Created in France in 1910, pétanque is a boules sport similar to bocce. RendezVous boasts eight pétanque courts, perfect for sipping on wine and enjoying a delightful French pastime!
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Pétanque began in 1910 in the town of La Ciotat, near Marseille, France. Today, it’s played all over the world, including right here in Asheville, NC. It doesn’t get any more French than that! Michel grew up playing after a big Sunday lunch, and now you can too!
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Every Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. the community of petanquers gathers to play their favorite pastime. You are welcome to come watch at any point.
If you would like a free lesson on a Wednesday at 5:00 pm, please sign up at the host stand or leave us a message (828.348.0909) with the date you’d like to come, your name, the number of people in your party, and your phone number. If Michel is out of town, we will let you know.
Here’s to boules and moules!
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Ah, Fanny! In pétanque, “Fanny” is a term used to describe the situation where a team loses a game without scoring a single point. When this happens, it is said that the losing team “has to kiss Fanny”.
The origin of the term is a bit unclear, but according to one popular story, Fanny was a waitress who worked at a café near a pétanque court in the town of Marseille. The story goes that Fanny was a kind-hearted and generous woman who would console losing players by letting them kiss her on the cheek. Over time, the tradition of “kissing Fanny” evolved into a humorous way of acknowledging a defeat in the game of pétanque.
Today, the image of Fanny has become a familiar sight at pétanque clubs and competitions throughout France and beyond. It’s not uncommon to see a picture or statue of Fanny displayed prominently at pétanque courts, and many players even have a special ritual or song that they perform when they “kiss Fanny” after a loss.
At RendezVous we respect history. However our Fanny will not be humiliating, instead it’s a delicious lager beer made especially for us by our friends at Asheville Brewing Co.
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Just yourself! We have boules on-hand for all players to use and, of course, an extensive wine list, cocktails, beer, and French food to keep the fun going all evening long. Outside food and alcohol is not permitted.
Play pétanque at RendezVous!
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Every Wednesday we can teach you how to play, starting at about 5:00 pm., and Friday we play for fun! Friday is known as “Cocktail Pétanque”. Grab a drink at our outside bar and learn how to play this classic social game. We have boules on-hand to use, so you don't need your own.
RendezVous has 8 regulation-sized courts, and you can often find folks from the Carolina Pétanque group or the National Pétanque Association!
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Carolina Pétanque is made of over 100 members statewide. At RendezVous we are UFPA approved, and that simply means we can host US Federation tournaments. We have a tournament on the calendar every year. Our other tournaments are much friendlier!
RendezVous hosts a Bastille Day tournament on Sunday, July 17 with a costume contest — optional of course — but have prizes for the winners. As we are a French restaurant, there are no medals or trophies, just bottles of wine.
We host the Carolina Open in June and another for-fun tournament around Halloween.