Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in France
- Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival's website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism sites for France and Paris.
- This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout France. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn't a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
- See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe
2024
Through November 3: International Garden Festival, Charmont-sur-Loire
May 7–12: Nuits Sonores, Lyon (electronic music festival)
May 8: VE (Victory in Europe) Day (Fête de la Victoire 1945 or Jour de la Liberation; closures, parades)
May 9: Ascension (closures)
May 9–11: Joan of Arc Festival, Rouen (pageants)
May 14–25: Cannes Film Festival
May 17–26: Fête de la Bretagne (cultural celebrations across Brittany, centered around St. Yves' Day on May 19)
May 18: Night of Museums, across France (museums stay open late and for free)
May 19 & 20: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
May 20–26: Paris Beer Festival
May 23–26: Monaco Grand Prix
Late May–mid-June: D-Day Festival, across Normandy
May 31–June 2: Rendez-vous aux Jardins (noteworthy gardens open to the public), Paris and elsewhere
June: Festival of St. Denis, Paris (classical concerts by international artists)
June 1: Paris Nuit Blanche (illuminated public art, concerts, all-night public transit)
June–July: Nuits de Fourvière, Lyon (theater and music in a Roman theater)
June 6: 80th Anniversary of the Normandy D-Day Landing (Jour J)
June 14–July 22: Chorégies d'Orange (performances in Roman theater)
June 15–16: Le Mans auto race, near Loire Valley
June 21: Fête de la Musique (concerts and dancing in the streets throughout France)
June 27–July 16: Jazz à Vienne, south of Lyon (concert series)
June 29–July 21: Tour de France (culminates this year not in Paris but in Nice)
June 29–July 21: Avignon Festival (theater, dance, music)
July: Carcassonne Festival (theater, music, dance, plus jousting matches and medieval festivities)
July 3–16: Festival Paris l'Été (theater, dance, concerts)
July 3–23: Aix Festival (classical music and opera)
July 4, 14, 22 & August 7, 15, 24: International Fireworks Festival, Cannes
July 5–14: Colmar International Festival (classical music)
July 5–28: Beaune International Festival of Baroque Opera
July 8–18: Jazz à Juan, Antibes/Juan-les-Pins (international jazz festival)
July 11–14: Vieilles Charrues Festival, Carhaix (Brittany; France's biggest music festival)
July 14: Bastille Day ("le 14 Juillet," closures, fireworks, revelry)
July 18–21: Cornouaille Festival, Quimper (Breton music and cultural festivities)
July 18–August 4: Jazz in Marciac, southwest France
July 20–23: Nice Jazz Festival
July 26–August 11: Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (some events also held in Versailles, Nice, and other cities around France)
August 2–6: Corso de la Lavande (lavender festival with parades of lavender-covered floats, music, fireworks), Digne-les-Bains
August 4–6: Jasmine Festival, Grasse (flower-themed parades)
August 14–17: La Route du Rock Summer, St-Malo (rock acts)
August 15: Assumption (closures)
August 22–27: Fête de la Saint-Louis, Sète (near Montpellier; parades, fireworks, canal-boat "water-jousting")
August 29–September 8: Jazz at La Villette, Paris
August 30–September 2: Silhouette Festival, Paris (short-film festival)
September: Wine harvest festivals across France
September–mid-February: Festival d'Automne à Paris (arts festival)
September 13–15: Braderie de Lille (world's largest flea market)
September 13–29 (likely): Festival Musica, Strasbourg (contemporary classical music)
September 21 (likely): Technoparade, Paris (starts at Port Royal, ends at Place de la République)
September 21–22: Heritage days (Journée du patrimoine; special openings and tours of monuments and other historical sites across France)
September 25–28: Monaco Yacht Show (pricey exhibition of mega-yachts)
October 9–13: Fête des Vendanges, Montmartre neighborhood of Paris (grape harvest festival)
October 27 (likely): Festival de La Pomme, Trévières (apple-harvest festival near Honfleur)
October 31–November 11: Dijon International and Gastronomic Fair
November 1: All Saints' Day (La Toussaint; closures)
November 11: Armistice Day (closures)
November 16–18: Les Trois Glorieuses, Beaune (wine auction and festival)
Late November–December 24: Christmas markets in Strasbourg, Colmar, and Sarlat-la-Canéda
December: Christmas carousels, outdoor skating rinks, and avant-garde Christmas trees around town, Paris
December 4–8: Les Rencontres Trans Musicales, Rennes (up-and-coming pop, rock, etc.)
December 7–14: Rise Festival, Les Deux Alpes (dance music at ski resort)
December 25: Christmas Day (Noël; closures)
December 26: Second Christmas Day (closures in Alsace-Lorraine)
December 31: New Year's Eve
2025
January 1: New Year's Day (closures)
January 6: Epiphany
February 15–March 2: Nice Carnival (Mardi Gras, parades and fireworks)
February 15–March 2 (likely): Lemon Festival, Menton
February 17 (likely): Le Corso Fleuri, Bormes-les-Mimosas (traditional flower parade in coastal Provence)
February 27–March 1 (likely): La Route du Rock Winter, St-Malo and Rennes (rock and post-punk acts)
April 18: Good Friday (Vendredi Saint, closures)
April 20 & 21: Easter Sunday and Monday (Pâques, closures)
April–October: International Garden Festival, Charmont-sur-Loire
May 1: Labor Day (Fête due Travail or Fête du Premier Mai; closures)
May 2–4 (likely): Roman Week, Nîmes
May 6–11 (likely): Nuits Sonores, Lyon (electronic music festival)
May 8: VE (Victory in Europe) Day (Fête de la Victoire 1945 or Jour de la Liberation; closures, parades)
May 8–10 (likely): Joan of Arc Festival, Rouen (pageants)
May 13–24 (likely): Cannes Film Festival
May 16–25 (likely): Fête de la Bretagne (cultural celebrations across Brittany, centered around St. Yves' Day on May 19)
May 17 (likely): Night of Museums, across France (museums stay open late and for free)
May 19–25 (likely): Paris Beer Festival
May 22–25: Monaco Grand Prix
Late May–mid-June: D-Day Festival, across Normandy
May 29: Ascension (closures)
May 30–June 1 (likely): Rendez-vous aux Jardins (noteworthy gardens open to the public), Paris and elsewhere
June 8 & 9: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)