subject: Your Successful Outdoor Corporate Event In France [print this page] Many companies and businesses decide to host their corporate events in France and prefer to do so during the pleasant summer months. Here are some useful tips about using the great French outdoors to the maximum if you are planning your keynote corporate event in France.
Planning for the summer
You'll agree that having an outside corporate event is special, no matter whether it's on a hotel lawn, at a golf course, in the gardens of a stately home or by the side of a swimming pool. The best advice is to use the skills of a local French events management expert to ensure that little is left to chance.
Let's start by choosing the geographic location and the intended time of year. Give your French Destination Management specialist as much information about your plans and expectations so that he/she can decide where, when and even if such an event should take place.
You need to take into account France's five climatic regions, each of which have their own advantages and limitations:
1. Oceanic "" along the North and West coasts - Cool summers but slightly warmer than in Britain. Frequent rainfall, around 180 days a year.
2. Semi-oceanic "" the parallel 'band' that's further inland "" Less rainfall than the oceanic zone, particularly in summer and is generally hotter.
3. Continental "" roughly the area between Belgium/Germany/Switzerland and the mountains in the centre - Generally drier and hotter than Western France. Summers are significantly hotter, with more stable weather.
4. Mountain "" in the central South and South-East areas - Cooler summers with a tendency for a frequent and sudden onset of cloud towards midday.
5. Mediterranean "" along the Southern coast in a zone about 20 to 60 km wide - Characterized by hot, dry summers
Anticipating sun and rainfall
Your events management expert in France will help to guide you to the cities and areas that are best suited to the kind of corporate event you have in mind. Notice the difference between these handfuls of cities during July:
As you travel further South in France, you have a greater guarantee that the Summer weather will be stable, sunny and rain-free.
Be prepared with bad-weather back-up
Weather in France can be unpredictable so it's just smart planning to be prepared for too much heat or unexpected rain. If you are in an open space, it may be wise to choose the gardens of a hotel rather than a park, so that there is adjacent indoor space available. Alternatively Alcep Travel & Events can arrange the set-up of a portable pavilion to provide instant protection for guests, complete with portable air conditioners. Any event based on soft ground will require giving advice about footwear "" ladies, no stiletto heels!
The local knowledge of your French DMC
One of the best ways to plan a corporate event in France is to pick the brains of a local and experienced events management agency (called DMCs or Destination Management Companies). As is the case with all professional French DMCs, Alcep will always inspect a site before recommending it to clients. Knowing a location will effect decisions such as electricity supply, lighting, shade, seating requirements and general site layout. It will help you to get an accurate price quotation and avoid many of the 'hidden extras'.
What about food and catering?
Eating outside, 'al fresco', is a great occasion for more informal meals and for a relaxed atmosphere where people can get to know each other better. You can also opt for disposable flatware and cutlery that are easy to clean up and dispose. At Alcep we often recommend having a 'themed meal' that's suited to a particular region of France, with specially selected starters, main courses and desserts of that region? Many visitors find it great fun to have a local Wine Tasting event together with 'Petanque' competition among guests (the traditional French bowls game).
Don't forget that intelligent 'menu planning' is part of the whole management process: adapting the food to the nationalities of the visitors. We have found that certain foods are on the 'no-no' list: duck for Americans, all-vegetable dishes for Indians, pasta starters for Italians and snails and foie gras for the Chinese.
Follow Alcep's advice to some great French locations
Alcep Travel & Events has a list of great places around France where you can hold an amazing outdoor corporate event. We offer here a few titbits: In the North, having cocktails in the moat of the Dinan medieval castle in Brittany is an amazing experience. In the Paris region there's so much to do. Some suggestions are using the gardens of the Palace of Versailles; arranging evening cocktails in the garden facing the Vaux le Vicomte castle, illuminated with 1000 candles and having live musicians playing; or enjoying the beauty of the Monet Garden at Giverny. In the South of France, a favourite place for picnics is on Saint Marguerite Island that faces Cannes.
Make your French trip special
There's no question that France is a special destination, as over 80+ million visitors prove each year. Your chances of a successful corporate event in France depend on the detailed planning you undertake plus your connection to an experienced and knowledgably French DMC like Alcep Travel & Events.
