Bonjour from Lyon!  I’m here in this wonderful city— the second largest city in France— for the annual Rendez-Vous en France tourism meeting.

Welcome to Rendez-Vous en France!

Rendez-Vous en France is organized every year by the French Tourism organization, Atout France, for tour operators and travel consultants from around the world.  This year there are about 800 of us from more than 70 countries at this invitation-only program. We’re meeting over two days with representatives of various French travel-related businesses from around the country, including hotels, restaurants, transportation services, tourist offices, and sites and attractions. It’s a wonderful exposition of this diverse, beautiful, and welcoming country.

The Rendez-Vous en France meeting is held every year in a different location, in a big convention center.  I first attended in Marseille in 2019, then Nantes in 2022, Toulouse in 2024, and this year in Lyon. I’m honored that European Experiences is included.

Rendez-Vous en France – Toulouse (2024)

Over these two days I’ll have about 35 individual 20-minute meetings.  I really like to meet with Tourist Offices. I explore possibilities for future trips and learn what’s new in the areas where we already have trips.  It’s a great opportunity for me to network with local resources around France. There are also two big social events in the evenings, featuring wonderful food, wines, and entertainment, always in a spectacular venue.

Our meetings are held in this former slaughterhouse, now a concert and meeting venue

In connection with the big two-day meeting, the international visitors like me can also apply to join a “FAM trip” to familiarize us more personally with a specific area.  These are fast-paced trips that involve hotel stays and visits, meals in local restaurants, walking tours, and special experiences.  We gain ideas of what we might include in a tour or recommend to our clients. And it’s another great opportunity to get to know local resources in a more casual environment where they live and work.

In 2019 I went on a FAM trip in Normandy. In 2022 I went on a FAM trip to Brittany and the Loire Atlantique.

FAM trip in Brittany (2023)

I just finished a three-night trip with a group of 11 other tourism professionals to the area of alpine lakes in the Haut-Savoie departément.  I arrived in Geneva on Thursday afternoon and traveled by taxi about an hour to Evian, on the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). I had one night on my own in Evian and then met up with the group on Friday evening.

Sunset on Lac Léman at Evian

After lunch on Saturday we visited the medieval village of Yvoire and then traveled to Annecy on Lake Annecy.

Sunday morning in beautiful Annecy

After a beautiful morning in Annecy on Sunday, we traveled after lunch to Aix-les-Bains on Lac du Bourget. We all agreed that our cruise on the lake was a highlight of the trip.

Cruise on Lac du Bourget

The beautiful gardens with colorful spring flowers in the center of Aix-les-Bains were also very special!

Gardens in Aix-les-Bains

We arrived in Lyon at noon on Wednesday, enjoyed lunch with a larger group of tour operators who had visited other areas, and then headed off for a tour of the city.

View of Lyon from the basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière

In addition to two of us from the USA, my FAM group included tourism professionals from Finland, Germany, Mexico, South Korea, China, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.  We had a very compatible group and learned from each other as well.

My FAM group in Evian

I loved the area of the “romantic lakes”… such a beautiful combination of the lakes and the surrounding mountains. These were all new areas to me.

Will there be a future European Experiences trip in this area?  It’s definitely a possibility!

I’ve visited Lyon a few times in the past, but I’m glad to be here again and learn more about this special city.  We now offer a four-night Inside Lyon trip, led by our team member Drew Fedorka.  I’ll be back in September to help Drew with a larger group.

A trip like this may sound like a boondoggle— but I can assure you, the Rendez-Vous en France trips are not!  Yes, the trips are fun and rewarding… but definitely hard work and very long days!  These Rendez-Vous en France meetings have been great opportunities for me to expand my knowledge of France, improve our trips, develop ideas for new trips, and build relationships with French and international tourism professionals. Merci beaucoup to Atout France for providing this opportunity! The 2026 meeting will be in Nice… I’m already looking forward to this!

Enjoy this other blog post about the wonderful city of Lyon:

Encountering Lyon: One of France’s Best Kept Secrets by Drew Fedorka, European Experiences

Along with her husband Charley, Kathy Wood founded European Experiences in 2006, offering week-long “slow tours” in some of the most beautiful areas of Europe. European Experiences' trips include The Luberon Experience in Provence, France, named one of the top 50 tours in the world by National Geographic Traveler magazine. Kathy has personally organized and hosted over 170 Experience groups. She hosts Experience weeks in the Luberon, the Chianti region of Tuscany, Puglia, Alsace, the Dordogne, Normandy, Cornwall, and the Cotswolds, Charley is now retired but will continue to occasionally be a "special guest" on trips with Kathy Kathy has been traveling in Europe for 30+ years and loves sharing her special places in Europe with other travelers. The Woods have a second home in their beloved village of Bonnieux in the Luberon. Read more about Kathy here. Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.