Top ten events for October 2015

A RACE across the Atlantic, national events to celebrate science and food (plus the Salon du Chocolat) are all ahead this month. Plus you can catch Eddie Izzard touring his French-language French tour in key cities around the country.

TOP TEN EVENTS IN OCTOBER

Eddie Izzard French tour
October 4-13
Comedian Eddie Izzard will be performing in French as part of his Force Majeure world tour with dates in Paris, Lyon, Nice, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse, Nantes and Boulogne. He has been called le plus frenchie des comiques anglais. Prices vary according to venue.
www.eddieizzard.com

26th British Film Festival
Dinard, Ille-et-Vilaine, September 30-October 4
About 30 British films will be shown at this festival which acts as a European showcase for what organisers describe as an “eclectic, vibrant, modern British film industry”. It prides itself on having previewed and awarded The Full Monty, Billy Elliot and Girl with a Pearl Earring in its competition. This year Jean Rochefort will head the jury. Tickets are €5.50.
www.festivaldufilm-dinard.com

Warhol Unlimited
Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, October 2-February 7
This will be the first ever showing of Warhol’s Shadows series in its totality in Europe. Put together, the screen-printed works which represent the same motif in 17 different colours will make up a 130m-long installation. Entry €12. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10.00-18.00. Thursdays 10.00-22.00.
www.mam.paris.fr

Festival le Millésime, Wine and Music Festival
Grenoble, Isère, October 3-18
Languedoc wines and Handel are the themes for two weeks of concerts and the chance to learn more about wine with tastings and workshops. The opening concert will be a free performance of Handel’s Water Music played at the Lac de Villeneuve.
www.lemillesime.fr

Fête de la Science
All France, October 7-11
Workshops, visits to laboratories, conferences and competitions are organised to encourage the public to find out more about science. You can discover how water is analysed at Bruz in Brittany, learn all about plastic at Ambérieu-en-Bugey in the Rhône-Alpes or explore light and optical illusions at Rodez in the Midi-Pyrénées.
www.fetedelascience.fr

La Semaine du Goût
All France, October 12-18
This is the 26th year of an event where the public is invited to explore the sense of taste by attending events hosted by professionals and enthusiasts in the food industry. Most are free.
www.legout.com

Our full what's on guide can be found in our October issue.
You can find it in particular newsagents ( search for them here)
or download it from our website for €3.80.

Transat Jacques Vabre
Le Havre,Seine-Maritime, October 17-25
This biannual yachting race follows the historic coffee trading route between France and Brazil. There is over a week of festivities before the start of the 5,400 nautical mile race on the 25th where visitors can see the boats and meet the sailors. Entertainment programmed for every evening.
www.transat-jacques-vabre.com

Salon du Chocolat
Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre, Paris, October 28-Nov 1
This is the world’s largest event dedicated to chocolate and cocoa. Chocolatiers, pastry makers, confectioners, chefs and cocoa experts will treat visitors with recipes, demos and even fashion made out of chocolate. Entry €14. Open 10.00-19.00.
www.salonduchocolat.fr

Picasso Mania
Grand Palais, Paris, October 7- February 29
The exhibition looks at the effect Picasso’s works have had on contemporary artists such as Hockney, Warhol, Jeff Koons or Lichtenstein with particular references to some of the master’s greatest works such as Guernica and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and his different stylistic periods. Entry €14. Open from 10.00.
www.grandpalais.fr

Sand-yacht race
Berck, Pas-de-Calais, October 17-18
The organisers are hoping for a line-up of 50 teams this year for the 50th anniversary of Europe’s toughest endurance sand-yachting event when teams of two race alternately around the course for six hours in total in a challenge which requires skill, technique and tenacity. The race takes place over two days starting at 8.15 on Saturday and Sunday. Free.
www.eoleclub.com

Photo: Amanda Searle