Join us for the French Festival Trip!

Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes
Friday – Sunday September 19-28, 2025 (10 days)

The Puppet Fest’s French Festival Trip
Friday-Tuesday, September 19-23, 2025 (5 days)
Chicago – Paris – Charleville

Program Description

A GUIDED, CURATED TRIP to the world’s largest puppet festival with a small group including the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival leadership and key stakeholders.

What’s included:

Introductory reception/dinner
Special reception / meeting with the FMTM Festival Director: Pierre-Yves Charlois
Meals: daily coffee meet up, daily lunch or dinner as group
Shows: estimated 2-4 ticketed shows per day as a group
Nightly meet up to talk about shows at the Hub

Participants are expected to arrange their own air, hotel, and train travel, but we will provide suggestions for simple booking. The cost of the trip does not include travel outside of (to or from) from the town of Charleville-Mézières. This allows you to extend your visit on either end of the trip. You are free to arrive earlier, stay at the Festival longer, or continue traveling after the group portion of the experience as you see fit. Most will likely plan to arrive on a flight to Paris, with one night hotel stay in Paris, with a morning train leaving from Paris’ Gare du Nord the next morning to arrive in Charleville-Mézières the same afternoon.

Itinerary

Suggested schedule includes arriving in Paris, staying overnight and the next day traveling to Charleville Mezieres by train. Set programming begins in Charleville.

Thursday, September 18
Arrive to Paris & stay overnight

Friday, September 19
Train to Charleville & check in at lodging
Opening Night

Saturday – Monday
Breakfast at lodging
2-3 shows per day
Lunch or Dinner together daily

Tuesday, September 23
Train to Paris, stay overnight or fly same day to Chicago