France has a very rich history and cultural heritage. The arts and festival scene is intense. Whether you are an art, music, culture, or dance lover, there is bound to be a festival all about you. If you are visiting France, there is nothing better than to indulge in the local culture. We can only name a few:
- Fête du Citron: In Menton, the Lemon Festival is a carnival event that pays tribute to the production of citrus fruits. There are floats and sculptures featured during the festival, and all are made from lemons and oranges. Normally it takes place in February.
- Cannes Film Festival: It was officially founded in 1946 and honors new global films and documentaries from all genres. Normally it takes place in May.
- Festival of Avignon: This cultural event in France can be traced back to the 1940s, and it has more than 50 years of history. If you are a theatre lover, this is the festival for you! Normally it takes place in July
- Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday,” is when Christians feast on good, delicious food before Lent. This is one of the most celebrated festivals in France. Activities are held in various parts of France, along with carnival parties featuring lots of food, sweets, confectioneries, pastries, and desserts with eggs as one of the main ingredients. Normally it takes place in March.
- Nice Carnival: One of the world’s most widely acclaimed festival, attracting over one million visitors each year. This is definitely a festival that makes Nice even nicer. At the parades, you can expect floats with performers who are dressed up in colourful costumes, singing and dancing along to the carnival music. It Takes place in February
- Gypsy's Pilgrimage: The Church of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer experiences a few times a year hours of intense fervor that accompany these Pilgrimages. Romanies, Manouches, Tziganes and Gitans come from the four corners of Europe to venerate their Saint, the Black Sara. They camp on the streets, on the squares, on the beach. These festivals, in May, go back to the Middle Ages and their ceremonies are still the same; the crowd, candles in hand, sing and praise the Saint Marys. If you never see a gypsy vigil in the old fortress church lit up with candles you will never know what true gypsy fervor is.
- The Mass for the Truffles: The Vaucluse accounts for 80% of French truffles production. Richerenches, former Templar city, is also known for its truffles market on Saturday mornings, but it is, above all, the famous mass which brings the crowds out on to the village streets for 50 years now, on the fete of Saint-Antoine every year, on the third Sunday in January.
- Floating Market: The floating market of l'Isle sur la Sorgue takes place each year on the first Sunday of August, at the same time as the famous Sunday morning market. The "nego chins", boats typical to l'Isle sur la Sorgue, slip across the water from one bank to the other to answer the public's call and offer you a dance of colours and scents. As the floating market draws to a close, the nego chins gather in a line and, along with the sellers in the traditional market, the boatmen sing the famous "Coupo Santo" that celebrates Provence.
- Transhumance Festival: It is without doubt the most famous festival in the south of France. By the end of May, in Saint-Rémy de Provence, when drought is such that the grass can no longer feed the sheep and water has become scarce, the sheep begin their long journey towards the high mountain pastures. The public can admire close up the rare spectacle of this ocean of sheep.
- The Costume Festival, in Arles: In early July, during the costume festival, the Arlésiennes parade in the streets of the town dressed in their most beautiful finery. The young girls who wore the traditional dress at the Festo Vierginenco last year, will be presented at the Théâtre Antique this year.
To effectively mix Cultural visits with Festivals and Pilgrimages we need a very well planned program, and nothing can be left to chance, so, get in touch today to start planning in advance!
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