Which stadiums to visit?

Discussion in 'France' started by JoeYorkshire86, Aug 1, 2006.

  1. JoeYorkshire86

    May 1, 2006
    I'm looking at watching some matches in several countries, but kind of need to build up a shortlist of places to go, perhaps just one or two per country.

    Anyway I want an ideal club to visit, based on quite a few factors.

    Quality of fans?
    Availability of tickets/standing room?
    Quality of team?
    Quality of stadium?
    Attractiveness of city?

    I've done a bit of research. In terms of stadiums, Marseilles, PSG and Toulouse seem to have nice ones. I think that Nantes, Marseilles, Lyon and Toulouse may be not very nice towns, or perhaps boring, but I don't know!

    I'm not necessarily looking for the best team. I just want a good atmosphere in the stadium and a decent city where the fans know how to celebrate.

    All debate welcome!

    (P.S. I'm going to be posting similar things in forums of other countries, so don't start thinking I'm trolling!)
     
  2. ilv2

    ilv2 New Member

    May 30, 2004
    L'abbaye de Leffe
    :eek: lyon is a fantastic city!!
    fans pretty good i suppose, i've never visisted gerland. team quality, well that goes w/o saying. the gerland is quite unique in design and should merit a visit simply on that basis. And as stated above, it's a great great city that you shouldn't miss.

    the velodrome should be a check
    OM has great support, and the city... is worth a visit.

    parc des princes.
    automatic.

    going to Stade Felix Bollaert is also a good option as lens have amazing support. I don't know too much about the region though
     
  3. Tsigalko

    Tsigalko Member

    Jun 14, 2006
    Club:
    Olympique de Marseille
    Nat'l Team:
    Sweden
    Marseille then Lyon.
     
  4. gaijin

    gaijin New Member

    Aug 1, 2004
    Malaysia
    Ok....

    PSG

    Erm....PSG

    Erm… PS….. Lyon

    Best one is the Velodrome or the PdP for atmosphere imo. St-Etienne’s GG rocks too. Best in terms of the stadium itself... Hmmm. I dunno.

    Paris.... Hands down.

    Marseille and Lyon boring!?! :eek: Paris is always numero uno for me. But either of the other two big cities, are insane places to watch football. Both are much bigger football towns than Paris and are nice places to go and explore.

    Nantes and Toulouse, are two cities that are really starting to grow. Nantes in particular is attracting a lot of attention right now. But then again, if you like bumping into annoying Parisians in their country estates - then stay clear.

    Lille and Nice are solid options - as they are great cities to watch football in, but their stadiums are absolutely terrible.

    Imo:

    1. Paris
    2=. Marseille
    2=. Lyon
    4. Bordeaux (often overlooked.)
    5. Monaco (technically not in France - but its one of the most spectacular places to watch football in France. If you want space and comfort, you got it - it hardly fills up unless Nice are playing.)

    :cool:
     
  5. Pierre-Henri

    Pierre-Henri New Member

    Jun 7, 2004
    Strasbourg, France.
    Louis II in Monaco is -reportedly- a splendid stadium (with almost no attendance most of the time). And Monaco is a rather unique place in the world.

    Quality of fans : Lens ! Only a PSG fan without any sense of decency could say the opposite. However, Lens is a small industrial city... not a wonderful place for a vacation.

    Auxerre people are very nice too, thanks to their genuine redneck-attitude. And, unlike Lens, some places in the area are really worth the visit. Bourgogne is a wonderful place to see.
     
  6. Anti-footix

    Anti-footix New Member

    May 30, 2006
    Lyon
    Stade Bolleart, Lens :
    - the fans : RC supporters are known in France as "le meilleur public de France " (best Fans in France). very friendly, not agressive at all (even a little bit not enough agressive)
    - availability of tickets : easy to find (exept for big games)
    - the team : RC Lens is consistently one of the 5 or 6 best team in France
    - the stadium : renewed for the WC98. "old school english style" stadium. capacity : 42 000.
    - Attractiveness of city : not attractive at all. but Lille is very near and Paris is not too far (only 1h in TGV and 2h in car)

    Parc des Princes, Paris :
    - the fans : PSG fans are very ultra (for the good and the bad). expect a very noisy atmosphere in the stadium, great tifos, great chants. The atmosphere can be extraordinary, espacially when PSG plays in European competitions.
    - availability of tickets : quite easy to find (exept for big games)
    - the team : PSG can be very good... and very bad ! but they are very solid and consistent at home. one of the top club in France
    - the stadium : a truly piece of art. in my opinion, the perfect football stadium. the structure of the stadium makes fan chants a big big noise ! capacity : 45 000.
    - Attractiveness of city : a city can't be more attractive than Paris.

