This is a park that I've barely seen any English language content online about ever, so I thought I'd take a go at covering it. It's definitely super hard to get all the details correct when everything's in another language. Stay tuned for more from the weird world of theme parks coming in the future!
I’ve never heard of this park, but I’m so impressed with the scale and detail of all of these shows! If you need further help translating French content like this, feel free to reach out!
I just stumbled on Puy du Fou, even though I know France very well. Certainly, they do no outreach outside of Europe. While it features European history, I think Americans would still be interested. Will try to go during my next trip.
the dramatic theatre kid within me is losing my mind at simply seeing footage of all these shows, i can't imagine how awesome it'd be to watch these in person
As a french guy who has been to Puy Du Fou many times I think that what makes the park so charming is the atmosphere. Like how the medieval town is actually a real marketplace where you can go inside the stores and buy hand-crafted items from metal and leather workers, stone sculptors, etc. Also, in the coliseum, before the show starts, the crowd is split into 2 rival groups (romans and gauls) and actors keep hyping us up, it's actually very entertaining and actually serves a purpose in the story. In my opinion it's the best show because you actually feel like you're an actor in this one as they get you involved throughout Great video ! ⭐
Awesome to see someone on RU-vid finally covering Le Grand Parc at Puy Du Fou! I've been to this park a few times over the years and in my opinion it offers the best, most immersive theme park experience in the world. Strong recommendation if you like live shows
Fun fact about the Vikings - though odd, most converted to Christianity & settled down after years of raiding monasteries & churches in Britain. They even had a phrase for it "Christ on land, Thor at sea"
As someone who doesn't really enjoy rides and loves history, Puy Du Fou really appeals to me. As a kid, I loved my family's trips to places like Colonial Williamsburg, Old Sturbridge Village, and even some bigger Renaissance Festivals. There's just something about being in a large immersive space. Sadly, I'm American and don't know French, so I'll probably never get to go to Puy Du Fou and we don't really have anything in that midpoint between Disney parks and living history on this continent.
The Puy du Fou company is actually working with the Cherokee Nation to create one of their giant shows for a new entertainment and retail complex, "The 407: Gaeway to Adventure", near the Smokey Mountains of Tenessee! So you might not get the full efect but you can see their technical knowledge and experience at work soon!
If this place really grabs you, plan a trip, thats what im gonna do, if i had known this existed earlier in life you can bet id be either try and get a job over there or something similar, this looks like the coolest place on the planet where you can see ancient stuff in real time
Probably the best theme park shows in the world, especially the walkthroughs (WWI and the comte de Laperouse boat) and live action, in particular the gladiators, the vikings, the knights and "le mime et l'étoile " which is a real masterpiece of SFX, acting and emotion
22:26 Sadly in 1794 a Turreau's "infernal column" of murderers actually burned the castle of Puy du Fou and killed people in the little city where the park is located. In Vendée, it's a real traumatism, with the fact that we have a big quantity of details about the number of deaths, the way it happens...
Massacres dans la Vendée de l'époque c'est à dire le département actuel + le pays de Retz ( sud est de la Loire Atlantique ) + le pays Bressuirais ( Nord Ouest des Deux Sèvres ) + les Mauges ( Sud Ouest du Maine et Loire )
Puy du Fou is such an epic park! I've been there a couple times while on holiday in the Vendée as a kid. Even as an English person who only knew very basic French, the shows and sets just felt so immersive and iconic to me. When I saw the thumbnail of this video on my home page, I knew immediately that I had to click it lol.
Me at the start: How can this theme park possibly work with no rides? Me at the end: This might be the greatest theme park ever built and I must visit it immediately.
not everyone likes thrill rides (myself included) i was always frustrated when i visited disneyland paris, asterix park and port aventura because i couldn't do ANYTHING... le puy du fou is the most beautiful alternative !
I would love to see more theme parks that have no rides. Knowing you could just go, no worries about who can handle what kinds of rides, or kids being too short to ride.
