The town was fortified by Vauban, which subsequently led to it being classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Naturally, the construction of the ramparts also preceded the Tour’s first visit to Longwy in 1911. Although most of Alsace-Lorraine was part of the German Empire at that time. This district was one of the few areas that remained under French control when the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed in 1871. As a result of this status, four stages finished here up to 1914, when Luxembourg’s François Faber won the 18th and penultimate stage of his career there, before dying on the battlefield in May 1915. The last visit was in 2017, when Peter Sagan won.

Stage town for the 7th time
Main town in a canton in Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)
Population: 15,000 (Longoviciens and Longoviciennes)

mairie-longwy.fr

Binche owes its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage not to the ramparts of its medieval city, but to its carnival that takes place on Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday) and features the Gilles, colourful characters whose origins are believed to hark back to the Spanish occupation of the region in the 14th century. Cycling enthusiasts tend to be drawn here in the autumn for the Binche-Chimay-Binche (now Binche-Tournai-Binche) semi-Classic, while the town has also hosted the Belgian championships on several occasions, as well as the start of Flèche Wallonne in 2013 and 2017. In 2019, Binche was also the starting point for a Belgian-French stage of the Tour that was won in Épernay by Julian Alaphilippe.

Stage town for the 2nd time
City in the province of Hainaut (Belgium)
Population: 33,500 (Binchois and Binchoises)

binche.be