Le Puy du Fou

Le Puy du Fou

Le Secret de la Lance
Location	Les Epesses, Vendée, France
Coordinates	46.893340°N 0.932068°W / 46.893340; -0.932068
Opened	Cinéscénie: 1978 Grand Parc: 1989
Owner	Association du Puy du Fou
Slogan	"L'Histoire n'attend que vous" (History is waiting for you)
Operating season	From April to September
Area	55 hectares (140 acres)
Website	Main site

Puy du Fou ([pɥi dy fu]) is a historical theme park in Les Epesses in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France.

History

The idea of Puy du Fou comes out (whithout theme park) in 1977, when Philippe de Villiers, a twenty-seven-year-old student (now a politician), decided to create an original show named "Cinéscénie".

On 13 June 1977, he discovered the ruins of an old renaissance castle in the village of Les Epesses near Cholet, and wrote a scenario about a local family named Maupillier (the real name of a soldier of Vendée at the time of the conflict between Vendée and the French Republic during the French Revolution), spanning from the fourteenth century until World War II.

Phillippe de Villiers organized an association of 600 members (3650 today) named "l'Association du Puy du Fou" which has as president today Phillippe de Villiers' son, Nicolas de Villiers.

When the first representation of the Cinéscénie began in June 1978, the show didn't have great success, but that quickly changed by the end of the first season, and with that success, the show grew into a huge spectacular. It has since spawned its own micro-industry of actors, prop-makers and trainers for the featured horse riding and sword fighting, which, since 1998, has been due to the efforts of the "Académies Junior" who organized shows every year outside the Cinéscénie, such as the Paris Paname in the "Halle Renaissance" of the Grand Park, in March 2008.

The Grand Park of the Puy du Fou was opened near the Cinéscénie in 1989, and is today one of the most popular theme parks in France.

In 2011, the Grand Parc of Puy du Fou hosted the team presentations prior to the Tour de France, which was set to begin in the Vendée.

On 13 August 2018, the Grand Parc launched a program where specially trained rooks fly around the park to pick up cigarette butts and other small pieces of litter. Christophe Gaborit, the park's Head of Falconry, originally trained the birds to participate in the park's falconry show, but later was inspired to teach them how to pick up rubbish left by the park's visitors. By using a specially-created box, which was inspired by a magician's prop, he taught six of his birds—Boubou, Bamboo, Bill, Black, Bricole, and Baco—to deliver bits of trash to the box and exchange them for food. The goal of the project is to both teach the park's visitors about the birds and to discourage littering.

In 2019, the project expanded abroad with the night show El sueño de Toledo ("The dream of Toledo") about the history of Spain in Toledo, Spain. It is the first stage of Puy du Fou España. In 2021, it expanded into a park with five shows and four villages.

Attractions

The park is split into 26 main shows, each running for approximately 30 – 40 minutes:

• Le Secret de la Lance (Secret of the Lance) is set in front of the battlements of a Middle Age Castle. It relates the story of a young shepherdess, Marguerite, who must defend alone her castle's tower against English knights, helped by a lance with supernatural powers.

The Vikings

• Les Vikings (The Vikings) is set in a reconstructed 1000-year-old fortress that is attacked by Viking longships. The story begins with a marriage in the village, just before the arrival of a Viking longboat. Special effects include the emergence of a longboat from under water.
• Le Signe du Triomphe (The Sign of Triumph) is set in a replica of an amphitheatre that is 115 meters long and 75 meters wide. It recreates the Gaul atmosphere during Roman times. It features a traditional parade of people and animals, gladiatorial combat, chariot racing and executions. It is set during the time of Diocletian, when there was great unrest.
• Le Bal des Oiseaux Fantômes (Dance of the Phantom Birds) is a show set to a mysterious story. Dozens of birds of prey surge from the ruins and swoop low over the heads of the visitors. The falcons are placed on the heads of some visitors wearing hats provided by the falconers. Many of the larger birds are released from a balloon floating far overhead. This ends with around two hundred birds flying at once above the audience.
• Mousquetaire de Richelieu (Richelieu's Musketeer) features musketeers performing swash-buckling sword fighting and Gypsy girls Flamenco dancing in water. Horses also perform special trotting/jumping techniques.
• Le Dernier Panache (The Last Plume) which follows the destiny of a French naval officer, François de Charette de La Contrie, a hero of the American War of Independence, whose life will change dramatically in 1793, in a last fight for freedom.(Thea award for outstanding achievement 2017)
• Les Noces de Feu (The Fire Wedding) (except on Fridays and Saturdays during the summer season : cinescénie). During the night, this show takes place completely on the water and depicts a love story between two musicians.

The above shows are presented in French, but electronic translators are available. Immersive shows however - especially those relying on live actors - are only available in French. These include:

• Le Monde Imaginaire de La Fontaine (La Fontaine's Imaginary World), a garden where guests discover Jean de la Fontaine's most famous Fables. These are told using automated animations, and more recently actors. Opened in 2012.
• La Renaissance du Château (Renaissance of the Castle), a tour through the centuries in the historical Puy du Fou Castle. Opened in 2014.
• Les Amoureux de Verdun (The Lovers of Verdun), a recreation of a WWI trench during Winter 1916. As guests proceed in the war-torn environment, they listen to the correspondence between a soldier and his wife back home, whom he tries to protect from the horrific realities of war in his letters. Opened in 2015 and won the Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2016, one century after the aforementioned events.
• Le Mystère de La Pérouse (The Mystery of La Pérouse), a recreation of the ill-fated maritime expedition led by Jean-François de La Pérouse. Guests board La Pérouse's ship, La Boussole, and closely follow the story of the Vendean Lieutenant Augustin de Monti. Opened in 2018 and became Europe's Top New Attraction that year.
• Le Premier Royaume (The First Kingdom), a walkthrough retelling the life of King Clovis I. Among many events, this tour includes Clovis's war against the remnants of the Roman Empire, the breaking of the Vase of Soissons, or the Frankish King's subsequent conversion to the Christian faith. Opened in 2019 and was awarded Live Entertainment of the Year.