If you think there are no lines (queues), you may not have been when it's very busy. We were there at the beginning of August and we queued for 45 minutes to try to get into les oiseaux fantomes and still didn't get in, and had to queue for at least 30 minutes for all of the big shows. People were queuing for over an hour to get in the gladiator show. The app worked fine for us but used the subtitles rather than audio. But my children enjoyed it without that and without knowing any French. Also the in-park GPS function of the app was pretty great.
i went there this summer, we took the pass emotion which allowed to short cut the lines and get the best seats and even when the regular pass were full, we always managed to bypass the rope because the pass emotion had still some/plenty seats opened.....in 2 days we managed to avoid to be blocked by the rope 4 times and saved some hours and standing still with kids (especially in hot summer)
I literally started tearing up just watching some of these clips, these attractions are BEAUTIFUL and absolute pinnacles of visual art. I'm not sure even Disney tops this for sheer spectacle. On another hand, as soon as you said "Reign of Terror" I was like "oh noooo" 😂 Still, I've been dying to visit France for years (I live in the US) and this definitely isn't helping me get over it.
Great video! I'm French and Puy du Fou is now my favorite theme park! ❤ Great shows, great theming, great prices, great hotels and great employees. I've been there 5 times since 2002 and I've stayed 2 times in La Villa Gallo-Romaine. ❤ So long Disneyland Paris...
I almost never comment but I was shocked by this video getting far fewer views and likes it deserves! I’m really glad this introduced me to your channel.
Really want to visit this park! France seems to have a weakness for strange parks, many years ago, I visited Futuroscope and while they have added rides in the last few years, back then, it was pretty much only shows and amazing landscaping. And pretty much all the shows being films. Another part which really fascinates me about Puy du fou are the hotels, they are amazingly well themed, even the rooms themselves, much more so than any Disney hotel. Maybe you could make another videos about them?
Yo this looks absolutely epic. My mom went to a french emersion school as a kid, but then never used French again and lost most of it. In an alternate universe, maybe she'd still know it and we'd have the money to go to this super epic looking park with her as my guide. We can dream, right?
Amazing coverage of this completely unique park! I have been dreaming of going for a long time, and I'll be in France later this year, so hopefully I can swing it. I really appreciate such concise, thorough explanations of just what makes Puy du Fou so special (and strange). It has me itching to go even more now. Keep up the good work, your content is amazing!
Yes, the "Nordman" (Viking) converted to Christianity and King Raoul of France gave a duchy to the Viking Rollon (later Robert) in 912 A.D. and the region of Normandy was subsequently created (Nord-man if you break down the region's name). from France
Thank you very much for this reaaally good, accurate and complete video. I'm a french guy who loves Puy du Fou as a real passion, I have the chance to go there every year since 2012 and I will never get bored of it. For "Le Chemin de la Mémoire" yes, it dated back to 1992 so it became a little... outmoded.. and a little... creepy 😅New PdF creations every year are now wayyy fresher For the controversy with French historians : in reality, people at Puy du Fou claim to be artists, and not historians. Even if it is a theme park on french "history", the objective is to narrate it with a form of poetry and to draw its inspiration from people's collective imaginary, like for example, horns on vikings helmets, etc. Historians who criticize a kind of "distortion" of the history just dont understand the goal of the park. Well I'm really happy to see that PdF begins to be known around the world more and more. Actually it is the 1st time I see a video on it made by someone from another country, and when it's complete such as this, it is a real pleasure. Thaank youu Sorry if I made mistakes, my english should be good but it's not perfect, and I didnt use a translator :) have a great day and thx again
Mon père a voulu me faire tester le chemin de la mémoire quand j'avais 7 ans sans savoir de quoi parler l'attraction ... ça m'a traumatisé 😂 j'était bien contente quand ça a été remplacé par les amoureux de verdun
Holy moly, under 1000 likes and under 100 comments. This is seriously one of the most interesting vids (that isn’t a million years long) in ages. Keep up the great work.
Ty so much for covering this!! I’ve had an obsession with this park and the one from Spain for years! I’ve seen videos from Spain since I speak Spanish as a native language but for the original French park I’m unfortunately ignorant in that language
Ive been twice and it is fantastic. The scale of the shows is hard to believe - especially the evening show. As mentioned above - the hotels are like no other and reasonably priced, as is the park
I think if Disney's America theme park concept had taken a similar approach to Puy Du Fou, the idea may have been recieved a lot better. A series of stage shows that give patrons a window into history is a bit more tactful than taking events like the American Civil War and Industrial Revolution and turning them in to theme park rides and giving guests a first hand experience in "what it was like to be a slave."
