Fit for an emperor, Versailles is a French palatial wonder and beautiful in springtimeThe woozy taste of a fine Bordeaux; the clink of a coffee cup in a Lyon bistro; the sight of Mont Blanc peeping above the slopes of Courchevel; the view of Paris from below the Sacré Coeur: you never need to think hard to find a reason to visit France.
But spring is an especially pleasant time to visit the home of Napoleon, Thierry Henry and (for now, anyway) Carla Bruni.
It is the season when the UK's sometimes friend next door shakes off its winter slumber, not least in the north and northwest, where a host of events bring the year to life.
Fancy some historical perspective in Rouen or Paris? A dash of jazz in Normandy? A modicum of high culture in up-and-coming Lyon?
The following celebrations and festivals should keep Francophiles busy until summer finally rears its happy head.
Orleans and Rouen
April 29 to may 9 (Orleans); June 5 to 6 (Rouen)
Nearly six centuries after her short life and brutal demise, Joan of Arc still plays a prominent role in french life. One of France's patron saints, her life is celebrated in two festivals in spring and early summer. The Loire city of Orleans goes first, at the end of April, commemorating the heady days of May 1429 when the 17-year-old peasant girl was instrumental in lifting the English siege of the city, turning the tide of the Hundred Years War in the process.
The fetes de Jeanne D'Arc recalls her success through the usual three fs (feasts, falconry, fireworks), parades of knights on horseback and (this being france) food markets.
Around 100 miles to the northwest, Rouen boasts an almost identical event in the first week of June - albeit one played out against a darker backdrop. The capital of Normandy was the scene of Joan's execution, burned at the stake for heresy on May 30, 1431, by her English captors, following a hastily arranged show trial. The L'église Sainte-Jeanned'Arc, a defiantly modern church, now stands on the site of her death, offering a sober contrast to the festival's jesters, stilt-walkers and jollity.
For more information visit: www.fetesjeannedarc.com, www.rouentourisme.com
ParisApril 3 to October 31 (Saturdays and Sundays); May 25 to June 29 (Tues)
For a true dose of historic pomp and ceremony, few (if any) Gallic locations can hope to compete with the architectural exclamation mark that is the palace of Versailles.
One of the marvels of the Industrial Revolution, the Eiffel Tower continues to attract 7million visitors every yearThe former seat of the kings of France perches and preens ten miles west of Paris in a haze of priceless paintings, gold livery and unabashed royal narcissism courtesy of its 17th century founder, Louis XIV.
The 221 years since the french Revolution put it out to pasture have scarcely dimmed its majesty - a fact that comes into focus in April, when its gardens (all 400 exquisitely landscaped hectares of them) host Les Grandes Eaux Musicales, an extravaganza where the 50 fountains around the grounds demonstrate their statue-laden grandeur in coordinated displays of shooting water to loud classical music.
Louis XIV, though dead since 1715, probably approves entirely.
For more information: www.chateauversailles.fr www.chateauversaillesspectacles.fr
Normandy
June 5 to 7
Though it is now nearing seven decades since the incredible sacrifices of June 1944 radically altered the course of the Second World War, D-Day remains an occasion that is remembered with commendable and considerable dignity along the 50 miles of the Normandy coastline that witnessed it.
The day itself, June 6, is observed in the shape of quiet memorials at beaches such as Omaha and Utah, with proceedings centred on Arromanches and the Musée du débarquement. further west, Bayeux - which was the first town to be liberated by the incursion of Allied troops - lightens the mood somewhat by throwing a three-day celebratory bash.
Anyone visiting during this period can look forward to fireworks, picnics, guided walks and a reconstruction of a military camp.
For more information visit: www.normandiememoire.com, www.bessin-normandie.com
Loire ValleyApril 29 to October 27
If you like outbreaks of beauty in palace gardens, an alternative to Versailles is the festival International des Jardins, which takes over the grounds of the Château de Chaumont every summer.
Now in its 19th year, this green-fingered affair sees a team of designers create 30 different mini-gardens of varying colour and complexity. The emphasis is on the contemporary, so expect to see everything from trees painted blue to weirdly wonderful uses of tomatoes.
This year's theme is body and soul, which will surely lead to all manner of outlandish confections. The chateau itself, which overlooks the River Loire, has quite a past. Largely built in the 15th century, it was once a favourite of queen Catherine de Medici, who threw lavish parties here. Nostradamus was among the occasional guests.
For more information visit: www.loirevalleytourism.com www.domaine-chaumont.fr
ArdennesMay 15 to 16
Huddled on the roof of northeastern France, the Ardennes departement has long been frontier country. It is a zone of thick forest, swiftly flowing rivers and nervous glances at not-so-distant neighbours.
Picture perfect: Rural France comes to life in the ArdennesAll of which explains the stony presence of the Château de Sedan, a brash beast of a structure that lays claim to being the largest fortress in Europe.
Certainly, in its 16th century heyday, it was a fortress to be reckoned with - a behemoth that bristled with menace.
Nowadays, of course, the border it oversees is that between France and not-overly threatening Belgium. This means its job is now not so much guard dog as it is museum.
And the main moment in its calendar is the festival Medieval de Sedan, a two- day riot of pageantry that takes in everything from theatre pieces, alehouses and jousting to ' medieval marriages'.
Happily, perishing in the Black Death is not included.
For more information visit: www.chateau-fort-sedan.fr
Le Mans and Coutances
March 2 to May 9 (Le mans); May 8 to 15 (coutances)
For those who like their artistic stimulation to come in audio rather than visual form, Normandy could be an unexpected source of entertainment this spring.
Better known for castles, cheese and cider than for the tootling of trumpets, minor chords and complex time signatures, the region will nevertheless stage two excellent jazz festivals before May gasps its last.
One, the mammoth Europajazz shindig, is al ready underway bringing clever key changes to a multitude of Norman towns. It hits its stride between April 25 and May 9, when the majority of concerts are scheduled for Le Mans.
A little later that month, Coutances - a town that lurks south of Cherbourg and the outstretched hand of upper northwestern Normandy - responds with its own musical spectacular Jazz Sous Les Pommiers, which translates, romantically, as Jazz Under The Apples Trees.
For more information visit: www.europajazz.fr www.jazzsouslespommiers.com
source: dailymail
