booming bakery scene. With new city bakeries including Umiddelbar and Hart Brød + Bar along the Tour de France route, why not take a pastry to go? 

Stage 2 Highlights: Viking food, World-Class Snacks and a Historic Inn in Fjordlandet & Fyn 

Stage two takes travellers on a tastebud-tingling adventure starting in Roskilde, 22 minutes by train from Copenhagen.  

• Eat like a Viking at Café Knarr, which serves food prepared using only the raw materials known by the Vikings. Discover more natural dining options at Restaurant Herthadalen in a forest just outside Roskilde, where they serve locally produced food with herbs and flowers from their herb garden and the surrounding forest. 

• Drop protein bars and energy gels and power up with an ice cream at Hansens Ice Cream Café, known across Denmark for its creamy, organic ice cream, and a bar of award-winning chocolate at the Friis-Holm Chocolate factory, which has won the title of ‘The World’s Best Chocolate’ for the last seven years. instead. Slake your thirst at Herslev Brewery right next door; its local beers are brewed according to the same terroir principles as traditional vineyards and uses ingredients that follow the landscape and the seasons.  

• The race continues across the Great Belt Bridge to Fyn, and the second stage ends at Nyborg, just on the other side. Don’t let your gourmet adventure end here however – Fyn is nicknamed ‘the garden of Denmark’ after all! Under an hour away at Falsled Kro, a historic inn with a focus on gastronomy, travellers can see garden produce put to good work.  

• A 30-minute drive from the finish line, Odense, the home town of Hans Christian Andersen, offers fairytale food at Deilig, a café in the heart of the new museum celebrating the writer’s works, H C Andersens Hus. Storms Pakhus Street Food, a colourful international food market in an old industrial warehouse, is another foodie highlight.  

Stage 3 Highlights: Michelin Stars, Cakes and Fresh Oysters in Vejle & Sønderjylland 

The finish line is almost within sight - but don’t rush through stage three, as there are plenty of foodie delights to discover along the way.  

• The third and final stage kicks off in Vejle, where the iconic Olafur Eliasson-designed Fjordenhus beckons. Inside, the Michelin-starred restaurant Lyst serves a unique menu reflecting the weather and season. Other Michelin-starred dining options include Restaurant Me|Mu. 

• Vejle’s gastro guide signposts travellers around all of its many options, including addictive Danish food with attitude at Jacobsen’s, seasonally-focused meals at Remouladen dedicated to farm-fresh produce, preferably from Denmark, and the Danish whisky distillery Fary Lochan. It also gives you a chance to taste honest authentic Danish produce at the small farm shop Gårdbutikken Ravnsminde where you can buy local honey, specialty coffee, wine and apple juice to take with you. 

• Continuing down to South Jutland, or Sønderjylland in Danish, the key part of this stage is the Sønderjysk Kaffebord cake table, experienced at Gram Castle or Hohenwarte, where travellers can taste 21 different cakes and biscuits in a traditional feast with roots in the German occupation.  

• Other local food traditions include solæg, a traditional pickled egg dish served in pubs with schnapps and a beer, and foraging for oysters on the beaches of the Wadden Sea National Park.  

• The finish line for stage 3 is in Sønderborg; celebrate a race well run than in cosy central restaurant Huset Blom, or Michelin-starred restaurant Syttende. 

About the Tour de France 

From 1-3 July, the Tour de France Grand Départ will roll through some of Denmark’s most historic cities and beautiful landscapes, past breath-taking architecture, before it moves to France.  

• Stage 1 starts in Copenhagen, voted world’s most bike-friendly city, showcasing Amalienborg Castle, the Little Mermaid, parks, waterfront scenes and more on the way.   

• Stage 2 starts in front of Roskilde Cathedral and promises a windswept sprint across the Great Belt Bridge and a spectacular finish in Nyborg. 

• Stage 3 takes on Vejle’s challenging hills, and continues to the historic Jelling Rune Stones, Christiansfeld UNESCO World Heritage site, before a final sprint to the finish line in Sønderborg.  

For more information, visit our Tour de France press room.

Media library 

Find downloadable videos and images connected to the Tour de France and cycling here: Crowdriff Media Hub