If you want a theme park based on History, don't leave it to Disney 🤣 Puy du Fou was built by passionate and local people and grew slowly before becoming successfull... if you leave it to big corporations you will have plastic woke trash.
as a younger theme park lover i'm soo happy to learn about this, and i'm honestly shocked i hadn't heard about it before !! this is so impressive i am JOYOUSSSS over this
In the beginning, thats not really a medieval castle, but a renaissance manor. (In german, we have an extra word, that describes a "castle" which is only for representation and has no defenses: "Schloss".)
Yess definitely go when you can, I got back two days ago and I go once every year for about 5 years, also if you do go, I recommend the walk-throughs, the vikings, Mousquetaires de Richelieu, LA mime et l'étoile and les noces du feu (it's a night show but if you're willing to stay that long, it's amazing AND free) actually I just recommend them all they're all amazing
As a lover of history with a focus on DRESS history, I *love* the look of this park, and wish I could go and visit myself. My French is rusty to nonexistant though, so it might be hard, especially with the translator supposedly being a bit on the... Lacking side, but I'd still love to see it.
I LOVE PUY DU FOU. i go there every year,i have done for years, its INSANELY good, istg and the new show, la mime et l'etoile, is BRILLIANT,disney aint got nothing on puy du fou 550/10, would reccomend
anyway, when i was younger and the economy was kinder, my family would often go on holidays to france, and, if we got to go to puy du fou, it was a good holiday. we used to get these little radios that came with dubbed tracks of most of the shows, but they would sometimes become desynchronised with the performance. by the last year we went, eight or so years ago (puy du fou is a dog-free location, and We Got A Dog), we didn't bother with the translations. you can get enough of the story from the english maps and context we saw the night show once in my memory. i remember a guy introducing himself as 'jaques', horses through the water, and a spinning castle going from new to old and back again. i was asleep for most of it. my family's favourite shows are the vikings and the ballet of the birds, which i believe has been renamed a few times watching the gladiators in this video, i was surprised at the lack of blood (and also the boat. again, i have not been recently, and, the last time we did, it was mostly to enjoy the theming and a few of our favourite shows). like, i remember so many wounds. my parents had to tell me that they had bags of fake blood hidden in their costumes. i can't imagine how much of a pain it was to launder all of that. the best part of this park is seeing craftspeople work in the village, and buying some of their stuff. it's just all so skillful and cool. what you cited as detractors were, to me, positives. i was thinking "yeah, no, that's a positive, dude," the whole way through. until you dropped that the founder is. like. a french nigel farage
I learned about this park a few years ago. I was looking up some itineries in France for work and spotted the name Puy du Fou on the map and I was curious about it.
Thanks, I went there because of this video! As a dutchman this park was certainly a unique, epic and confusing experience. Just went there this summer and I couldn't believe how many people there were. At the end I definitively felt the katholic and nationalistic portrayal of things. Still, it was great and I will renember it fondly (though it is costly)
Thank you for taking the time to do an in depth walk through of the parks' features. It looks like a wonderful place to visit. I would like to point out that Villiers' showing that Christianity was interwoven into the very fabric of everyday lives of citizens is not in the least political. It's the actual history. It is why thousands of citizens of the Vandee died. For they refused to accept the Revolutions' desire to substitute government, and eliminate God, as the Supreme head of all things. And, yes there have been many conversions throughout history of members of an invading army converting to Christianity, after learning what it truly is.
