Autumn in France means la Rentrée – a very French thing that means the return to school, work, normality after the summer holidays – and quite a bit more than that! But it’s also a brilliant time to visit anywhere in France! There is so much choice it’s hard to know where to start with autumn visits but here are some of the best places to visit in France in Autumn and some of my favourite festivals and especially lovely places to visit at this time of the year
Best places to visit in France in autumn – the north
I’m going to start with the north of France and head to Etaples which is close to where I live in the north of France. It’s a small fishing village with a great market – in fact it was voted favourite market of the French a couple of years ago. But I’m including it because in November they have a Herring festival which is huge fun. A giant barbecue is set up, there is folk dancing, sea shanties and herrings cooked every which way, served with a glass of white wine and a big chunk of crusty baguette. It’s like a huge party and everyone is invited! It’s usually the middle weekend of November.
Paris is always a good idea – but in Autumn I think it is very special. There’s so much going on, lots of exhibitions in all the museums, but also, it’s when the Salon du Chocolat is held – a chocolate fair with hundreds of chocolate makers and even a fashion show where the models wear clothes made from chocolate! And it’s the time of the Fetes des Vendanges in Paris, a celebration of the grape harvest and wine made in Montmartre in Paris. Because, yes, Paris does have a vineyard which produces wine. Ok it’s not a lot and not very good according to experts, but it’s a lovely vineyard, the parades through Montmartre are fun and it’s a great party atmosphere. The vineyard is quite a secret place, not many visitors find it but it’s worth looking for – it’s next to the Museum of Montmartre, where Renoir once lived which is also a great visit.
Ok, still in the north, but this time in Picardie, in Amiens which is a lovely city where there are floating gardens in a huge watery area right in the centre which date to the medieval ages and are absolutely stunning. I love to take a boat ride there and you can see the spire of the great Gothic cathedral. In October the town gets busier than usual as it’s the Grand Rederie – a huge flea market, the second largest in France and it’s held on the first Saturday of each October. Around 2000 stalls are set up and it has a great atmosphere. So, if you’re a flea market fan this is a great place to go.
By the way the biggest flea market in France is held at Lille, not too far from Amiens. Called the Braderie de Lille, it takes place the first weekend of September each year and that has around 10,000 stalls set up over a whopping 62 miles, 100km of streets, and runs non-stop for 33 hours – people wear hats with torches on so that they can continue shopping through the night. They also hold a mussels and chips contest, moules frites! Pretty much all the restaurants take part, and they pile the mussel shells up outside the restaurant and the biggest pile at the end of the flea market is the winner! Up to 500 tons of mussels are eaten at this event and up to 2.5 million people go!
Autumn is an excellent time to visit Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. It’s a small island so when lots of people turn up in peak visitors times you can feel a bit like a sardine in a tin, but in autumn it’s much less crowded
The South
Okay – let’s move south, where autumn is a great time to visit – not such intense heat, not so many crowds.
If you love wine, then this is a great time to go the Loire Valley and discover the 800km wine route. And visit the chateaux, if you’re lucky you might get a morning mist which adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the beauty. Pretty much all the chateaux gorgeous gardens where the leaves of the trees are turning gold and red this time of the year and at some of the castles they have pumpkin displays, like at the Chateau du Rivau and the Chateau of Chaumont-sur Loire.
Some places that do get a bit busy and hot in the summer are especially great for autumn – like Provence, there’s no lavender this time of the year but the countryside is so colourful and still mellow and warm. And Carcassonne with its amazing walled city, Nice where it’s still warm enough to swim in October, and Cannes which, without the summer crowds becomes less frenetic.
Autumn is also a good time to take a cruise. I love CroisiEurope.co.uk for their superb range of destinations, Paris to Honfleur, Alsace, southern France, the Rhone Canal and many more. I also choose them for the food (always classic French), great wine, lovely staff and super boats, barges carry a maximum of 22 guests and river cruises carry more but they’re never huge numbers.
And, there are so many food festivals this time of the year – Fete du Piment in Espelette, celebrates the famous peppers grown in the region. It’s chestnut season, mushroom season, wine season, seafood – one of my favourites is the Fete de la coquille in Caen, in Normandy – a brilliant scallop festival, and then there’s Beaujolais Nouveau.
This event celebrates the arrival of the first young wine of Beaujolais, which by the way is one of the most beautiful parts of France I’ve ever been to and produces the most amazing wines and it’s also great for a fall visit. But they also produce Beaujolais Nouveau, quite different from the normal wines here and it’s always released for drinking on the third Thursday of November. And yes, it is a bit of a marketing ploy – but who cares, it’s really good fun. Beaujolais Nouveau is celebrated in many countries and yes – in France too. And people often ask me to do the French really drink Beaujolais Nouveau, as they say you know it’s not really a good wine is it? And yes, it’s true, it may not be the best wine and some French people are like – non, non, non but actually a lot of French people love the whole razzmatazz, the fact that there is a reason to celebrate and also a chance to critique the wine because everyone in France is a wine critic!
Janine Marsh is the author of several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com
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