Page 227 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

ENTER T AINMENT IN PROVENCE  225

Marseille is the centre of
theatre in Provence and boasts
one of France’s top theatrical
companies, the Théâtre
National de la Criée. Various
smaller companies stage
innovative plays, many of which
end up in Paris. Avignon is
also famous for its Théâtre des
Carmes, the main venue for the
Festival d’Avignon (see p229).
There is also a “fringe” festival,
the Avignon Le Off, with
its own directors and box office.
Spectator Sports The Open Tennis Championships in Monte-Carlo
With its superb weather and
glamorous reputation, the to highly original and powerful factory, is a popular venue
regions of Provence and the Côte dance productions. for experimental performance
d’Azur are ideal venues for some The National Ballet Company and music.
of France’s top sporting events. is based at the Ecole de Danse The new Centre Choré­
The gruelling Tour de France in Marseille. Companies such graphique National in
passes through the area each as the Bernardines sometimes Aix-en-Provence is an
July, while the Monte-Carlo and take their productions to Paris, exciting addition to the
Nice tennis tournaments attract while La Friche La Belle de Provençal dance scene.
the best players. The Grand Prix Mai, located in an old tobacco
de Monaco (see p36) is one of Gambling
the highlights of the Formula 1
motor-racing season, and horse- The French Riviera is famed
racing enthusiasts can visit the for its opulent casinos. If
Hippodrome de la Côte d’Azur you are 18 and over you can
track at Cagnes-sur-Mer between play in most resorts. Monaco
December and March. has the coast’s most popular
Provence boasts two of the casino – Le Casino – where
top soccer teams in France – you have to pay an entrance
Olympique de Marseille and fee and show an ID card
AS Monaco FC, known as the before you can start gambling.
millionaires’ club. Rugby is also Other casinos worth visiting
popular in Provence, with top- for architecture and
class clubs in Nice and Toulon. atmosphere are Cannes’
Casino Croisette and Casino
Ruhl in Nice. Even if you are
Dance
not a high-roller, there is
Marseille’s eclectic mixture of View over the harbour in Monaco to the always a dazzling array of
nationalities and styles has led glittering casino slot machines.
Bullfighting
The annual ferias, or bullfighting festivals, are always dramatic occasions.
The traditional bullfight of Provence is the course à la cocarde, which starts
with an abrivado when the bulls are chased through the town to the local
arena. The bull enters the ring with a red cocarde, or rosette, tied to its
horns, which the razeteurs, or matadors, try to snatch, providing riveting
but goreless entertainment. At the end of the season, the bullfighter
with the most rosettes receives fame and adulation, as well as cash.
Sometimes bullfights will end in death in the full-blooded Spanish-
style corrida, but this is usually only in the main arenas in Nîmes and
Arles (see p36), and it will always be advertised first. In one session there
are usually six bullfights, of which two may be advertised as mise à mort
(to the death).

Bullfighting poster for the 1992 Nîmes feria by Francis Bacon