Europe
France
About
It’s the most visited country in the world with more than 100 million people enticed to France each year by the culture, the food, art, history and so much more. So, is it worth bringing your disc golf bag to the home of brie and baguettes?
Gallery
Why Visit?
France has a seductive charm over anyone travelling to her shores. The mystic of Paris, the city of love, to the famous wine regions of Bordeaux & Champagne, the glamourous French Riviera or the skiing villages and high mountains of the French Alps and the Pyranees. Its special allure means you'll want to visit France at least once in your life. It offers so much for the art lovers with famous galleries like the Musée d'Orsay or the Louvre and gives the curious a chance to see for themselves the famous monuments like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. The French joie de vivre is on full display for visitors - even if its from the simple pleasure of a great coffee and a perfect buttery croissant while watching the world go by.
So where does disc golf factor into this French connection? It gives you a chance to escape the hordes of tourists, to see the real France and to experience a different part of French culture. Disc golf is a growing sport in France and might not have the pulling power of rugby union, football or cycling. But the French love their sports, and they’re never a nation to shy away from different or niche games that stir their competitive spirit.
Things to Do
Capital city Paris is a tourism mecca and you won’t want to miss it. What you do here depends entirely on your travel stamina for history, monuments, museums, churches and walking. Sometimes you just need to pull up a front row pew in one of the bistros that are literally everywhere, suck up the high cost of ordering a glass of wine, beer or a coffee and just people watch. Venture up the Eiffel Tower or take a cruise along the Seine River to get your bearings and plan out your days in this exciting city. Some of the highlights in a trip to France could include hitting the wine regions like Bordeaux then heading to the surf and beach town of Biarritz. Also on the western side of France, if you love theatrical live theme park shows, Puy du Fou in Les Epesses is a giant arena where there's chariot racing, viking fights and stunts on a massive scale. Very busy in summer with long queues. Down on the Mediterranean coast is France’s oldest town, Marseille with its famous old port and artisan shops. The top disc golf course in France, Charleval is not far from here. If you are cashed up and want to experience a more year round temperate climate, try the French Riviera with towns like Nice and Toulon. And if you’re really feeling flush, venture over into the super-wealthy principality of Monaco where it’s easy to see why it’s unlikely to have a disc golf course there any time soon with barely enough room to race Formula 1 cars through the area each year.
The chocolate box alpine town of Annecy is worth a visit in summer for the cobbled streets, winding canals and colourful houses. Then carry on through to Chamonix with great hiking, mountain biking and a lively town beside Mount Blanc. And 3.5 hours from Paris is the famous Mont Saint Michel, the striking medieval tidal island or just out of the capital you can experience the grandeur of the Palace of Versailles. This sprawling and opulent chateaux was home to French kings Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI.
Where to Play
Out of Paris is Jablines disc golf that ranks in France’s top three courses. It is also reachable by public transport going to Disneyland Paris first by train and then a bus drops you right outside the gate. If you’re diving via Calais to cross the English Channel over into the United Kingdom then you might want to try Leivin disc golf that gets a lot of reviewers saying it was one of their favourite in Europe. If art is your thing, there is a satellite museum of the famous Louvre in Lens, that has rotating famous works in it and is not far from this course. If you are down south in Marseilles, there is the top course of Charleval and then carry on further south towards the independent principality of Andorra to play Base departmental de Bessilles disc golf course in Montagnac that gets a lot of rave reviews online.
North of Biarritz on the Atlantic coast is France’s second best course, Forty Pignes at the seaside resort of Mimizan. A short course but popular and enjoyed by most who have reviewed it. This coast is less touristed than other parts of the country and if you carry on further north from Mimizan you get to Carcans and the Bombannes Les Pignasses disc golf course. The description says ‘difficile de retrouver le disc’ and you don’t need to understand French to get the gist of this course! In the famous racing town of Le Mans is the Arche de la Nature disc golf course with 54 holes! The town, 200km (124 miles) southwest of Paris is famous for the annual 24 hour endurance car racing event. Apparently while you play you can hear vehicles using the famous circuit in Le Mans. In the small mountain village of Landry in the French Alps, you can play a short course on a ski resort, Peisey-Vallandry disc golf. It’s short but has some epic views being in the mountains.
