Things to Do in January in France
Happy New Year to you all! The end-of-year festivities are over, a new year is beginning, and we hope that 2019 will be full of good things! This new year and the month of January have only just begun, and your thirst for discovery is already surfacing? Here is our selection...
Happy New Year to you all! The end-of-year festivities are over, a new year is beginning, and we hope that 2019 will be full of good things! This new year and the month of January have only just begun, and your thirst for discovery is already surfacing? Here is our selection of cultural events taking place this month all across France!
Perhaps you didn’t get enough snow during your last holiday? You still have a few months to wait before heading to the mountains? Or you simply haven’t planned a trip? Then head to Savoie and Haute Savoie from 12th to 23rd January for a breath of fresh air! Come and cheer on the best mushers in the world and their sled dogs during the longest and most difficult race of its kind in the world: the Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc. For 11 days you will be able to admire exceptional mountain landscapes along the 750km of the race passing through 22 resorts including Megève, La Plagne, Val Cenis, Les Carroz-d’Arâches, Les Gets, Praz de Lys-Sommand, Pralognan-la-Vanoise, Aussois, Bessans, Bonneval…
Now heading to Périgord, specifically Sarlat-la-Canéda, for the region’s unmissable event, the fête de la Truffe, taking place on the weekend of 19th and 20th January. You can enjoy the main market and buy fresh truffles or truffle-based products, and take part in many activities, such as talks, truffle identification workshops and digging demonstrations.
Passionate about reading and comics? The International Comics Festival is made for you! Come and meet publishers and professionals from around the world, and take part in exhibitions, debates and talks in Angoulême from 24th to 27th January.
In Angers, from 25th January to 3rd February, the Premiers Plans festival takes place, dedicated to discovering new European cinema talent. It showcases around a hundred debut films in competition, and young filmmakers will be proud to unveil their cinematic works to you.
And if you love cinema you will be well served, but this time it’s in Gérardmer that everything happens, from 30th January to 3rd February, for the International Fantastic Film Festival. There you will discover films, screenings, unreleased works and previews.
If you are not a big fan of cinema, perhaps you prefer music? If so, come and discover the classical music festival La Folle Journée in Nantes from 30th January to 3rd February. 250 concerts will be on offer, plus meetings with musicians and composers.
Finally, if you are lucky enough to live under the sunshine of Guadeloupe, you cannot miss one of the most important festivals in the Antilles: the Guadeloupe Carnival. Running for two months, from January to February, you can enjoy costume parades, singing and dancing competitions, and march through the streets in costume to the rhythm of the drums.
