After two months at home, the French, confused, will finally be able to plan a weekend away from home. Of course, the planned activities must be within a limit of 100 kilometers, as the crow flies, from their home. Ample enough to find something to get away from for a day or two.
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Journalist specializing in tourism and leisure at Europe 1, Vanessa Zha has put together a non-exhaustive list of places open to the public, and original activities to carry out, to give ideas to listeners. Relaxing, sporty, family weekend ... There is something for everyone, and there will always be one less than 100 kilometers from your home.
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Nature, parks and gardens
Regarding the opening of forests, parks, banks, and water bodies, the prefect and the mayor decide on a case-by-case basis, and under specific conditions.
An idea of choice for the French being located 100 kilometers around Chaumont-sur-Loire (Loir-et-Cher), the International Garden Festival will be accessible to the public from Saturday. Until the last moment, it was planned to be hatched, but everything was organized via a drastic health protocol to reopen these 32 hectares of garden, within the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire. However, tickets can only be sold online, with two slots available: one for a visit in the morning (10 am-2pm), the other in the afternoon (2 pm-7pm). A special route has been set up, with the installation of hydroalcoholic gel at each stage.
The gardens of Etretat (Seine-Maritime) have reopened since Monday already. It will also be possible to access the Aiguille du Midi , the highest peak in Chamonix (Alps) at 3,842 meters above sea level. There, too, a drastic protocol has been implemented, with thermal cameras to be able to ride there this weekend, but also the weekend of May 21.
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Culture
Unable to reopen the major national museums, this first weekend of deconfinement is an opportunity to discover small, little-known museums . For example, the Image Museum in Épinal (Vosges), the Matisse Museum in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), the Ingres-Bourdelle Museum in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne), the Picasso Museum in the Grimaldi Castle in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes). It is in this castle that the Spanish painter notably began to paint his nymphs, his fish, but also his 22-year-old mistress, François Gilot.
In terms of castles, the castle of Baugé (Maine-et-Loire) is an original outing to do with children. In a witchcraft atmosphere, it will be a rediscovery of the medieval apothecary's shop and a number of unusual objects, such as woodlice powder or mummified human fingers.
In the department of Indre et Loire, the gardens of the Château de Villandry , like around thirty parks and gardens in the department, have decided to set up applications to overcome the impossibility of organizing guided tours. This allows visitors to stroll while immersing themselves in the history of its vegetable gardens, and the less that created them during the Renaissance.
Ile-de-France residents are not outdone. In an area ranging from 50 to 80 kilometers north of Paris, the Oise department presents itself as an attractive option for those who want to go green. The areas of Chantilly, Compiègne and Ermenonville will be accessible to the public who can at the same time admire the beauty of the castles of these three cities.
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Animals
Several sites reopen their doors to allow you to come and meet wildlife. The Thoiry zooparc (Yvelines) makes its safari section accessible again. Visitors, locked in their car, can come and meet the animals without coming into contact with other families.
In Brittany, the Trégomeur zooparc (Côtes-d'Armor) is also reopening to the public. From Saturday, it will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ticket office closes 1:30 before closing). Finally, a more original idea combining animals and hiking: in the Vosges, a Segway hike is organized, by group of six people from the same family, to go observe chamois.
Whatever the activity, and whatever the place visited, we do not forget our picnic: the bars and restaurants, they remain closed.