I think the most important advice is to be early. If you're by bike it's one thing, but I remember going to my first Tour stage and somebody telling me I had to be on the Grand Ballon by 9am in order to find a spot and see the riders at 4pm. So we drive up the mountain, get there exactly at 9am and literally have the last parking spot on the mountain. We get out, look at each other and wonder what on earth we are going to do here for 7 hours. All the locals around us pull out the tables, the chairs, the food and the wine, and we have NOTHING with us. Of course the joke was on us when the helicopters approached and their turbulence sent all tables and chairs flying across the road.
The two spots to watch the Tour are on a climb or on the Champs Elyssees. The latter is fenced off one block away from the action, so you either need a pass or you bust through the police barriers. Basically you find a barrier and start casually strolling around. More and more people will gather, all pretending to be taking in the town but feverishly watching the police's every move. Finally somebody will loose patience and bust through the barrier on one side, the police will converge on him/her and at that time, you sneak through on the other side. You keep walking slowly, ignore the yelling and when they come after you you run like Forrest Gump.
In 1994 this approach got me in the Coca-Cola zone, right where the riders turn onto the Champs. So you would see them enter the Champs, exit the Champs, and all this eight times. And it's only one barrier away from where the riders go after the finish, a little sort of dog pen. It's a walled area and all the fans are sitting on the wall, looking down. Below are police standing shoulder to shoulder with no chance of letting anybody through. That is, until somebody looses patience again and then you make your move. I'll let you know after this year's Tour, but I think doing it this way is much more fun than having a pass that actually allows you to be in these areas.
Gerard Vroomen
3T.bike OPEN cycle