Celebrating history and greenery: Grand Parc Puy du Fou

LOS ANGELES, California – The history of Puy du Fou is as romantic as the historical French stories and legends that it tells.

LOS ANGELES, California – The history of Puy du Fou is as romantic as the historical French stories and legends that it tells. Created by writer, and well-known French politician, Philippe Le Jolis de Villiers, the theme park Puy du Fou, was built on the site of a ruined castle in the Vendee region of Western France.

Almost forty years ago, de Villiers wrote a romantic tale based on 700 years of the regionโ€™s history. This sweeping masterpiece was worthy of being created into a major motion picture, but lacking the funds, de Villiers recruited the local people into a volunteer theatrical society and using the old castle as a backdrop, performed the work as a dramatic specular during Summer evenings. Titled Cinescenie, the night-time show attracted crowds in the thousands and today, with the addition of state of the art light shows and effects, draws millions of guest every year.

Cinescenie continues to be the major attraction, but has been supported with a theme park presenting amazing historical huge scale shows and villages constructed in the forest. Each village has been built to provide visitors with the chance to experience different eras in French history, as well as stay in variety of villa and hotel accommodation. Key to this development has been Puy du Fouโ€™s attention to preserving the natural forests of the area as well as sustainably managing the parkโ€™s operations. For its efforts, Puy du Fou has been awarded Green Globe certification four years in a row.

Nicolas de Villiers, son of the parkโ€™s founder, and President of Puy du Fou said, โ€œPuy du Fou is very proud of our latest Green Globe certification. Year after year, our team continues its efforts to improve its environmental policy. Puy du Fou remains a proud example for the Theme Parks industry in Europe and in the world.โ€

Since it was created, the Puy du Fou has made protecting the environment and preserving its natural heritage a high priority. To fulfil its commitment, Puy du Fou has adopted an overall approach of sustainable development, adopting three major themes: Protecting the natural environment: Being an economic contributor; and, Promoting a policy of ethics and social responsibility

Within this framework, Puy du Fou is committed to complying with legal and regulatory requirements. High priority is given to improving waste management, adopting new methods and equipment to save energy and taking care with the use of water through recycling. The parks and gardens that flourish throughout are also given special attention to protect the biodiversity they hold, including habitats for local wildlife species. The parks and gardens are also used to educate the millions of visitors each year on the importance of enjoying and communing with nature.

About Grand Parc Puy du Fou

Puy du Fou is an historical theme park in Les Epesses, between Cholet and La Roche-sur-Yon in the heart of the Vendee region of Western France. In addition to the Cinescenie, the theme park offers eight other spectacular shows as well as villa and hotel accommodation. The park attracts around 2 million visitors every year, making it the fourth most popular attraction in France.

About Green Globe Certification

Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally-accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA, and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Green Globe is also a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

Green Globe is a member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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