The 25th RAID Suisse-Paris is set to be something very special, taking place from August 27 to 29, 2015 and once again combining driving with culinary delights. Live (or drive) like God in France.
Start on August 27, 2015 in Basel
The start in the round courtyard of Messe Basel is unique. The destination is Dijon, the capital of Burgundy. The starting flag is lowered at 12:30 sharp - each car drives across the podium, completes a lap of the Messe Basel courtyard - and the great rally to Paris begins.
On romantic roads over the Jura into Franche-Comté, to the small town of Marnay - where the first RAID started in 1991! Then over the river Saône - Burgundy is reached and so is the first château of the day.
The landscape is characterized by rivers and the typical lush green meadows of Burgundy. Dijon, the capital of Burgundy, is not far away.
Here, the participants are welcomed by the city authorities to mark the anniversary. Dinner and overnight stay in hotels that have been completely renovated since the last RAID visit.
The route is particularly suitable for vehicles in the "Veterans" category. There are few and short climbs in the Jura, flat roads in Franche-Comté and Burgundy. On the way: special stages, navigation.
Through Burgundy and the Loire region
On the second day, Friday, August 28, 2015, Burgundy and the Loire show themselves from their most beautiful side. Drivers and passengers feast on a festive lunch buffet. The destination is Orléans: rolling hills, meadows where white cows graze, a church tower in the distance, a ruin on the hill - the anniversary RAID drives through Burgundy.
On country roads that are almost free of traffic. The first château of the day: café croissant in a place full of charm. The lunch buffet in the impressive Gothic refectory of a vanished medieval monastery. Where the monks once ate, the participants enjoy a rich buffet prepared by a Maître Traiteur de France.
The landscape slowly changes and the broad ribbon of the Loire, the mighty river along which the famous great castles lie, appears in the sunlight.
In this area, the RAID drivers head for the second château: a moated castle in the incomparable French style. Dinner and overnight stay in three newly renovated hotels in Orléans, some of which have been converted. This day's route is also suitable for veteran vehicles - there are hardly any gradients.
Through the garden of France on the third day
On Saturday, 29. August 2015, the route from Orléans first crosses the Loire, touches small medieval towns and villages, then followsfollowed by the Ile-de-France with its forests, flower-decorated villages and tranquil watercourses - it is not called the Garden of France for nothing.
The area around Paris is full of stately homes - the anniversary RAID ends in one of these châteaux with the final aperitif - a tradition for 25 years. From here, the free drive takes you to the Hotel Méridien Etoile in Paris, near the Arc de Triomphe.
You will have plenty of time to stroll along the boulevards before comfortable coaches take you to the festive highlight of the 25th RAID: the dinner and awards ceremony in the grandiose Salle Garnier of the Grand Hôtel, right next to the Opéra, in the most elegant district of the City of Lights. This is where the 25th RAID SUISSE-PARIS ends. Very festive and very à la parisienne.
The return journey will be made individually on Sunday, August 30, 2015.
Further information on the anniversary RAID can be found on the organizer's website.