Other smaller shows are also available only in French:

• Les Automates Musiciens (The Musician Automatons), a musical show displaying automaton characters in the Bourg 1900. Opened in 2004.
• Les Grandes Eaux (The Grand Water Show), a musical fountain show orchestrated to Jean-Baptiste Lully's music.
• Les Chevaliers de la Table Ronde (The Knights of the Round Table), a retelling of the Arthurian Legend in the form of a magic show. Opened in 2013.
• Le Ballet des Sapeurs (Ballet of the Firefighters), a pantomime musical show portrayed by children actors of the Puy du Fou Académie. Opened in 2017.
• Le Grand Carillon (The Grand Carillon), a musical acrobatic show on the belltower of the 18th Century Village. Opened in 2017.

The Cinéscénie

Cinéscénie

The main show takes place in the evening on a huge outdoor stage behind the ruined castle. It tells the story of the 700 years of history in the area. The Cinéscénie boasts the largest stage in the world, 1 200 actors, hundreds of horses and about 800 fireworks per performance. All of the dialogs is in French, but translation headsets are available in 5 different languages. All of the actors and actresses (even the children) come from the local villages and are volunteers. The Cinéscénie is only performed during peak season. It is bookable separately and has a separate entrance.

The Nocturnal City

In 2007, the park opened its first hotel to encourage guests to stay on property for longer periods of time. Over the years, hotels grew in number, and now form a resort south east of the park named The Nocturnal City (La Cité Nocturne). There are six themed hotels, each allowing guests to choose a century to sleep in.

• The Gallo-Roman Villa (La Villa Gallo-Romaine) is a hotel themed to Ancient Rome which opened in 2007. As the first Puy du Fou hotel, it offers 100 rooms.
• Lescure's Lodgings (Le Logis de Lescure) is the second hotel which opened in 2009. Designed as a Vendean house of the late 18th century, its name refers to Louis Marie de Lescure, a famous Vendean opponent to the French Revolution. Due to its modest size, it only features four luxury suites.
• The Islands of Clovis (Les Îles de Clovis) opened in 2010. This hotel comprises 50 Merovingian stilt houses from the time of King Clovis I built above ponds.
• The Field of the Cloth of Gold (Le Camp du Drap d'Or) is a 2014 replica of the summit meeting of the same name which occurred in 1520 between Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England. Guests stay in one of the 50 royal tents similar to those set up on that occasion.
• The Citadel (La Citadelle) is a hotel themed to a medieval fortress. It opened in 2017 and offers 100 rooms.
• The Great Century (Le Grand Siècle) is a 2020 luxury hotel. Themed to the reign of King Louis XIV, its eight ostentatious pavilions inspired by the now-destroyed Château de Marly offer a total of 96 rooms. It also includes a convention center named The Molière Theater (Le Théâtre Molière).

Timeline

Location	1980	1990										2000										2010										2020
	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
Main Shows
The Old Castle	—		The Great Falconry Show												Dance of the Phantom Birds
Puy du Fou Castle	—					The Chivalry Feast						Battle of the Keep										Secret of the Lance
	—																Battle of the Keep (Nighttime)				—
	—																									Renaissance of the Castle
The Gallo-Roman Stadium	—												The Gladiators										The Sign of Triumph
The Grand Carrousel	—																	Richelieu's Musketeer
The Theater of Giants	—																											The Last Plume
The Old Pond	—																				Organs of Fire											The Fire Wedding
	—																				The Great Water Show
Period Villages and Shows
The 18th Century Village	The 18th Century Village
	—				Traditional Musicians																								The Grand Carillon
The Medieval Town	—						The Medieval Town
	—						The Minstrel Magician																		The Knights of the Round Table
The Fort of the Year One Thousand	—								The Fort of the Year One Thousand
	—								The Legend of Saint Philibert								The Vikings
The 1900 Bourg	—				The Renaissance Hall																									La Madelon's Café
	—															The 1900 Bourg
	—																The Musician Automatons
	—																												Ballet of the Firefighters
Natural Areas and Shows
The Forest	—		Memory Road																											The Mystery of La Pérouse
	—			The Water Theater																The Puy du Fou Odyssey											The First Kingdom
	—																										The Lovers of Verdun
The Arboretum	—			The Wolves' Lair																				La Fontaine's Imaginary World
The Prairie	—							The Children's Theater												The Legend of Martin									—
The Nocturnal City
Hotels	—																		The Gallo-Roman Villa
	—																				Lescure's Lodgings
	—																					The Islands of Clovis
	—																									The Field of the Cloth of Gold
	—																												The Citadel
	—																															The Great Century
Location	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
	1980	1990										2000										2010										2020

Awards

• 13 August 2011, Puy du Fou won the silver Jupiter at the "Internationale des Feux Loto Quebec", the greatest international competition of pyrotechnic at Montréal.
• 17 March 2012, Puy du Fou received the « Thea Classic Award 2012 », for "outstanding, breakthrough visitor attractions that have stood the test of time" at Los Angeles.
• 2013: it was titled "best European theme park" by the Parksmania Awards in Italy.
• 2014: it received the Applause Award from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
• 2017: it received the "Hall of Fame Award" at Orlando in Florida during the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo

External links

• Main site