FrenchDuck’s databank
Paris Ile de France

Carnaval time comes to Paris (Porte de Bagnolet) on 3 February 2008 which comprises “a festive costumed parade through Paris with a stately Limousine cow in a splendid red robe heading the procession. Called Pimprenelle Saint-Fargeau II, she is the carnival mascot and will lead the Fatted Ox parade (the Fatted Ox being a reference to a popular 16th century tradition).”

For more info see www.carnaval-pantruche.org/

Rail Europe offers great value rail fares from the new St Pancras International to Paris in 2h 15mins with Eurostar
See map of the route - starts at 3pm from the Porte de Bagnolet and ends at the Hotel de Ville.

View Larger Map

The wine fairs of the Vignerons Independents (independent winemakers) for the first half of 2008 include Paris (75 Paris, Ile de France), Porte de Champerret (on the northern Peripherique from 28-31 March 2008
For a small entry fee you get the chance to meet winemakers from all the wine regions of France, to taste some of their wines and buy at vineyard gate prices.
No co-operatives, negociants or multi-nationals

We have held the Prize Draw for Vicki Archer’s sumptuous book My French Life - a copy is on its way to P Ferguson in North Wales.

If you did not win you can always order a copy of the book “Vicki Archer shares an insider’s view of life in France, as she buys and lovingly renovates a 17th century property in St Remy de Provence in the South of France.”

The Chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte at Maincy (77 Seine-et-Marne, Ile de France) about 50km southeast of Paris, celebrates the Christmas season in style - sumptuous decor, giant christmas tree, crackling fire places and illuminations throughout the gardens!

Enchantment starts with a white christmas trees path leading towards the entrance of the chateau.
In the stately rooms, a new atmosphere is set up with sumptuous christmas decor and music.
kids will also have the possibility to rent costumes to visit the castle!
Then, the Wise Men will guide the visitor on the track of the Shepherd’ Star leading to the baroque crib created by Hilton McConnico.

The festivities run from 22 December 2007 until 6 January 2007 (closed 25 December and 1 January) For more info see www.vaux-le-vicomte.com

Our Free Prize Draw this year is for a copy of Vicki Archer’s My French Life which is a wonderfully evocative celebration of France, especially Provence and Paris. Superbly illustrated it will delight anyone with a passion for France and things French.

To enter (closing date 14 December 2007) go to www.frenchduck.co.uk

It all started in Paris with the Velib’ Scheme - an amalgam of Velo (cycle) and Liberte (free), which has been a tremendous success.

The latest we’ve come across is the Velomagg in Montepellier (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon).

Vélib’ is a Self Service “bike hire” system available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Multi pick up and drop off location allows you to pick up your bike from one service point and drop off to another.

. You need to subscribe, but for visitors there are 1-day and 7-day subscriptions and after the first 30 minutes you pay by the half-hour - e.g. a 90-minute hire will cost just €3 and you can pick up and drop off your bike at any of the hundreds of self-service stations across the city.

The Velib’ scheme has been based on a similar scheme VeloV in Lyon (69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes) France’s second city. The combination of these eco-friendly and fitness focussed schemes is now spreading throughout France:-
VeloCite in Mulhouse (68 Haut-Rhin, Alsace) and Besancon (25 Doubs, Franche-Comté)
Vhello in Aix-en-Provence (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence)
Le Velo in Marseille (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence)
Velo in Toulouse (34 Haut Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees)
Nantes (44 Loire-Atlantique, Val de Loire)
Rouen (76 Seine Maritime, Normandy)
Bordeaux (33 Gironde, Aquitaine)
Velostan in Nancy (54 Meurthe et Moselle, Lorraine)
Velo+ in Orleans (45 Loiret, Centre)

This is clearly a popular scheme, mainly aimed at local residents but may also offer a different way of seeing some of France’s major cities from a different perspective. However, I would recommend choosing a city with good cycle lanes and paths - you do get the impression that traffic in many of France’s cities is not very forgiving with errant cyclists - so do not try cycling around the rond-point of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris!!

