Late Breaks in France

Autumn is certainly an ideal time to visit France. For gastronomes autumn is certainly the best time in France to hop over and gobble up a wonderful array of treats. There are many events and festivals to mark this season. Although the French still don’t celebrate October 31st with quiet the spirit of Americans but overall it is catching popularity. One’s biggest question and problem for late breaks in France is; what is a great French Celebration—and a wonderful time to visit this place and its answer is the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau. One of the Finest activities to do in the city is autumn leaf peeping.  A breathtaking scene is presented in autumn as France was never so charming and colorful before. Due to grape harvest season many festivals and healthy activities are all around the country.

Halloween

Some of the earliest Halloween traditions were started in Europe. Basically Halloween was born in nearby U.K., yet t was seen as primarily in American holiday with little fan fare with the French until recently. Now Halloween is getting great popularity in France. This renewed passion for all things pumpkin is quiet recent. It was born just a few years ago. On Halloween children dress up, although you don’t see that much variety in clothing like America (vampires are quiet common). Chocolateries prepare delicate and stylish creations for the event.

Teens swarm McDonalds, apparently the centre of the Halloween Celebrations. Disneyland Paris also has a Halloween celebrations for its visitors. What has been taken seriously and has strong roots in French traditions is All Saints Day, or November 1. This day dates back at least to the 17th century, the French honor the dead. Cemeteries, Tombs, and other sacred places are decorated with overwhelming flowers to blossom the atmosphere so it will be a perfect day to drop by a visit to your loved one. If you plan to visit, your best bets for finding Halloween events are visits to big cities like Paris and Nice. Also keep in mind that November 1 is a major national holiday, and many spots will be closed in its honor.

Regional Foodstuff

Beware that French are keen to celebrate all manner of foodstuffs. For example take Pickled Cabbage. You will not take it as a gastronomic heaven, but when it comes to French they took traditional cabbage dish Choucroute worth a party. The heart of cabbage growing country is Riedwihr and is the epic centre of celebrations. This festival is held on Oct 3 – 4 and is still going on since 39 years. The famous author Sarah Woodward whom is the author of the “The Food of France”, says; “The locals and visitors manage to consume more than 1,000kg of choucroute, as well as countless sausages, pots of mustard, bits of cured pork and of course, jugs of Riesling.

"This is followed by a quick coffee, a shot of eau de vie and the smartly dressed senior citizens are on the dance floor dancing the night away – they’re made of stronger stuff than me!”. Now if you want something sweet, head south to Roquebrune-sur-Argens in the Var of its honey festival on Oct 7 – 8. Now in its 14th year, the event sees honey produces from the products of their show off area. Author and FRANCE Magazine columnist Carol Drinkwater has a passion for beekeeping and loved “the sweet vibe there”. She says: “there were lots of people speaking the old Provençal language, and the beekeepers clearly showed such care and joy in their work. They were flitting around being social, as if they were in a hive themselves!”

Places to go for satisfying your Appetite

In southern France you will see de châtaignes signs on the roadsides accompanied by wooden boxes of shiny brown nuggets. This is chestnut country and its centre is the department of Ardeche. Your first stop without any doubt has to be in the stone village of St Pierreville to visit the Maison de la Chataigne, which is a small museum dedicated to the chest nut. In your way you will find landscapes of grassy terraces, large domed trees and ancient dry – stone walls. In the museum of Maison de la Chatagine is dedicated to tableaux of rustic life; spiked chestnut – treading boots and house hold objects which are made of chestnut wood (a perfect shopping place for furniture).

One thing you must not miss is the chestnut cuisine occurred via cousina, chestnut soup, of Christiane Brioude of Hotel du Vivarais in Vals-Les-Bains. For something completely different go ahead to La Haye-de-Routo in Normandy on October 11 for a place which is dedicated to the fruits and vegetables that were used in the past and has forgotten since then. Weird and tasty variety of parsnip, spinach and chervil are all on display, with stall holders on hand to offer tastings and to explain how to grow them and use them in your cooking.

And if that doesn’t satisfy your appetite for something unusual, stay in Normandy until November 1 for the Festival of Andouille de Vire, celebrating the town of Vire’s speciality – a sausage made from pig’s intestines and stomach, yum! And for a foodie extravaganza to top all others, head to the mustard capital of France – Dijon - for the Foire Internationale et Gastronomique between Oct 30-Nov 11. A huge exhibition hall is taken over for a fortnight and you can wander around in a kir-fuelled haze tasting all the very best Burgundy and France as a whole has to offer. Bon appétit!

Why to go France in October – Three main and basic reasons to go to France in October are that France is at one of its most scenic times at the start of autumn and is remained till the end of it. Due to low tourist season enjoy long by staying for a while in short lines for tickets. In October financial costs and rates are very low on lodging and airfare.