Because France has a lot to offer, you can find here information about the main events happening but also little tips to make your trip to France easier and richer.
Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
The first Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont-Blancrace was born in 2005 on an original idea of Nicolas Vanier and Henry Kam. This is about the most technical sled-dog race in the world. This year, from January 11th until January 21st, 20 teams with 280 dogs will run between 800 and 1 000 km for two weeks and climb more than 25 000 meters through the magnificent landscapes of Savoie and Haute-Savoie areas. All along the 10 different stages, including 2 mass starts, a total of US$100 000 in prize will be shared between the winners.
Besides the race itself, many activities will be organized in the villages holding the event. It includes Avoriaz, Chatel, Morgins, Champery, Les Gets, Morzine, Megeve, Bonneval-sur-arc, Aussois and Val Cenis.
To celebrate the end of French’s 2008 European presidency and the 2008 European cultural season, 200 European artists will present an excellent exhibition devoted to visual art. During 14 nights (from Dec 18th until Dec 31st), this performance will take place in the impressive art-nouveau glass roof of the Grand Palais. It will include 140 shows from photography and film to digital imagery giant projections on the walls, floor and roof of the Grand Palais’s nave transforming the building into a luminescent lighthouse in the heart of the capital.
It is a free exhibition running from Dec 18th to Dec 31st from 5pm till 1am in the Grand Palais, Avenue Winston Churchill (main entrance).
Metro lines 1,9,13; stop Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau or Franklin Roosevelt.
The days before Christmas are always magical especialy in Paris. I checked my favorite hotels to see if they have special last minute offers and some do, so I decided to post them here to help those who are still looking for a room for their Xmas vacation in Paris ;-)
Through the years I have selected hotels for there location, their warm hospitality, their ability to speak English (which is sadly not always the case still in Paris), and high quality services. I am so disapointed to hear that some hotels (even 3 stars) are not always able to satisfy their client's needs. However, these ones listed below usually do a great job.
I post here special rates for a double room and per night for the tested period of Dec21st-Dec 24th.
Hotel Brighton****: Get 3 nights for the price of 2: 120 euro (was 235) for a standard room, exceptional offer. Hotel Luxembourg Parc****: 243 euro (was 290) for a standard room. Hotel d’Aubusson****: 255 euro (was 305) for a standard room.
In the middle of the “3 Vallées” connected skiing area, Meribel is probably the most charming ski resort in France.
Meribel is bourgeois, Meribel is active, Meribel offers fun for all kind of snow lovers, Meribel is just beautiful with only slendid wood and stone chalets of reasonable size and no concrete buildings devoted to massive tourism. The resort is actually divided in 2 main locations: Meribel itself and Meribel-Monttaret. Meribel-village and Les Allues are further away and less connected to the skiing area. Meribel attracts many foreigners and English is fluently spoken there. Accommodation is expensive though in this glamorous corner of the Alps. But you won’t get bored there: a large choice of restaurants and bars, night clubs, spa and fitness centers, ice karting and skating, bowling…. The scenery is wonderful along the 8 green (the easiest), 36 blue, 21 red and even 9 black runs (2 Olympic runs and 2 slalom stadiums). The skiing areais ideal for all levels. On top, Meribel has one of the best snowparks of the Alps for snowboarders: the new Moonpark with 4 runs (comprising a sequence of jumps, rails and boxes) and the snowpark at Monttaret with 2 half-pipes.There are guided off-piste skiing, 33 km of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and 25 km of walking trails. Of course, Meribel is linked to the other resorts of the 3 Vallées skiing area and its 600 km of runs (in Courchevel, La Tania, Les Minuires, Val Thorens).
To sum up, Meribel worth’s the extra euro to enjoy the best of your winter trip in the Alps.
Agenda:
Dec 18th 2008, Meribel organizes the first competition of the Freestyle ski World cup.
March 28th - April 10th: The very british Meribel organizes the English ski championship in spring.