One of the most popular wine guides in France is the Grand Guide des Vins de France Bettane & Desseauve, which is launched with an impressive tasting held in the Carousel du Louvre in Central Paris.The list of attending chateaux and producers is impressive and includes Alsace, over 50 top Bordeaux chateaux (e.g. Chateau Laroze St Emilion Grand Cru), more than 20 from Burgundy e,g, Jean-Marc Brocard from Chablis, 18 Champagne houses such as Tattinger and Jean Moutardier, Jura, Languedoc (e.g.Chateau de Lastours); Provence including Gavoty. Minuty)’ Roussillon (including Mas Amiel’s Maury AC); Loire (Chateau de Tracy);Rhone includes Domaine Maby’s Tavel and Chapoutier.
For more info see www.grandtasting.com
Entry costs €12 for one day. or €15 for both days - great value for the opportunity to taste the wines of any of the 120 domaines attending. In addition there are additional masterclasses (at additional cost),

The Chateau of Saint Jean-de-Beauregard (92 Hauts de Seine, Ile de France - see map), about 20 miles southwest of Paris, hosts an annual Fete des Plantes, Fruits et Légumes d’hier et d’aujourd’hui - plants, fruits and vegetables of yesterday and today - this year it is 9-11 November 2007.
Held inn the grounds of the chateau there is an all year programme of interesting gardening topics, but this sounds the most interesting!
This event highlights the conservation of France’s national plant heritage with the aim of bringing back long-forgotten cultivars of fruit and vegetables. The vegetable garden section of the Societé Nationale d’Horticulture de France( the French equivalent of the Royal Horticultural Society) will present a collection of vegetables especially recommended for their health benefits.

For more info see www.domsaintjeanbeauregard.com

The Art of French Vegetable Gardening

Fans of Guitar music should head just 10 miles south of Paris to the town of Ballainvillers (91 Essonne, Ile de France) which holds an annual International Guitar Festival with a series of evening concerts, free daytime concerts, masterclasses and entertainments for children.

The town of Ballainvilliers,France will be holding their second International Guitar Festival,known as “The Automnales“. Visitors will again be able to travel around the continents of the world through international music themes, played by guest artists attending from many different countries – As in the very first event in autumn 2006, the Ballainvilliers Festival will welcome world famous performers, including Boulou and Elios FERRE, Antonio FORCIONE, Claus BOESSER-FERRARI, Soïg SIBERIL,
Ahmed El-SALAMOUNY and Konarak REDDY.

See our map

With the 2007 Rugby World Cup kicking off in early September, it is worth knowing when and where the matches are to be held - if only so that you can avoid the additional heavy traffic for several hours around the match time. Particularly susceptible to congestion will be the Paris Peripherique and the A1 autoroute entry to the city - the Parc des Princes and Stade de France are both close to the autoroute and peripherique, and if match time is anywhere near the evening rush hour the traffic will be even more chaotic.
For more details on the Rugby World Cup CLICK HERE
For map click (more…)

At last a budget airline has introduced transparent pricing on its website. Flybe now shows the actual cost to fly on their routes to France and elsewhere. Until now airlines would headline their offers along the lines of “Flights from 99p” but by the time booking fees, admin charges, airport charges and government taxes were added, the 99p could become £50 or more.
The only additional charge is for a credit card (£1.99) and debit card (£0.99) per person per flight.
So I was quickly able to discover that I can fly from Birmingham to Bergerac (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) for just £65.64 inclusive at the end of September, which sounds pretty good to me!

Flybe flies to Angers, Avignon, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Brest, Chambery, Geneva, la Rochelle, Limoges, Nice, Paris, Perpignan, Rennes and Toulouse.

For more info see www.frenchduck.co.uk/travel/flights.html

Rugby World Cup Final in Paris

Runners Up Play off in Paris

Semi-Final in Paris

Semi-Final in Paris

Quarter-Final in Paris

Ireland v Argentina in Paris

England v Tonga in Paris

France v Ireland in Paris

Italy v Portugal in Paris