Travelling to France

To contact the Irish Embassy - www.embassyofireland.fr

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, T.D., announced that a temporary Irish consulate would operate in Bordeaux.  The consulate is one element in the comprehensive plan to provide consular assistance for the thousands of Irish citizens travelling to France for the Rugby World Cup in September.

Minister Ahern said: "As part of my commitment to providing a first class consular service to Irish fans attending major sporting events abroad, I am pleased to announce the opening of a temporary consulate in Bordeaux from September 7-17.  This will ensure that fans attending Ireland's World Cup matches in that city against Namibia and Georgia on September 9 and 15 will have access to a wide range of consular services.  Our Embassy in Paris will also be available on a 24-hour basis to assist Irish fans attending the matches against France and Argentina on September 21 and 30 as well as any additional matches involving Ireland."

The Minister continued: "In addition to this consular response, the Embassy in Paris is organising a number of public events to celebrate Ireland's participation in the World Cup.  These include: a concert in the Rugby Village in Bordeaux on September 15, a visit by the Irish naval vessel L.E. Eithne to Bordeaux on September 15 and 16, and an open day at the recently restored Embassy of Ireland in Paris on September 22."

Travel Guide

The Off Field Guide is brought to you courtesy of The Purple Guide - Publisher of the official Rugby World Cup Travel Guide.

The Purple Guide has produced the Official Rugby World Cup 2007 Travel Guide, which is an invaluable source of information for those planning to travel to France in September and October to cheer on their national team.

For more information and to purchase your copy visit http://www.rugbyworldcup2007guide.com/

Paris

Paris has two stadiums: Stade de France® and Parc des Princes. Stade de France® is actually located in the city of Saint-Denis, just outside the northern périphérique. The smaller Parc des Princes is located inside the périphérique in south-west Paris near the Bois de Boulogne.

Stade de France®. will be hosting the most important matches of Rugby World Cup 2007. This stadium holds a special place in French hearts for it was here that France won the coveted FIFA World Cup and it’s passionately hoped by French fans that the magic will be repeated for ‘Les Bleus’ in 2007.

The tournament opens with France v Argentina on Friday 7th September, followed by what promises to be two of the tournaments most exciting pool games: England v South Africa on Friday 14th September, and France v Ireland on the following Friday. Pool C and Pool D Quarter Final battles will be staged at Stade de France® as will the Semi Finals and the thrilling Final on 20th October. A dozen lucky winners will be attending these exciting games courtesy of The Purple Guide.

Across the canal, on the north side of Stade de France® is ‘Village Saint-Denis Rugbycolor’, a festival hosted by the city of Saint-Denis. Here you will find beer gardens, restaurants, a giant screen broadcasting all the matches of Rugby World Cup 2007, street entertainment, free music concerts and fireworks. It will be open each weekend of the tournament and the word is Kasabian is playing.

In Paris, the party atmosphere will go on till the wee hours in the streets where rugby bars are located. The Irish will be sure to gather at Kitty O’Shea’s where owner Brian Loughney is well-known in rugby circles and members of the Irish team have been spotted here. Purple favourites are Le Sous Bock, near Les Halles, where owner and former rugby champion Frédéric Beurq has redecorated his bar in team colours. At Au Metro, Jean-Pierre Mourin who hails from rugby country in the French south-west has brought his passion to Paris. He’ll be keeping his bar open 24 hours during the semi-final and final games. Le Louis d’Or is located near the French stock exchange. Louis is a devoted Biarritz supporter and he closed the street to host a massive celebration when they won the French championship.

If you’ve had too much rugby and you’re interested in seeing the sights, the Louvre, Musee D’Orsay and Pompidou Centre among a long list of Paris’s fabulous museums and galleries. But, in France 2007, there’ll be no such thing as too much rugby.

Bordeaux

Bordeaux promises to be a favourite destination for the Irish who will be here in droves for two pool games. The city was one of the first in France to have its own rugby team so passion for the game runs high. Bordeaux is planning many activities for Rugby World Cup 2007 and since it is the centre of the wine trade, many of these events will involve wine, though beer will be flowing at the many Irish bars in the city. Our favourite is the Connemara, a smarter than average Irish bar with nine screens in six rooms, all showing a range of sports, including rugby league and Irish hurling. Bordeaux has several more Irish bars including Molly Malone, O'Rowlands and The Blarney Stone – details found in the Official Travel Guide.

The Stade Chaban-Delmas is named to honour Jacques Chaban-Delmas (1915-2000), the former Mayor of Bordeaux and Prime Minister of France. It has a capacity of only 35,000 and though primarily a football ground, it does stage several rugby games a year. France played their first international there in 1957, and various French and European cup games have graced the turf. With two games from Ireland and one from the Australians, the Chaban-Delmas will be home to some of the best rugby the ground has ever seen.
If you’re looking for bars and big screens go to either place de la Comédie or place de la Victoire, which has several bars, cafés and restaurants, and is one of the real nightlife hubs of the city. Place de la Bourse is the most beautiful spot in the city with its vast semi-circle of harmonious 18th century classical buildings that gaze out at the Garonne river.

There are traffic restrictions around the sides of the square, making it a peaceful place to be. Behind the square is the old royal marketplace, place du Parlement, filled with handsome facades and some great eating places. From here you can wander through some of the most atmospheric streets of old Bordeaux.

Cardiff

On the off chance that Ireland play in Cardiff we thought we would offer you some tips for there as well.

Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium is all the more enjoyable for being located in the centre, right in the heart of the city, just as rugby is right in the heart of the Welsh people. The stadium’s soaring ship-like structure can be seen from all over the city, and inside on match days the atmosphere is unbeatable. For 2007 Rugby World Cup the stadium will host three pool games and Quarter Final 2, where the All Blacks will take on the runner-up of the hotly contested pool D, either Ireland, France or Argentina.

Millennium Stadium took three years to build, and cost £150 million. The stadium has the biggest closing roof in the world, and a removable pitch to accommodate rock concerts and other large events. When it opened for 1999 Rugby World Cup, it proved itself a worthy successor to the beloved Cardiff Arms Park and is now the home of both the rugby and football national sides, with rock concerts staged out of season.

The city has been smartened up considerably in recent years, without losing any of its distinctive character. The lively mix of bars and restaurants in the newly redeveloped Cardiff Bay is unrecognisable from the drinking dens that existed here in the days when the harbour was full of ships being loaded with coal mined inland. You might be surprised to learn that Cardiff’s art gallery has the best collection of Impressionist paintings in Britain including works by Monet, Manet, Degas and Renoir. This superior collection of paintings was amassed by two Welsh spinster sisters, Gwendoline (1882-1951) and Margaret Davies (1884-1963) who are the subject of a special exhibition showing during the Rugby World Cup.

For the wives and girlfriends, the Purple Guide recommends shopping in Cardiff’s six glass-roofed arcades located east and west of St Mary Street. These were built so people could carry on shopping despite the wet Welsh weather. All are fascinating for you never know what you’re going to find. In the High Street Arcade there is a harp shop opposite a tattoo parlour, with a joke and novelty shop near the New York Deli, which serves excellent pastrami on rye.