RUGBY WORLD CUP
SEPT-OCT 2023
While all eyes will be on Paris for the Olympic Games in 2024, those interested in rugby will be focusing their attentions on Provence and the Côte d’Azur for next year’s 2023 Rugby World Cup. The region is hosting ten of the scheduled matches during September and October, including six in Marseille and four in Nice, with highlights including England taking on Argentina in a pool match in Marseille on Sept 9, and South Africa playing against Scotland in Marseille on Sept 10. England will be in action against Japan in Nice on Sept 17, while Wales will also play in Nice on Sept 16. The French team will be playing in Marseille against a pool qualifier on Sept 21. Other matches are being held in Bordeaux, Lille, Nantes, Toulouse and venues around Paris, with the final taking place at Stade de France in Paris on October 28. The inventor of modern rugby, Englishman William Webb Ellis, who died 150 years ago in 1872, is buried in Menton, a few miles up the coast from Nice, near the border with Italy. For details on tickets, visit rugbyworldcup.com/2023.
NICE CARNIVAL
17 FEBRUARY TO 3 MARCH 2024
With a history dating back to 1873, the Nice Carnival is one of the biggest in France with the two-week event attracting over a million visitors. A special theme is chosen each year, with local artists creating 18 floats and other figurines in traditional papier- mâché, sometimes depicting animals or flowers, which parade the streets in a series of colourful parades which take place day and night.
EASTER MUSIC FESTIVAL, AIX-EN- PROVENCE,
22 MARCH TO 7 APRIL
The Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence has quickly established itself as one the classical music scene’s most popular festivals, attracting leading orchestras, renowned virtuosos, famous conductors and composers from all over the world. With someof the town’s most famous venues, including the imposing Saint-Sauveur Cathedral, providing a backdrop to concerts and recitals, its presents a feast for all the senses. For more details, visit festivalpaques.com.
FLY: British Airways operates regular services to Nice and Marseille. Easyjet flies to Nice, Toulon and Marseille and Ryanair from several cities in the UK to Marseille.
DRIVE: The south of France is a 10- hour drive from the Eurotunnel or ferry ports, taking the motorway all the way via Reims, Dijon, Beaune and Lyon.
For further information on holiday itineraries, hotels, things to do and places to see in the Provence and the Côte d’Azur region,
For further information visit www.provence-alpes-cotedazur.com
