Spectator advice for Mondial du Lion

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btgm

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Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of attending Mondial du Lion this October 15-18 as I was already planning a trip to the Loire valley. I was hoping for any suggestions from people who have been.

Is a car the best way to get there? They list a bus from Angers on the website, but it only seems to run every couple of hours and I'm not sure how far the stop is from the show. How is the traffic and parking?

I'm not sure at the moment exactly what I'd go to. Their website says advance purchase is closed and tickets can be bought on the day, starting on the 16th at 13:30. Do I need to be there then to get tickets, or are there plenty of tickets if I buy on whatever day I'm going to go? I might watch some of the dressage, especially if I have to go then to buy tickets anyway. Edit: Just realized the billeterie is for 2014 even though the website says 2015. Guess I'll have to keep an eye on it...
http://www.mondialdulion.com/2014/spectateurs-billetterie-fr.php


Any tips on the cross country if I decide to watch that? I'm assuming it works like cross country shows in the US (and the one I've been to in the UK, which was Hickstead) where there's a map of the course and you can wander around and watch whichever part you want?

For the stadium jumping (which is how I'm translating saut d'obstacle), is it open seating or assigned seats? Any tips on where to sit for that?

I do speak some French, so can usually get by as a general tourist, but I've never been to a horse show in France. From the photos on the website, it looks like people dress like regular horse people, not in dresses and hats or anything?

Any advice on the specific questions or general tips on horse shows in France or this one in particular would be great! Thanks!
 
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Another question - any recommendations on where to stay? I'll be traveling solo and would prefer to be somewhere that I can walk to a few restaurants for dinner and preferably a bakery for breakfast.
 
I hope someone can give you some good advice, because for me having been to the WEG in Normandy we would never go to a French organised event again!
 
The Mondial du Lion is a lovely event and spectators are treated well. We have always driven. Parking is just over the road from the main site. No numbered seating when we were last there. Have stayed at a couple of different hotels a few miles away but not had a problem booking them and in nice towns. I hope you have fun.
 
Hi btgm,

We went to there last year on the second day of dressage and for cross country. Don't know about a bus service as we went by car. Angers itself is quite a big university town/city, so we stayed in a smaller town about ten miles north of le Lion D'Angers called Chateau Gontier as we prefer smaller towns.

Parking was fine on both days. Dressage days you don't have to pay to get in, we had already bought tickets for xc day so managed to beat the (slight) queues to get in on xc day. Dressage days are much quieter so you can get your bearings, walk the course etc without any crowds. Just keep an eye on the website for when the box office opens.

The loudspeaker announcements are in French and English so you should be fine. Haven't been to Hickstead but would say that the xc course will be longer than you've encountered there.

If you decide to go, I'm sure you'll have a great time. :-)
 
Thanks for the answers. Hobo, what was the problem at the WEG?

Thanks Ricotta and Weob. I didn't really know how big an event this was. I'll have a car, so I'll just plan to stay somewhere in the area and drive. I haven't decided how many days to go yet, but I'd definitely want to go on one of the non-dressage days. I like dressage, but can only watch so much of it in a row...

The announcements being in French and English is a plus. I was only expecting French. I do speak some French, but it's a lot harder over a loudspeaker than when there's an actual human.
 
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