I went to this park as a teenager, about 6 years ago, before learning all the shitty stuff about the owners being crazy-ass religious fundamentalists. And I honestly, even then, I thought it was kinda mid :/ The shows were not bad per-say, but they all felt kinda messy and underwhelming. They consisted mostly in just a bunch of -exploited and underpaid- comedians running around wearing horrible costumes on a very impressive stages, occasionally delivering incredibly cheesy dialogues to try and tie it all in a light storyline. You could clearly tell that they were all doing their own little scripted routine (which I shouldn't be noticing) but scattered across the stage to make you feel like a lot is happening. I didn't really knew where to look at most of the time, while there was actually nothing much going on. All the shows rely on one "Wow Element" (such as the Viking ship coming out of lake or the moving castle tower) and everything around that is just filler. It was just very messy and lacked a feeling of a coherent whole. (and I can't stress enough how hideous several of these costumes looked.) And between these shows, the theming in the park is very light, when not downright inexistent, which was also rather disappointing. There are a few little villages scattered through, they were cute but nothing out of the ordinary for a European (except for the "An 1000" one which looked like a cheap historical re-enactment camp). But apart from that most of the park is just dirt road through a forest. Even though I usually enjoy a stroll through the woods, I usually prefer going to an actual forest near me for free instead of loosing 25 bucks to a far-right group for it. Because yes, I also have to address the elephant in the room: the ideology. I was 17 when I went there, totally oblivious of the park's history, and even then I was able to tell something was off. The park clearly had an agenda. Despite being advertised as a Historical Theme Park, all of the shows, were actually more about Catholic folklore (which wouldn't be a problem by itself if the park was being honest about it). the Historical depictions were full of weird choices and inaccuracies that even as high-schooler I was able to see; for example here are some of the things you can "learn" about History in this park: Johann of Arc won thanks to her magic spear given by Saint Michael himself, the Viking raids were stopped by a resurrected Saint walking on water, or (my favourite one) the Gauls wanted to become Christian, but the Romans disagreed (that one is wild if you know history a bit). Once I noticed that, the park overall had a strange vibe that didn't put me at ease. After my initial disappointment, I had a little bit uncomfortable visit. After this strange experience I went back home and did some research about it. That's when I find out that the park was created and is still owned by a far-right politician family, the DeVilliers. who are about the worst type of politicians you can imagine. They believe in the Great Replacement theory, the LGBT lobby coming for your children, all of the usual bullshit; they're anti-immigration, anti-Muslims, anti-Gay Rights, anti-feminist, anti-abortion, anti-vax... you name it, they got it. But it goes further than this, the DeVilliers are also Monarchists, they actually believe that we should abandon Democracy to go back to religious Monarchy. Which -to put it lightly, is something I disagree with- but explained the very negative and Manichean depiction of the Revolution is several of the attractions. And I also found a lot of articles and even columns written by many renowned historians that condemned this park. What the park is doing is not just strange artistic choices, it is downright historical revisionism to push on their disgusting political agenda, with a reactionary, ultra-nationalist vision of History centred only around Catholicism to an unsuspecting audience (since it is advertised as Historical Theme Park). There are also several rumours of animals being mistreated. I don't want to talk to much about it since they are mostly just rumours, even if they are coming from former park employees, there are quite a few of them, and I don't think the park has ever even denied them. So in a conclusion, I would not recommend going to this place (if this wasn't clear lmao). Although you probably won't have a bad day there, it's frankly not that great, and definitely not worth giving your money to these horrible people. If you want a unique French Theme Park, I would recommend Park Asterix or The Futuroscope instead.
In most theme parks, you queue for 20 or 30 minutes to enjoy a 6 minute ride. In the Puy du Fou you queue for 6 minutes to watch a 30 to 45 minute show... and they are repeated at different times so that you can fit them all in. Of course there is a Christian element - the events depicted were driven and shaped by religion. Imagine trying to enact the Crusades while leaving out religion!! History 6 Entertainment 9 Go and enjoy spectacular ENTERTAINMENT!! I recommend children be at least 7 years of age, but preferably above, especially for the Cinéscénie, which takes place after dark, and finishes after midnight. Be prepared to visit over more than one day.
As a french Disneyland fan this park is insane and I might like it more that Disney, just because the immersion is unmatched. I love that it's not targeted to young children at all. I don't understand why it should be. Families with very young children have many alternatives. And it makes it stand out from competitors. I also love that the theme is precise. It helps the immersion a lot. I wouldn't want a show themed in another country for example. When you step foot in this park, you truly embark on a time travelling journey and I think that's epic 🥰 They have other projects in other european countries to tell other stories.
Can you potentially do a deep dive on the Spanish version?? I frankly don't care if I do not speak French or fluent Spanish but I would love to visit these... even if the story is a bit one sided and skewed.
