A history lesson with a difference
After four decades, Puy du Fou is still one of France’s top family attractions – and for good reason, says CHRIS MASTERS
PUY du Fou is like being on a film set. History lessons were never this much fun. The second most-popular theme park in France – after Disneyland Paris – has NO rides. Its central theme is history. Oh, and everything is in French.
But wait, come back! There’s a good reason that Puy du Fou (pronounced pwee dew foo) attracts more than two million visitors a year.
The park offers a series of spectacular shows, with a cast of thousands acting out dramatic and often explosive historic set pieces, including the tale of King Arthur, medieval jousting and horse stunts, and musketeer sword fighting.
My family, including my wife and three kids under eight, recently spent a day and half there on the way back from a holiday near La Rochelle on the west coast – and we loved it.
Since returning home, we haven’t stopped banging on about it to friends with kids. Here’s why...
The Viking show is a riot. Set in a village on a serene lake, Les Vikings begins with a tranquil wedding but, soon enough, Viking ships appear out of ‘nowhere’ (we wouldn’t want to spoil it) and all hell breaks loose.
There’s a massive raid with lots of hand-to-hand combat, explosions, collapsing buildings and more until... well, let’s just say there’s divine intervention.
The staging is ingenious. The award-winning Le Dernier Panache (The Last Feather) tells the story of a French naval officer who returns from fighting in the American Revolutionary War to battle for freedom in his homeland.
It’s set indoors, in a round theatre. Unbelievably, the entire audience (of up to 2,400 people) rotates, so we face the numerous, complex stages which are revealed around us.
The first is a four-storey cut-away of a naval ship. The last is a beach scene, which combines real water and video effects to create a realistic ocean.
Birds swoop inches above your head. Set in the 16th Century, Le Bal des Oiseaux Fantomes (Ghostbird Ball) sees characters named Alienor and Eloise raise dozens of birds from a castle’s ruins – and, bizarrely, a hot air balloon.
The dialogue is cringeworthy at times, but no matter. Eagles, falcons, vultures, owls and more put on an awesome display, often flying just inches above the crowd’s head.
It culminates in a dizzying aerial dance with 200 or more birds in the sky. Just extraordinary. It’s like an Olympic opening ceremony.
Held on Fridays and Saturdays through high season, Cinescenie tells the story of a local character named Jacques and his ancestors, and takes us on a journey from the