Maps
General Advice on maps.
When you get to France see if you can locate a bookshop (librarie) where you can buy maps. Look for the IGN series of large scale maps of the Le Mans area. The green series (serie verte) are 1:100000 or 1cm to the km and the blue series (serie bleue) are 1:25000 or 1cm to 250m. The maps you will need are "serie verte 19" and "serie bleue 1719 est" (The section reproduced below is from the blue series). Alternatively you can write to "Institut Geographique National, 107, rue la Boetie 75008 Paris France.
Deciding where to view the race
When attending a circuit the size of the 'Circuit des 24 heures' many visitors are unsure of where it is best to view the race. There is no simple answer to this frequently asked question but I will try to give you a flavour of what to expect from each of the vantage points.
Start/Finish area
Most new visitors to the event are attracted to the grandstands or 'tribunes' as the French call them. These are located between the Ford Chicane and the Dunlop Curve (not all the way down to Arnage as shown in the Page&Moy 1997 brochure). These are fine structures and some give a commanding view of nearly a kilometre of the circuit. For those who are content to park themselves on a seat for the duration and soak up the atmosphere this is an admirable (if a little expensive) choice. I tend to feel that if I have paid a supplement to sit in a seat, that I should get maximum value by occupying it for most of the race. As I prefer to view from many different locations and roam the circuit, this is not the option for me but if you prefer to stay put then it may be for you. The new tribune above the pits replaced the 1955 ramshackle and rundown buildings in 1991. It now houses offices, corporate suites, self service restaurant and the Media Centre with the seating area perched on top. As far as the view is concerned; because this is on the infield, the track curves out of sight in both directions behind the building. Due to the overhang of the upper floors, the pits area is almost invisible from here, unless you lean out over the railing. One significant advantage of the pits tribune is that your view of the track in unimpeded by the 30ft debris fence that was erected in 1996 along the start/finish straight.
Esses and Tertre Rouge
A brisk walk from the tribunes clockwise around the outfield up the hill past the Dunlop bridge, then down past the funfair (fete foraine) takes you to the natural amphitheatre created as the track bends through the pine trees. There is a bank to sit on under the patchwork of sun and shade. This is a good place to head for after watching the start from the 'tribunes' area. Carry on around the outfield another hundred or so yards then duck into the tiny tunnel under the circuit that brings you back to the infield. Another short march under the trees will take you to Tertre Rouge. This is where the track bends in a lazy arc past a row of poplars into the first section of the 'Mulsanne'. The meaning of 'tertre rouge' is literally 'small red hill or tumulus' so there may have been a hill here at some point in the past but there is no sign of it now. This is the furthest 'clockwise' viewing area that can be reached on foot from the start/finish area. Remember when coming back from Tertre Rouge to go back though the tunnel. You can make it on foot going round the infield but only with a small detour by the Esses at the bottom of the Dunlop bridge hill.
Maison Blanche and the Porsche Curves
Head off again up the hill past the Dunlop bridge back to the infield via the big tunnel next to the new motor museum (not the site of the old museum marked on some maps on the infield). This will bring you to the 'village' area a place full of activity and (importantly) containing both the Grand Marnier crepe stall and the Champagne tent. Wander down though the jumble of food stalls and merchandising to the road behind the pits area. Once past the back of the pits you descend back under the pedestrian tunnel (you will not be allowed to walk through the nearby vehicle tunnel) and emerge next to the main entrance and the ACO shop. Pop in and purchase your "Tee-Shirt-Officiel" before you continue down through the paddock area to the Ford Chicane. The paddock is always an interesting mix of cars from support races and the annual historic parade that precedes the start of the race. Press on through the Maison Blanche campsite as far as the Porsche Curves. This is the furthest anti-clockwise outfield viewing location reached without going out of the circuit boundary.
Arnage and Indianapolis
The outfield locations can be reached by taking the regular transfer bus or driving through the busy back lanes around the circuit. On the basis of past years experience, the bus leaves at half hour intervals and is free to anyone presenting a 'General Admission' ticket. If you are driving yourself then leave the main entrance (not forgetting to pick up your 'contremarque' from the fellow at the gate, you will need it as well as your ticket to get back in ) Going south with Garage Bleu on your right and Maison Blanche on your left, you will shortly arrive at the crossroads next to the underpass where you are ushered politely by a gendarme to take a right turn. After about a quarter mile take a sharp left just before the railway tracks and Arnage village to make Arnage corner in a minute or so. Park up in the field opposite and cross the road to the entrance. Your 'Encientes Generales' ticket will get you in here without any supplement and you will not be asked to surrender your contremarque. The entry gate is opposite Arnage corner itself, the slowest corner on the circuit. Take a walk along the top of the earth bank to the far end where you can peer through the trees at cars streaking through Indianapolis and braking hard for the Arnage complex. Many Le Mans regulars say that this is the best area of the circuit to view the racing. I must admit that I have never missed at least one visit to Arnage corner during all my pilgrimages.
Mulsanne Corner
I am sure that the local police have a sadistic streak; the pattern of road closures and one-way signs between Arnage and Mulsanne corner seems to change regularly each year. For this reason I will not include detailed instructions as they will almost inevitably be wrong for subsequent years. I will leave you to map-read, follow diverions, get lost and so on for yourselves. After a couple of attempts you will probably end up at Mulsanne corner and the unmissable drink at the 'Bar des Sports' before a short hike through a small industrial area to the circuit enclosure. The old sand bank or 'bunker' ( so unpopular with drivers who had to dig themselves out of it ) at Mulsanne is gone now but the location still has the last remnants of the old signalling pits still visible over on the infield. Instructions used to be telephoned to the signallers from the main pits.
My preference is to visit Mulsanne corner at midnight or in the small hours of the morning. The sight of disks flashing white hot in the braking zone at the end of the Mulsanne then engines thundering away at full song up to Indianapolis is quite enthralling. By the way, this is quite a test for your pocket radio to pick up Radio Le Mans here, especially if you stand under the electric pylon.
Restaurant Des 24 Heures
The more intrepid visitors will be tempted to visit the restaurants located opposite the 'hippodrome' on the first section of the Mulsanne straight (the French call it the "Ligne droit des Hunaudieres" ) just before the first chicane called "l'Arche". Some may even find them after a couple of years of vain attempts. The view from the front door of the restaurant is probably the closest most regular visitors can get to the racing anywhere on the circuit and paradoxically you do not need a ticket to get there, just a dinner reservation. There is a campsite here that you need to find and negotiate through before you make the back yard of the restaurant. The area at the rear of the restaurant is pressed into service as a rather cramped car park and overflow dining area during the race. You can visit either the conventional French restaurant "Restaurant Des 24 Heures" or the "Chinois des 24 Heures" Chinese next door. If you are intending to eat at a window seat overlooking the circuit my advice is to book early, otherwise you will be offered a bench seat in the marquee in the garden or told to come back in an hour or three.
Click on this map to sample the view from the various areas around the track.
More Maps
Geographic map of circuit and
locale. 
Schematic map of the circuit.
Campsites and parking areas.