The pros: Lovely village with lots of charm, part the large connected skiing area of the 3 Vallées, one of the best snow parks for snowboarders, very lively at night. Ski lifts are high quality and the runs are fantastics with very nice panoramas. Meribel is well adapted for kids. Free shuttle within the resort. The cons: Expensive and very busy during school holiday.
Tips and advice: The Altiport area is well indicated for beginners to practice. Staying in Meribel is expensive but for a much cheaper option, you may consider staying at Les Allues or even Brides-les-Bains since both are connected to Meribel by cable car (25 min from Brides-les-bains). It’s less fun without snow garanteed in town (for Brides-les-bains) but so much cheaper.
We are first week of December and the snow is already massively covering the Alps, the Pyrenees, The Massif Central and the Jura. The ski season is very promising this year we have seen last week end the first fans surfing on the fresh silver powder in the main ski resorts. This is the opportunity to introduce my favorite ski resorts. I will focus on the Alps since I know the area better.
For skiers of all levels and snowboarders, many resorts developed great infrastructures for trying new trends like ski cross or snowblade. I suggest just a few for the quality of ski and the numerous activities they propose: Les Gets (for beginners and average skiers) and Avoriaz (great snowpark) connected to the Portes du Soleil ski area, Val d’Isere in the Espace Killy area, Courchevel (one of the most complete resort for sport and après-ski activities, quite expensive because very chic), Val Thorens (the highest ski resort in Europe – always good snow there).
For a more family-oriented resort with great panorama, I would consider Combloux and the nearby chic resort of Megeve. Both are very charming villages in a great setting in front of the Mont Blanc (especially Combloux) with good slopes (when the snow is abundant) and many other possibilities for families. The villages are lower in the valley and may not always have snow in town. Otherwise, Meribel is very chic and a lovely village well indicated for all kind of snow lovers from skiers and snowboarders (very good snowpark) to snow walkers; Les Saisies is more quiet and rather a place for beginners and lovers of cross-country in a fantastic setting; Autran is well recognized for cross country (main activity); La Cluzas is another pretty village with lots of opportunities for all ski levels and snowshoeing and walking.
Not to forget the very international Chamonix at the foot of the highest summit in Europe: Le Mont Blanc. This town has an incredible mountain expertise (ski and climbing) with fantastic summits around.
Many more ski resort from big to very small offer very good quality ski and other snow-related activities that cannot be listed here but you can find those at http://ski-resort-france.co.uk/.
Check out the next posts, more reviews to come on specific resorts...
There are many talents that can qualify people from Lyon, the city of French gastronomy, and one is that they are brilliant when it’s about entertaining us with light shows. The whole story started back in 1850 when a contest was launched to build a statue. The celebration of the new monument at the top of the hill was postponed to December when people were finally so happy that they decided to put candles at windows and to share their enthusiasm in the streets. Since then every first week-end of December, the city remembers and celebrates light outside: The Fête des lumières has born.
I have heard for a long times about this traditional celebration of light in Lyon, second largest city in France. I have never been there until last year December 7th for a week-end of celebration. First of all, I was amazed by the number of people defeating the cold to gather in the streets. Everybody went eating out in one of the numerous excellent restaurants the city has, waiting for the night show to start. Suddenly, the first colors decorated the historical buildings following the music like an open door opera of light. They use fantastic techniques to give life to churches or palaces. One of the most spectacular attractions you see this year are at the Saint-Nizier church, the Jacobins square, the Celestins square, the Hotel-Dieu Hospital, the Saint Jean Cathedral, and Fourvière hill and many more… These shows occurs in the city center, in the inlet between Bellecour square and the City Hall (Hotel de Ville) and usually starts at 6pm and last untill 1 am.
If you want to be transported in this magical world of music and scenic entertainment, don’t look further and take the chance to visit the city of Lyon early December and discover this amazing attraction, you won’t regret it.
tips and advice: Book your hotel room far in advance meaning 6 months at least!! Lyon has a metro so you can easely consider booking a hotel nearby a metro station rather than in the city center (Bellecour). Bellecour, Cordeliers or Hotel de Ville are where you want to stop for attending the Light Festival. Special bus/metro tickets are available. More buses and metro will be running during the festival.
