THE GUIDE FESTIVALS 2022


The Festival International des Jardins in Chaumont-sur-Loire is a must for all green-fi ngered travellers Feria de Nîmes


June 2–6 & September 15–18, 2022 It’s one of the only opportunities to see bullfi ghting on French soil. The Feria de Nîmes, staged in June and September, may be divisive but it’s very much part of this Occitanie city’s heritage. There are also parades, fi reworks, outdoor bars, concerts and bull runs. www.nimes-tourisme.com


SPORTS & ACTIVITY FESTIVALS


Dieppe International Kite Festival Festival International de Cerf-Volant de Dieppe September 2022


Staged on the vast Dieppe beachfront, this biennial festival draws in top-level kite fl yers from 40 or so countries around the world, making it (according to the organisers) “the biggest kite festival in the world”. As well as some beautifully designed kites, you also get to see fi ghting kites in action. The chosen theme of this year’s festival is “protecting the planet, the environment and biodiversity”. www.dieppe-cerf-volant.org


136 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Apr/May 2022


The Saint-Louis festival Fêtes de la Saint-Louis August 18–23, 2022 (tbc) Two enormous rowing boats full of strapping young oarsmen and women row full speed towards each other while one brave soul on each boat tries to dislodge his counterpart into the water with a long jousting pole. It’s called water jousting and it’s been going on in the Languedoc- Roussillon town of Sète since the 1600s. Now, every year, it’s the focal point of the Saint-Louis Festival. Other festivities include street shows and music. icisete.fr


Les-Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer horse festival Feria du Cheval Mid-July, 2022 (Check near the time) This annual festival at Saintes- Maries-de-la-Mer, in the heart of the Camargue, focuses on local equestrian culture but also celebrates the famous Camargue bull and gypsy culture. Expect horse races, shows and parades, fl amenco dancers and equestrian book and fi lm salons. Given its location, most of the four-legged beasts involved are those lovely white Camargue ponies. saintesmaries.com/le-festival-du- cheval.html


Tour de France July 1–24, 2022 This year’s Grand Départ in Copenhagen will see riders head to Calais before tackling the Super Planche des Belles Filles in the Vosges department, the Col du Granon and Alpe d’Huez in the Alpine chapter of the race, and the Peyragudes and Hautacam in the Pyrenees. www.letour.fr/en


Up, up and away at Dieppe Kite Festival


GARDEN FESTIVAL International Garden Festival Festival International des Jardins April 21–November 6, 2022 This festival in the Loir-et-Cher town of Chaumont-sur-Loire is celebrating its 30th anniversary with special focus this year on the ideal garden. “An artwork? A nourishing vegetable garden? A therapeutic space? A showcase for organic cultivation? Can the ideal garden unite all our expectations and requirements, whether philosophical, aesthetic, ecological or gustatory?” asks the festival director Chantal Colleu-Dumond. “Can it be beautiful, good, organic, healing, comforting, innovative, and water- and energy-effi cient all


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IMAGES © DIEPPE KITE FESTIVAL, SHUTTERSTOCK


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