Few festivals can boast that their location was designed by André Le Nôtre. If that name means nothing to you than perhaps the landscape architect’s work on the park of the Palace Of Versailles might ring a few bells.
Designed in the 17th century the location was the first park to be classed as a Monument historique in 1994.
Regardless of your knowledge of French history there’s no doubt that there’s something special about this park, which sits at the gates of Paris.
Beauty, as your mother used to say, only runs skin deep though and while this location is a pretty sight to see it’s the bands that get you there in the first place.
Needless to say the big names such as Beck, PJ Harvey and Massive Attack who all played in the festival’s first edition in 2003 have given the event the sort of reputation that has drawn over 100,000 attendees since 2010.
From the outset Rock en Seine has provided big headliners and they’ve never failed to disappoint since.
While 2012 had the likes of The Black Keys, Placebo, Green Day, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Foster The People and Sigur Ros 2013 booked Nine Inch Nails, Phoenix, System Of A Down, Major Lazer and Franz Ferdinand to name a few.
There is no doubt that the aforementioned names play at just about any of the major international festivals we’ve covered through our festival guides. But the draw card of Rock en Seine comes via its ability to give punters an experience that provides a gateway to the country’s past.
Historically inclined and beautifully presented the French know how to put on a major music festival.
Alors qu’attendez-vous pour?
Rock en Seine 2013 – La vidéo souvenir by rockenseine
Lineup
What do Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy and Queens Of The Stone Age all have in common? They’ll all be headlining this Parisian festival and are three of the biggest bands in the world right now.
Just below them on each respective day of this festival are three highly noted female performers as well. Deborah Harry’s Blondie will bring a blast from the past, just as Beth Gibbons uninimitable voice will front Portishead while everyone’s favourite viral princess Lana Del Rey will also make an appearance.
Elsewhere on the bill two other dynamic and unique female artists of their own fields in St. Vincent and Janelle Monáe will perform tracks from their respective latest releases.
Other notable acts on the lineup include Jake Bugg, Die Antwood, Gary Clark Jr., Thurston Moore, Warpaint and our very Flume just to name a few.
Click here to see the full lineup.
Where And When
Rock en Seine is held at the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud in the park of the former Château de Saint-Cloud a palace which was destroyed in in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war.
The park is located west of Paris and the festival will take place from the 22nd to the 24th of August.
How To Get There
See the full map here.
Flights to the French capital can be booked through numerous airlines such as Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, JetStar, British Airways, Emirates and Qantas to name just a few.
The following are a list of estimated return airfares from major Australian cities that were available at the time of writing.
Adelaide: One-stop flights start from $1690, while two-stop journeys are valued upwards of $2000.
Brisbane: One-stop flights start from $1800, while two-stop journeys are valued upwards of the same price.
Melbourne: One-stop flights start from $1700, while two-stop journeys are valued upwards of $1800.
Perth: One-stop flights start from $1660, while two-stop journeys are valued upwards of $1700.
Sydney: One-stop flights start from $1700, while two-stop journeys are valued upwards of $1800.
Depending on where you’re staying in Paris it shouldn’t be difficult to get to the festival site. We recommend you take the tube as it’s by far the easiest to navigate even though trams and buses are other options you can take. Sure those tiny one-way train tickets are pesky and easy to lose but you’ll only need to use them twice a day for the event.
Just take line 10 – Gare d’Austerlitz / Boulogne – Pont de St Cloud – and get off at Boulogne on your way to Pont de St Cloud. It’ll take ten minutes to get there and roughly the same amount of time to walk from the station to the site.
Take a look at the map above to familiarise yourself with the train route, the mustard line is the one we’ve detailed for you above.
Where To Stay
Camping in the beautiful Domaine National de Saint-Cloud does invariably sound like a beautiful option for punters to take. With camping passes restricted to holders of a three-day pass the package offers two spaces for three nights from €60 (that’s about $90 Aussie dollars) or from €10 per night per person. You can also pay an extra €5 for breakfast.
Camping is available in limited quantities. It may be easier – depending on your level of the French language that is – to take the hostel option.
In all likelihood those attending this festival will be taking the cheaper (yet still expensive) hostel option. Luckily for you there are an abundance of great hostels in Paris.
We recommend the likes of St. Christopher’s Paris Hostel, Bastille, Oops!, Young & Happy,Le Village and Vintage.
However there are a number of hotels situated close to the festival site that might be worth checking out.
Mama Shelter, Hôtel ibis Paris La Villette, Citéa Paris La Villette and Mercure Paris Porte De Pantin are just some of the options located near Parc de la Villette
How To Get Tickets
You’ve come all this way to Paris so you might as well pick up a three-day pass. It’ll set you back €119 or about $178 Australian dollars.
However if you’re only in town for a limited time a one day pass is valued at €49 or about $73 dollars Australian.
You can get your tickets and camping passes here!
Insider Tips & Tricks/Things You Shouldn’t Miss
Check out this fan made aftermovie video to get a taste of what Rock En Seine has to offer.
The Paris Visite travel card could be worth investing in for those who are taking public transport to the festival and for the rest of their stay in the city. With passes available for unlimited travel for one to five days travellers will have the option of purchasing the Paris centre option or the dearer Paris + suburb + airport option. Follow this link for more details and pricing.
As we mentioned in our guide to Pitchfork Music Festival Paris, while a fair portion of this festival’s attendees may be from countries other than France it still goes without saying that for your time at the event and in the country you should brush up on your French. You don’t necessarily have to undertake a language course, but the locals will treat you far better if you make an effort regardless of how disjointed and confusing you sound.
Like many of the big name festivals in today’s climate food is a commodity that is taken seriously. The French of course take their heritage seriously so you can expect the best French cuisine you’re likely to ever have at a festival.
There are also several bars to choose from as well. Never will you feel so fancy at festival til you drink Pinot Noir from a plastic flute!
For more details head to the official Rock En Seine website.