    Stade Vélodrome, Marseille :
    - the fans : in Marseille, football and l'OM is a religion, so the supporters are very ultra : a lot of supporters groups, a lot of tifos, a lot of chants. The atmosphere can be extraordinary, espacially when OM plays in European competitions. very latin atmosphere.
    - availability of tickets : easy to find (exept for big games)
    - the team : same thing that PSG.
    - the stadium : renewed for the WC98. a very beautiful stadium, but too bad there is not roof (which means the atmosphere in the stadium could be so much better with a roof...) capacity : 60 000.
    - Attractiveness of city : quite attractive, espacially for the countryside arround Marseille, the mediterranean coast. a perfet spot for summer hollydays. (3 hours away from Paris in TGV, 1 hour from Lyon)

    Stade de Gerland, Lyon :
    - the fans : OL fans are much better than the average football French fan may think.
    - availability of tickets : not so easy (quite impossible for big games). its harder and harder each year to find tickets for good games in Lyon.
    - the team : you can't find a better team in France.
    - the stadium : renewed for the WC98. The worst stadium I visited in my opinion. the view on the field is very exept in "Jean Bouin supérieur" and "Jean Jaurès supérieur". this stadium make very hard the work of the supporters to make a good atmosphere. but when OL plays a great game against a great team and when all the supporters in the stadium begin to jump chanting "qui ne saute pas n'est pas lyonnais hé !", it is an experience to live for any football fan in the world ! I hope the new stadium will be built as soon as possible.
    - Attractiveness of city : very attractive, a little Paris in a way. (2 hours away from Paris in TGV)

    Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Etienne :
    - the fans : one of the best again.
    - availability of tickets : easy to find (exept for big games)
    - the team : average team.
    - the stadium : renewed for the WC98. "old school english style" stadium. capacity : 38 000. nickname : "le chaudron " (the cauldron), because the atmosphere is (or was in the good old days) always hot, even during the very cold St-Etienne winter.
    - Attractiveness of city : not attractive at all, but only 60km away from Lyon.

    I would not recommend Toulouse even if it is a beautiful city. the atomsphere sucks (sorry for the Téfécé supporters), the stadium is always half empty, the team sucks (sorry again). better watch a rugby game in Toulouse !

    Nantes can be cool, but in my opinon, there are better football spot in France.

    you can also consider attending a France game in Stade de France because it is in Paris, well at least you will stay in Paris even the stadium is not exactly in Paris (for the attractivness of the city). because the stadium is very beautiful (capacity : 80 000, a piece of architectural art) + watching a France game in the stadium where France won the WC can be a good experience.

    you can find a lot of information about the stadium and cities on the website of the 2007 rugby world cup : http://www.france2007.fr/rugby_villes.php?id_rubrique=6&lang=en
     
  7. axios

    axios New Member

    Aug 7, 2006
    This past May I traveled around the Cote d'Azur. I walked around the Louis II in Monaco...it is gorgeous from the outside. The Stade du Ray in Nice is kind of disappointing. When I first saw it, I thought it was an amateur stadium...then I found out it was where the Nice played!! The hostel I stayed at was pretty close to the stadium and all one had to do was walk down the street a bit to see the pitch. Too bad there weren't any Ligue 1 games going on.
     
  8. Tsigalko

    Tsigalko Member

    Jun 14, 2006
    Club:
    Olympique de Marseille
    Nat'l Team:
    Sweden
    Stade Geoffroy Guichard is a very nice stadium, usualy great view from most positions.
     

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