Dijon

Dijon (French pronunciation: [diʒɔ̃]) is a city in eastern France, capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.

The earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to the Neolithic period. Dijon later became a Roman settlement named Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries and Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power, one of the great European centres of art, learning and science. Population (2008): 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 (2007) for the greater Dijon area.

The city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the city's central district date from the 18th century and earlier. Dijon architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian polychrome roofs) made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in geometric patterns.

Olympique de Marseille

Olympique de Marseille (French pronunciation: ​[ɔlɛ̃pik də maʁsɛj], locally [ɔlɛ̃ˈpikə də mɑχˈsɛjə]; also known as l'OM IPA: [lo.ɛm], locally [loˈɛmə]) or simply Marseille, is a French association football club based in Marseille.

Founded in 1899, the club play in Ligue 1 and have spent most of their history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions ten times (nine times in Ligue 1) and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In 1993, coach Raymond Goethals led the team to become the first and only French club to win the UEFA Champions League. In 1994, Marseille were relegated because of a bribery scandal, losing their domestic trophy, but not the Champions League title. In 2010, Marseille became French champions again under the stewardship of former club captain Didier Deschamps.

Marseille's home ground is the 67,000-person-capacity Stade Vélodrome located in the southern part of the city, where they have played since 1937. The Stade Vélodrome is renowned for its lively atmosphere. The club has a large fan-base, having regularly averaged the highest all-time attendance in French football. Marseille's average home gate for the 2008–09 season was 52,276, the highest in Ligue 1. The stadium underwent renovation in 2011, going from its previous capacity of 60,031 to 42,000. Following completion in August 2014, the final capacity is 67,000 ahead of France's hosting of UEFA Euro 2016. The club is ranked 16th globally in terms of annual revenue, generating €135.7 million in 2012.

European Waterways

European Waterways is an international company based in Berkshire, England that operates a fleet of 21 river cruising vessels along the rivers and canals of Europe. The company takes old trading barges and converts them into "boutique" hotel barges.

Company history

European Waterways, a UK company based in England, was established in 1977 by owner Derek Banks with the purchase of an existing French inland waterways cruising company which had been created 3 years earlier in 1974. The first hotel barge was Anjodi, which was originally renovated at a cost in excess of £100,000. In 1994 the company built the 12 passenger La Belle Epoque followed by its sister ship, 12 passenger L'Impressionniste, in 1995. After these acquisitions European Waterways expanded steadily and, as a result of cooperation with several companies in the travel industry and additional acquisitions, now operates a fleet of 18 hotel barges along the inland waterways of 9 countries in Europe.

Derek Banks, the company founder, was brought up on the River Thames and has enjoyed all aspects of life afloat. It was as a result of this early exposure to the inland waterways that he was inspired to move to a lock house in the middle of France in the mid 1970s and start the now thriving European Waterways.

AS Monaco FC

Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club (commonly referred to as AS Monaco (pronounced: [ɑ ɛs monako]) or simply Monaco) is a French-registered Monaco-based football club. The club was founded in 1919 and plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II in Fontvieille. Monaco is managed by Leonardo Jardim and is captained by Jérémy Toulalan.

Though based in Monaco, the club plays in the French football league system. Monaco is one of the most successful clubs in France, having won seven league titles and five Coupe de France trophies. The club has also competed in European football having been runners-up in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1992 and the UEFA Champions League in 2004.

The club's traditional colours are red and white, and the club is known as Les Rouges et Blancs (The Red and Whites). Monaco is also a member of the European Club Association. In December 2011, two-thirds of the club was sold to an investment group led by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. With Rybolovlev's financial backing, the club quickly returned to Ligue 1.