Major events – Winter
December
Les Glorieuses de Bresse - Ain
Bourg-en-Bresse, Louhans, Montrevel-en-Bresse and Pont-de-Vaux: 4 towns in Bresse, all with "Site Remarquable du Goût" status, which host this competition every year, during which Bresse poultry are identified and classified in terms ofquality. They are all home to well-regarded restaurants serving Bresse poultry. Each town has its own way of cultivating an art of living to which they have the secret, providing boat cruises, relaxing or more energetic outings, and tours steeped in history.
www.glorieusesdebresse.com
Les Arcs Film Festival
The purpose of this festival is to promote the diversity of European cinema by showing independent European films that don’t tend to leave their own borders, as well as to work on building a market for European film by holding meetings that bring together the biggest names in the European film industry.
www.lesarcs-filmfest.com
Criterium de la Première Neige - Val d'Isère
The Critérium de la Première Neige is a race in the downhill skiing World Cup organised by the Club des Sports de Val d’Isère. This event opens the ski season in France.
www.worldcup-valdisere.com
Fête des Lumières - Lyon
Every year, Lyon becomes the City of Light when it holds a one-of-a-kind urban event. For 4 days, artists of all backgrounds set up their works in Presqu’île and Vieux Lyon, creating a magical atmosphere in the streets and squares.
www.fetedeslumieres.lyon.fr
January
SIRHA - Lyon
SIRHA (every two odd-number years) brings together manufacturers and distributors from all over the world for professionals in the Food Service sector. Specialising in a variety of areas, SIRHA brings together trades, sectors and companies of all sizes. It hosts 2,984 exhibitors and brand names from 12 sectors, with 21 competitions for all trades, and 5 event stages. Every two years the Bocuse d’Or gives several of the world’s most gifted young chefs the chance to experience two days of intense competition, during which they will have to give their very best in order to win the top prize in the world of gastronomy.
www.sirha.com
February
International Short Film Festival - Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is the world’s biggest cinema event devoted to short films. Masterpieces of animation, comedies, genre films, documentaries and docufictions, gra-duation shorts from some of the finest film schools out there: the selection for the 70 programmes of the Clermont-Ferrand festival brings a wide spec-trum of films and filmmakers together to intersect.
www.clermont-filmfest.com
March
Internationale Biennale Design - Saint-Etienne
Since its first event in 1998, Saint-Etienne’s International Design Biennale has continued to evolve and expand, while maintaining its central purpose: to democratise design and make it accessible to everyone, through a broad vision of the role of the designer and of its many applications.
www.biennale-design.com
Le Carnaval Vénitien - Annecy
This event brings together over 500 masked participants who parade, in a hushed atmosphere, through the streets of historic Annecy, stopping to pose, offering spectators a very Italianate experience. Nicknamed the Venice of the Alps because of its beauty and canals, Annecy makes a wonderful setting for this remarkable event that takes place just a few days after the famed Venice Carnival, around Mardi Gras.
www.lac-annecy.com
Tomorrowland Winter - Alpe d'Huez
It's the most extraordinary electro musical festival on the planet, attracting the world’s top DJs.
www.tomorrowland.com