France Events

The gothic cathedral of St Etienne at Bourges (18 Cher, Centre) is one of the most impressive in France, surrounded by the medieval streets of the old town. Imagine the sight of this magnificent and imposing edifice compared to the modest premises of the local populace, it would inspire awe and wonder. Today it remains impressive, with immense flying buttresses and sheer bulk and beauty enough to justify its designation as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites:-

The Cathedral of St Etienne of Bourges, built between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, is one of the great masterpieces of Gothic art and is admired for its proportions and the unity of its design. The tympanum, sculptures and stained-glass windows are particularly striking. Apart from the beauty of the architecture, it attests to the power of Christianity in medieval France.

As an extra bonus, the Cathedral is illuminated as night as part of Les Nuits Lumière de Bourges

ievery Thursday, Friday and Saturday night in July, August and September 2009 from dusk.

Additionally on Fridays 3  July 2009, 29 August 2009 and 18 September 2009 locals will be in costume, and on Fridays 17,24 and 31 July 2009, 7 and 14 August 2009 there will also be the opportunity to taste the wines of the region (Vins du Centre, which includes Sancerre, Quincy, Reuilly, Menetou-Salon, Poully-Fumé, Coteaux du Giennois and Chateaumeillant AC)

More info on Bourges

More info on the wines of Centre

Although a rather small Languedoc village, Aniane has a world-wide reputation as the home of Mas de Daumas-Gassac where owner Aimé Guibert challenged the traditional winse bureaucracy by making top quality wines outside the very restrictive Appellattion Controllée system - and then the locals saw off an attempt by a large multinational to buy up a significant chunk of the local vineyards in order to make some bland, branded wine.

Importantly the village lies in the heart of the Languedoc vineyards about 40km North East of Montpellier (34 Herault. Languedoc)  Hence it makes an ideal focus for the  substantial Aniane Wine Fair (Salon des Vins) on the weekend of 25-26 July 2009 - several dozen wine makers  from Aniane and surrounding villages (including Daumas Gassac) will be attending, including one of my favourties - the Mas de la Serranne. where Isabelle & Jean-Pierre Venture make some excellent Coteaux du Languedoc AC wines blending traditional Languedoc with  Rhône grape varietals which produce intense. but smooth, herby red wines.

For more info see Aniane Wine Fair

The town of Castelnaudry (11 Aude, Languedoc) celebrates its 10th Fete du Cassoulet designed to reinforce its claim to be the birthplace of Cassoulet. Cassoulet is a rich and filling stew of haricot beans, duck confit, garlic sausage and pork. It can also include Toulouse sausage, mutton or goose, depending on the region in which it is made.

Rick Stein visited the Cassoulet Festival as part of his French Odyssey

For more info see www.couleur-lauragais.fr/

Until the end of August 2009 Le Touquet (62 Pas de Calais, Nord-Pas de Calais)  is hosting a Sand Sculpture exhibition.

But this is not just children’s sand castles on the beach which will be wiped out at the next tide - no these are art sculptures using special sand brought in from Belgium, and with the theme of the kings of France:-

discover France and the secret history of its Kings. An amazing portrait gallery of differing destinies, sometimes amusing, often tormented and always exceptional… Re-live history and set out to conquer the royal sculptures! …

For more info see www.sculpturesdesable.com

For more info on Le Touquet see the official tourist office site

Exhibiting at Bristol’s Wine Festival (10-12 July 2009) will be Domaine Treloar, a small vineyard in the Roussillon region of southern France.

We are a small, high-quality vineyard and winery in the Roussillon, France’s most exciting wine region.Owned and operated by Jonathan Hesford and Rachel Treloar.
As Vignerons Indépendants, we grow all the grapes, make the wine and bottle it at the domaine. We do not buy in fruit or wine from other sources.
We also do all the work in the vineyards and winery ourselves and only employ outside help for pruning and picking.

There are a significant number of British winemakers in France and this domaine is run by ” a bloke from Yorkshire and a girl from New Zealand” , producing Cotes de Roussillon AC, Muscat de Rivesaltes and Vins de Pays d’Oc wines at Trouillas (66 Pyrenees Orientales) south of Perpignan. Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for informal visitors, they also offer a “How wine is made” tour. A friendly, informative and thoroughly enjoyable guided tour of the vineyards and winery followed by a tutored tasting of our wines. .

If you cannot get to southern France you can visit their stand at the Bristol Wine Festival (10-12 July 2009) or purchase in the UK from Leon Stolarski Fine Wines or HC Wines.

For more info on the Britsol Wine & Food Festival see www.bristolwineandfoodfair.co.uk - worth a visit to see a number of French and UK Vineyards, major importers and wine merchants plus a wealth of food products.

For more info on Domaine Treloar see www.domainetreloar.com

The Brits invade northern France -The  town of Arras (62 Pas de Calais) hosts a top line-up for its “Main Square Festival” from 2- 5 July 2009. Artists include Franz Ferdinand, Duffy, Lenny Kravitz, Kaiser Chiefs, Moby, Lily Allen, Coldplay and many others. The festival in the imposing Grande Place in the heart of the town will make a superb  backdrop - and there may even be some French bands!

For more info see www.mainsquarefestival.fr

For more info on Arras -  see www.ot-arras.fr/