Christmas slowly comes into our houses. Red and green decorations starts to flourish all over the cities and shops reminding us that Christmas is not only a traditional event when families gather to celebrate the sacred newborn but also the time to think about presents and sweet delicate food to treat ourselves. There are those who stress with the idea of having Christmas back again, and those who are waiting for it to embrace the joy of celebration, the colorful lights at night and the excitement of finding the right Christmas decoration for the tree. I belong to the second category that is why I want to share my penchant for the traditional Alsatian Christmas markets.
Strasbourg: Everybody should experience once in a lifetime the “Christkindelsmarik”, the 439 years old Christmas market of Strasbourg. First of all, the location is fantastic, on the foot of the gigantic Cathedral. This Christmas market is not only a place to discover wonderful and unique handmade Christmas decorations but also a place where smells of cinnamon and warm spicy wine transmit this incredible energy of sharing cheerful moments with your family and friends around delicious Christmas sweets and beverages. When comes the night, light all over the city turn it into a magical fairy tale bubble. From November 29th till December 31st, you can enjoy hundreds of enlightened market sheds all days until 8pm (9pm on Fridays and Saturdays). There’s a skating rink on Place du Château and a huge Christmas tree on Place Kleber. Music is not forgotten in Strasbourg where more than 50 concerts appear across town in churches and even the cathedral, an experience not to be missed.
Tips and advice: be aware that more than a million people pace the streets of the Christmas markets of Strasbourg every year and you should expect lots of folks there. Avoid week-ends if possible. The main advice would be to arrive by train, but if you come by car, don’t even try to park in the city center, but park outside the city for free in the P+R and get a Bus or Tram return ticket for 2,8 euro for all people sharing the car
Colmar and surrounding villages: Not to forget other wonderful Christmas markets in Alsace where many events are occurring in a magical Christmas atmosphere. Those are less busy than in Strasbourg but still as much lovely and enthusiastic as in the capital of Alsace. Colmar, Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé, Bergheim, Kaysersberg and Eguisheim to just name a few are fairy tale cities and villages all the year round. Colmar developed a great night light decoration you will enjoy during or after visiting the different Christmas markets organized in the historical city center. Beside, the city organizes a contest of the best decorated houses. Many surprises and imagination are expected in the lovely streets of the town. Like in Strasbourg, Colmar as well as in the villages around propose many Christmas concerts in churches usually for free. For those who like to taste wine and Christmas traditional cookies, some cellars organizes special activities around wine tasting and Christmas, some for free some with a fee and advance booking. The list of events in Colmar and surrounding villages is available in English. Here are more details on a selection of Christmas markets organized in the area of Colmar:
COLMAR Nov 22nd-Dec 31st : Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 7pm - Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 8 pm - Closed on Dec 25th.
EGUISHEIM : Dec 5th-14th, 19th to 23th, and 27th-29th from 9am to 7pm.
GUEBWILLER : Dec 13th-14th, 20th-21th from 10am to 7pm.
KAYSERSBERG : Nov 28th-30th, Dec 5th-7th, 12th-14th, 19th-23th from 11am to 8pm.
MUNSTER : Nove 28th-30th, Dec 5th-7th, 12th-14th, 19th-23th.
OBERNAI : Nov 29th-Dec 31st, closed on Dec 25th.
RIBEAUVILLE : Dec 6th-14th from 10am to 6pm.
RIQUEWIHR : Nov 29th-Dec 21st from 10am to 7pm.
Tips and advice: Be aware that the Christmas markets in the villages are not all open every day.
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For skiers of all levels and snowboarders, many resorts developed great infrastructures for trying new trends like ski cross or snowblade. I suggest just a few for the quality of ski and the numerous activities they propose: 
