The Euro 2016 competition will be beginning in a few months and the idea is to create a thread that can be used as a practical guide to help all those planning to come to this marvelous country in organizing their trip.
I received a lot of help from various people to compile this, and it’s far from perfect as I don’t actually know all the cities that well, so the level of information will vary from one city to another; also, if some other French posters or who know certain cities well have specific input, let me know and I’ll update this.
The host cities are as follows: Paris & St Denis, Lens, Lille, St Etienne, Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux. Most of France is pretty well represented except Brittany which is a major region and doesn’t have a host city.
A couple of regions that aren’t concerned by the footy but could be worth a detour if you’re coming are:
- Brittany: it’s the region in the North West of France (that thing that looks like a pointy arm trying to escape on a map); the weather is usually ok in the summer, sometimes really hot, and there’s a lot to see around there; if you do go, don’t miss Mont St Michel!
- Corsica: small island in the Mediterranean, nicknamed “isle of beauty” (which is no surprise). It’s absolutely gorgeous, you have superb beaches all along the coasts with warm water, and you can drive just one hour inland and you’ll have great mountain sceneries. Corsicans aren’t always that welcoming of tourists, and it’s quite expensive, but it can be worth spending some time there. Their wine and food game is also on point.
French people aren’t the best at speaking English for foreigners. In big cities, I’d say that nowadays a lot of people do handle the basics (and if they don’t understand you, they’re actually just pretending cos they’re cnuts), but they do appreciate it if tourists give French a go. Work on a few easy phrases and don’t be shy to try it, they might tease you a bit but they’ll like that you’ve tried to speak French.
Just a warning though, in the really touristic places, the service employees can be actual bastards, it’s a bit surprising at first, but let’s just say it’s part of the charm of the country.
And a quick final word concerning accommodation: I’ve started looking myself, and I’ve seen that a few of the host cities have bumped their prices up quite drastically already, so I wouldn’t wait too long to book!
A few useful websites:
- AirBNB: hotels may be your primary go-to solution for accommodation, but AirBNB where you can rent a place directly from the owners’ of a house or a flat can be a great solution too, and often a cheaper option; also, if you’re planning coming as a group, it’s usually a great way to find a nice big villa
- Voyages SNCF: the website for the French railroad company where you can book tickets for trains between the cities; a note of information: trains indicated as TGV are the fast trains, for example they connect Paris to Marseille in just over 3 hours
- OuiBus: the new network of buses, longer than trains but probably a cheaper alternative
- Euro 2016: official website of the Euro 2016
- Ticketing platform for resale of tickets
Right, now let’s get back to the host cities!
I received a lot of help from various people to compile this, and it’s far from perfect as I don’t actually know all the cities that well, so the level of information will vary from one city to another; also, if some other French posters or who know certain cities well have specific input, let me know and I’ll update this.
The host cities are as follows: Paris & St Denis, Lens, Lille, St Etienne, Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux. Most of France is pretty well represented except Brittany which is a major region and doesn’t have a host city.
- A general note of introduction and useful websites
A couple of regions that aren’t concerned by the footy but could be worth a detour if you’re coming are:
- Brittany: it’s the region in the North West of France (that thing that looks like a pointy arm trying to escape on a map); the weather is usually ok in the summer, sometimes really hot, and there’s a lot to see around there; if you do go, don’t miss Mont St Michel!
- Corsica: small island in the Mediterranean, nicknamed “isle of beauty” (which is no surprise). It’s absolutely gorgeous, you have superb beaches all along the coasts with warm water, and you can drive just one hour inland and you’ll have great mountain sceneries. Corsicans aren’t always that welcoming of tourists, and it’s quite expensive, but it can be worth spending some time there. Their wine and food game is also on point.
French people aren’t the best at speaking English for foreigners. In big cities, I’d say that nowadays a lot of people do handle the basics (and if they don’t understand you, they’re actually just pretending cos they’re cnuts), but they do appreciate it if tourists give French a go. Work on a few easy phrases and don’t be shy to try it, they might tease you a bit but they’ll like that you’ve tried to speak French.
Just a warning though, in the really touristic places, the service employees can be actual bastards, it’s a bit surprising at first, but let’s just say it’s part of the charm of the country.
And a quick final word concerning accommodation: I’ve started looking myself, and I’ve seen that a few of the host cities have bumped their prices up quite drastically already, so I wouldn’t wait too long to book!
A few useful websites:
- AirBNB: hotels may be your primary go-to solution for accommodation, but AirBNB where you can rent a place directly from the owners’ of a house or a flat can be a great solution too, and often a cheaper option; also, if you’re planning coming as a group, it’s usually a great way to find a nice big villa
- Voyages SNCF: the website for the French railroad company where you can book tickets for trains between the cities; a note of information: trains indicated as TGV are the fast trains, for example they connect Paris to Marseille in just over 3 hours
- OuiBus: the new network of buses, longer than trains but probably a cheaper alternative
- Euro 2016: official website of the Euro 2016
- Ticketing platform for resale of tickets
Right, now let’s get back to the host cities!
Last edited: