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CULTURE

10 of the best winter festivals in France

From a celebration of lemons to fêtes of lights, comic books and music - here are some of the best winter festivals in France (plus a few Christmas treats).

Published: 6 November 2023 11:41 CET
Updated: 20 November 2023 11:53 CET
10 of the best winter festivals in France
A lemon lion king in Menton during the Fête du Citron. (Photo by VALERY HACHE / AFP)

Winter in France isn’t only about Christmas markets (although we have included a few at the end). 

Fête des Lumières – December 7th – December 10th

Lyon’s Fête des Lumières is a magnificent event. Between Thursday, December 7th and Sunday, December 10th, visitors from across the world are invited to enjoy enchanting walks in an ever-changing sea of light and sound – including large projections over some of the city’s most beautiful monuments. You’ll find incredible exhibitions displayed over the facades of major landmarks and scattered around the city as you walk (perhaps with a vin chaud in hand).

There’s also a more traditional Christmas market with dozens of illuminated chalets offering local products and arts and crafts. Lyon is known as the foodie capital of France, so enjoy superior food at the market. Details: Fête des Lumières, Lyon

Rennes Trans Musicales – December 6th – December 10th

The annual five-day festival in Rennes, Brittany, has been running for 45 years and over that time has developed a reputation for finding ‘the next big thing’.

Festival organisers tend to book up-and-coming artists and they seem to be pretty good at talent-spotting, so if you want to get ahead of the curve, head to Rennes (or just look up the list of performers). Details: Rennes Trans Musicales Festival

La Grande Odyssée Savoie – January 13th – January 24th, 2024

This isn’t actually a festival in the traditional sense – it’s actually one of the longest and most difficult dog sled races in the world. Over 11 days, the world’s best mushers and their dogs travel nearly 750 kilometres and pass through 22 resorts in the French Alpine areas of Savoie and Haute-Savoie.

But it’s still a big draw. Some 100,000 spectators are expected for January’s race – and host towns are ready for them. Plenty of entertainment has been lined up, with walks and snowshoe hikes, mulled wine, giant tartiflettes, campfires, film screenings, themed exhibitions, children’s introduction to sled driving, igloo-buildings, and hunters’ workshops. Details: The Grande Odyssée Savoie

Sarlat truffle festival  -January 20th and 21st

The Périgord Noir truffle is one of French gastronomy’s great delicacies – and it’s only right that it’s properly celebrated.

The Dordogne town of Sarlat is the place to be for two days in January for this festival celebrating the heritage and uses of the mighty truffle. Yes, there are tasters.  Details: Truffle Festival, Sarlat

Gérardmer film festival – January 24th – January 28th

Having recovered from Christmas in north-east France, fans of swords and sorcery movies should head back in late January for the international fantasy film festival.

Held annually since 1994, the festival showcases the latest releases in the horror and science fiction categories, capitalising on the slightly spooky reputation of the Vosges mountains. Details: International Fantasy Film Festival, Gérardmer

Angoulême comic book festival – January 25th – January 28th.

France has one of the largest markets for bande-dessinée (comic book or graphic novels) in the world, and the south-west town of Angoulême is where this is celebrated. People come from all over the world for the three-day festival celebrating all aspects of the comic book world.

The town is very proud of its link to this highly-regarded art-form, as you will notice if you take a look at the railway station, or the street signs (which are written like cartoon speech bubbles). Details: International Comic Strip Festival, Angouleme

Nice Carnival – February 17th – March 3rd

If you’ve got the winter blues by February, consider a trip to the south coast where two weeks of festivities bring the Mediterranean city of Nice to life and mark the end of the winter hiatus.

There are Carnival Parades (Corsi) day and night plus the elegant Flower Parades. Lots of floats decorated and presented under the season’s theme (2024’s is King of Pop Culture) parade to the rhythm of street art troupes and musical groups from all kinds of backgrounds (from all over the world), all in a colourful, festive, family atmosphere.

If you want to keep up to date with French politics, there are also usually some extremely unflattering depictions on floats of the current least popular politicians. Details: Nice Carnaval

Menton lemon festival – February 17th – March 3rd

Not to be outdone by its larger near-neighbour, the resort of Menton tempts more than 200,000 visitors every year for a spectacular 15-day celebration of all things citrus.

Yep, that’s right – there are carnival floats made out of lemons, the town is decorated in lemons and there’s every variety of lemon-themed food and drink that you could possibly imagine. Details: Fête du Citron, Menton

. . . and the Christmas markets 

And yes, of course winter also includes Christmas and France has plenty of Christmas markets. 

Strasbourg Christmas market – November 24th – December 24th

Strasbourg has got pretty good at running Christmas markets over the years – it has been doing it since around 1570 and these days it is the biggest and most famous market in France. It has to be good – the city brands itself the ‘Christmas capital of France’. This year’s celebrations kick off on November 24th and run to Christmas Eve.

Some 300 chalets will host local artisans selling Christmas gift ideas on the Grande Île, while the streets will be festooned with illuminations celebrating a very Alsace Christmas. Details: Strasbourg Christmas Market

North-east France is generally the place to be in France if you love Christmas (it’s all to do with the historic German influence) so if you’re in the area don’t forget to check out the Christmas markets in Colmar, medieval Eguisheim, and Mulhouse, too. 

Marseille and Aix-en-Provence Foire aux Santons – November 18th – December 31st

The south of France has a Christmas tradition all its own, the santons or mini figures that are used to populate Christmas cribs. 

Santons: France’s ‘little saints’ that come out at Christmas

The 221st (yes, you read that right) Foire aux Santons in Marseille opens on November 18th this year, and runs until December 31st, while the one in Aix-en-Provence kicks off a a day earlier. Details: Foire aux Santons, Marseille

Small town Christmas

Don’t forget smalltown France. Many of them organise some sort of Christmas market, even if they’re just for a couple of days, and these are sometimes nicer and more relaxed than those big events.

Local craftsmen and shops take stalls and you can also try local food specialities – such as Toulouse sausage and aligot in the south-west, hot spiced cider in Brittany or the ‘12 desserts of Christmas’ in Provence.

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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