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
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
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 TH-cam 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
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
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.
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"
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 )
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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...
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?
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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
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
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".)
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
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 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
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.
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.
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 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)
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.
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.
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.
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!
Ive been to the Spanish version and I think its just ok, wouldnt repeat the visit unless major updates. Its better to make a visit to the close city of Toledo and see real history. I was also very disgusted by the use of animals on shows, they even set a horse on fire during one which I believe is trully unecessary and pottentially dangerous and stressfull for the poor animal. While I think that the show technology was very good the storytelling was poor, too stereotyped sometimes even forcing history to fit into the storyline in an unnecesary patriotic way. Still the walkthrough "Allende la Mar Oceana" was my favourite, it tells the story of Colon and their journey to America in a very inmersive way the floor moves as you enter the ship and water pours, with actors here and there.. More of that would be awesome on the future but please no more animal exploitation on any theme park
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.
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 !
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 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?
thank you - cool video, very interesting - i'm deffo going there after ssing this, i only got here thanks to a random tiktok of the guys ringing the bells!
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.
I know we Americans have conflicted feelings about the French, them damn frog eaters, but. . god bless 'em for the artsy stuff they come up with. This is neat as hell.
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 had no idea it existed so thank you for this! So interesting
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.
What no France theme park built around the history of stinky cheese I am offended
@@jonnym4670 That's Roquefortworld. Ironically, due to copyright concerns, their mascot is not a mouse. : )
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
i'm french and visited it in 2014 it was absolutely amazing and i'm sure it has so many upgrades now
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
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 TH-cam 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
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
The park supplies translator devices. When I visited 15 years ago they were radio receivers. Now it's probably a app.
There's live translation available on your phone through the app, don't miss it!
Just learn Frenchs smh
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.
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"
I loved seeing someone try to explain Puy Du Fou to people who’ve never heard of it 🤣
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 )
Ne pas oublier. Ce foutu génocide est trop souvent mis sous le tapis...
et dire que des gauchistes disent encore que le massacre des vendéens n'a jamais existé
More countries should have something like this honestly.
There is a puy du fou in spain and i think they are planning to build one in England
@@gaspardcaux5294 And one in The Netherlands
Honestly, I'm not really surprised something like this spawned out of France rather than anywhere else. They're definitely here for the drama lol
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
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.
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.
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?
It is amazing trust me
Can't help for the money but they have headphones with traductions
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.
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.
Yep, i try audio at the beginning of our visit, after that u rather use subs and after that... i just enjoy the shows at French.
I went there today! SO underrated! Five Stars!
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...
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?
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.
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
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!
* Sees light show *
I wanna go here.
* Later on in the video *
Uhh...dang it.
My opinion is this looks like such a fantastic place and I want to visit now! Great video!
This was amazing never know this excited and needed this in my life! Thanks for showing this to us! your also an excellent story teller.
I only knew of Puy du Fou because of iets representation at De Efteling. Amazing video, very detailed
This sounds like the kind of theme park I would love! The level of immersion achieved here is incredible. Well done video!
Just wanted to let you know you deserve a lottttt more subs than you currently have, I’ll look eagerly for the 1 million sub video 🎉🎉
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
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.
This park is insane...now compare this to Disney Studios, what an embarrassment for the Disney corporation.
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
Seems similar to Ren faires but French history! Very cool concept and amazing scale!
I was there when I was little and even got the vip experience, so glad that there’s content about this unforgettable place
Never heard of this place but would love to visit! Thanks for sharing such a gem of a place 😊
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
A theme park fan all my life. I first learned of this incredible place today. Great stuff. Thanks
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".)
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.
Love your videos! Very high quality content
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
found ur channel yesterday and have been binging !! i love these so much
Isn’t this the company that asked savills (the British estate agent) to find a plot of land for a theme park in Britan?
Thank you for this! We are super excited since this will be coming to our area ! ❤ This is wonderful to see!
Considering English Puy Du Fou Was announced about a month back, i wonder how Different it will be compared with the french and Spanish versions
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've never heard of this place but it looks so cool! You got a subscribe from me!
How does this only have around 800 likes
This is an amazing video for an amazing theme park
I get so excited to come in here and see you posted!! Already know it’s going to be a great one.
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
Why have I never heard about this? This is amazing!
I know people like it with out rides but honestly i think it would be better with them since the theming is so good
This is like a super renfaire
Amazing
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.
NGL, I was at first thinking “Who would go to a park without rides!” Me. I want to go and I don’t speak French.
They have headphones with translation in several foreign languages.
This looks like an absolutely amazing. God bless those keeping with the will to bring their dreams into reality.
wow this is 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.
They have headphones with traductions of the shows
Adding this place to my bucket list
Puy du fou is building this park 5 minutes from my house in East Tennessee. Scheduled to open in 2025.
Why not in Graceland ? Elvis viking, Elvis Knight. Elvis gladiator,, Elvis musketeer even whynot, Elvis singer.
We have one like this in the Netherlands but its wayyyyy less spectaculair
The background of how political the creator is/was, along with the visit to Putin is.... well *fucking concerning*
But the actual park seems amazing
I'm assuming CineScenie influenced Kynrin in County Durham? It seems very similar
Puy du fou created kynren but the show does not belong to them
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.
Jenny Nichols would love this and Evermore needs to pay attention. This looks amazing!
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.
How is it possible this is the first time im hearing about this?
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)
Would love for you to do a review video on The Sparticle Mystery or Wolfblood from CBBC. Found your Trapped video so funny 😅
I wish there was something like this in the US. It’s looks amazing.
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.
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.
That looks like an amazing time!
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.
Big French Ren Faire...
its the same scale as the disney holywood studio shows indian jones and the light camera action show. the very best bits of the backlot in disney.
Does anyone know what the quality of the animal treatment at this park is?
there were false accusations of mistreatment but their teams are actually very professional
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!
Ive been to the Spanish version and I think its just ok, wouldnt repeat the visit unless major updates. Its better to make a visit to the close city of Toledo and see real history. I was also very disgusted by the use of animals on shows, they even set a horse on fire during one which I believe is trully unecessary and pottentially dangerous and stressfull for the poor animal. While I think that the show technology was very good the storytelling was poor, too stereotyped sometimes even forcing history to fit into the storyline in an unnecesary patriotic way. Still the walkthrough "Allende la Mar Oceana" was my favourite, it tells the story of Colon and their journey to America in a very inmersive way the floor moves as you enter the ship and water pours, with actors here and there.. More of that would be awesome on the future but please no more animal exploitation on any theme park
Guess what i went here yesterday the bird show was mind-blowing
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.
Oh myyy i want to visit it someday!!!
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 !
This them park look so sick I would love to go to this 🤘🤘🤘🤘
I live near this place and it s amazing place i m sure if you want to go you won t disapointed.
Also Ghibli Park has no rides
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 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?
Great humour in your videos. Life is laughably ironic. Let’s go with it. How far does this rabbit hole of madness descend?
Place looks cool. Even if i coundlt understand jack i think it would still be really fun and pretty.
great video
Main complaint? Too French. From an Englishman. That gave him the shitty headphones. lol.
thank you - cool video, very interesting - i'm deffo going there after ssing this, i only got here thanks to a random tiktok of the guys ringing the bells!
They should get a rmc hybrid
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.
neat
PUY DU FOU PUY DU FOU PUY DU FOU
woah.
This is great to see after the Paris olympics opening ceremony garbage.
Vikings didn't have horns on their helmet !!!!😛
I know we Americans have conflicted feelings about the French, them damn frog eaters, but. . god bless 'em for the artsy stuff they come up with. This is neat as hell.