Thank you for this video, it is very informative ! However, I would like to clarify some things. First, about the "frenchness", is actually the whole purpose of this park and the french themes are really useful to know more about French history for the French people, but I'm really sorry to hear that the translation is quite poor ; it would be a great idea to offer a flyer on the chronology of the shows so that non-French speakers could understand more what's going on ! Moreover, christianity is a big part of French history and everything is based on realistic events, from the persecution of the christians by Docletian to the conversion of the Vikings (who were given a land in France in 911 called "Normandie") and the faith of the French soldiers in Verdun. And about the creepy part, the reign of Terror in France killed many people, especially in Vendée, and this park and his creator taking place and coming from Vendée, this part of history is the heart of the project. Actually, the "Cinéscenie" is mainly focused on the wars of Vendée. And last, but not least, I think that adding rides would kill the entire purpose of this show: recreating history as spectacular and as realistic as possible, and being a theatre-kind of storytelling. Well, that's all for me ! ;) Have a good day !
I have never heard of this place and I'm oddly annoyed that I haven't. I seriously would love to go there. Unless I'm missing the mark, it sounds like there's a lot you can get out of it without knowing French at all. Plus I'm a sucker for horse performances. Yeah you said it's obviously intended for a French crowd, but it looks like the shows still tell a lot without knowing language or history.
As a French that went to Puy du Fou. I agree with all the shows showing a good side of a monarchist/ catholic France. it’s what De Villiers represent in French politic.. it’s such a small number of pple who think like this that French pple don’t even see it as such. Most French ppl think it’s because the Park is in « Vendée » the region who has been the most royalist/ catholic throughout French history. Good thing that this kind of propaganda doesn’t really work as the monarchy is still widly seen negatively in France, except in Puy du Fou.
I know you never been here but I would like to hear your take on Puy du Fou in Spain I wonder what's there ? - Rome - Visigothic - Umayyad Caliphate - Crown of Castile - Habsburg Spain with Charles V - Spanish Republic - current Spain plus the one in China wonder what will they have?
You can have translation easily thats why i don t understand your comment, anyway the story are very basic, its just for the show. Nothing to do with History, just a sort of.. If a french man visits disneyland he does not need any translation. Same in puy du fou. Only le panache need some explanations. In a way french history is related to world history, king arthur, jeanne d arc, the vikings, roman arena, verdun and the first world war etc.. Many people in france are not happy about ideology in some show, but nothing to do with nazisme or communisme, if your are not french its not your problem, it is just a show
It've seen a few documentary about it they are very loved and well cared for. They have another park (rarely open to public) just for the animals, a bit like a zoo but with more space for them. They also have their own vet clinic and lots of professional to take care of them. and train them until they are fully ready to go. They show one bird that didn't want to perform they never forced it and just let him chill all day long!
I can understand why there's only French from the location. To the north: France. To the east: France. To the south: France. Well, but not even Spanish, but Catalan (...) and to the west: L'Océan. Donc Français 21:50 I'd say Path. Path of Memories.
Just watched Jenny Nicholson’s latest Patreon video about a return to Evermore (they have not gotten better) and this was a great palate cleanser about a ride less theme park done right.
I really liked the authenticity and focus on local history and tradition when I visited 10 years ago. That's what makes Puy de Fou special in the first place and not another generic clone of Disneyland. The language barrier was a bit of a nuisance, though. I'm going this year so I will see thr quality of thr translation.
I went there in 2017. It is by far the most remarkable theme park I have ever seen. Pure magic! I am not French, it is staggeringly good. Why shouldn't the park promote Catholicism since it is the foundational religion of Europe?!
The park basically promotes a far right agenda and the main issue is most people just aren't aware and educated enough to understand what they see. Also claiming catholicism is the " foundational religion of Europe " is one of the stupidest thing I've read so far.
Our whole popculture promotes far left agenda. Especially Disney, Netflix, etc. Still people watch their shows if they show quality and enjoy them. Catholics go to Disneyland. I get if it's not for you but why does it bother you that one theme park focuses on promoting christianity and not neo-marxism or gender ideology. Freedom of expression? Libérte? This region was also really hurt by French revolution, a huge g*nocide is rugged under the table and being censored in schools and historical debates. Keeping in touch with local history is what makes Puy de Fou unique.@@bendu49100
@@bendu49100Christianity is one of the foundations of western civilization. Christianity for example focused more on individuality and less on the collective which ironically allowed for development of "progressive" ideologies of today. Which would be impossible in China for example. Christianity, Roman law, Greek law and many more shaped our civilization. But denying the vital role of christianity is just historical revisionism. Puy de Fou may focus too much on that aspect in your opinion but why is that wrong?
