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
2022
January 1: New Year's Day (closures)
February 11–27: Nice Carnival (Mardi Gras, parades and fireworks)
February 12–27: Lemon Festival, Menton
February 13: Le Corso Fleuri, Bormes-les-Mimosas (traditional flower parade in coastal Provence)
April–November: International Garden Festival, Chaumont-sur-Loire
April 15: Good Friday (Vendredi Saint, closures)
April 17–18: Easter Sunday and Monday (Pâques, closures)
May 1: Labor Day (Fête due Travail or Fête du Premier Mai; closures)
May 2–8: Roman Week, Nîmes
May–July: Versailles Festival (classical music, opera, dance, contemporary art)
May 8: VE (Victory in Europe) Day (Fête de la Victoire 1945 or Jour de la Liberation; closures, parades)
May 13–22: Fête de la Bretagne (cultural celebrations across Brittany, centered around St. Yves' Day on May 19)
May 14: Night of Museums, across France (museums stay open late and for free)
May 17–28: Cannes Film Festival
May 25–29: Nuits Sonores, Lyon (electronic music festival)
May 26: Ascension (closures)
May 26–29: Monaco Grand Prix
Late May–mid-June: D-Day Festival, across Normandy
June–July: Nuits de Fourvière, Lyon (theater and music in a Roman theater)
May 31–July 3: Festival of St. Denis, Paris (classical concerts by international artists)
June 4–5 (likely): Rendez-vous aux Jardins (noteworthy gardens open to the public), Paris and elsewhere
June 4–5 (likely): Joan of Arc Festival, Rouen (pageants)
June 5–6: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
June 6: 78th Anniversary of the Normandy D-Day Landing (Jour J)
June 11–12: Le Mans auto race, near Loire Valley
June 20–August 6: Chorégies d'Orange (performances in Roman theater)
June 21: Fête de la Musique (concerts and dancing in the streets throughout France)
June 29–July 13: Jazz à Vienne, south of Lyon
July 1–24: Tour de France (starts in Copenhagen this year; culminates, as always, on the Champs-Elysées in Paris)
July 2–22: Colmar International Festival (classical music)
July: Carcassonne Festival (theatre, music, dance, plus jousting matches and medieval festivities)
July 4–23: Aix Festival (classical music and opera)
July 7–26: Avignon Festival (theater, dance, music)
July 8–19 (likely): Jazz à Juan, Antibes/Juan-les-Pins (international jazz festival)
July 8–30 (likely): Beaune International Festival of Baroque Opera
July 11–August 1 (likely): Festival Paris l'Été (theater, dance, concerts)
July 14–17: Vieilles Charrues Festival, Carhaix (Brittany; France's biggest music festival)
Mid-July–mid-August: Paris Plages (ersatz beaches along the Seine and several canals)
July 14: Bastille Day ("le 14 Juillet," closures, fireworks, revelry)
Six nights July 14–August 21 (likely): International Fireworks Festival, Cannes (fireworks)
July 15–19: Nice Jazz Festival
July 19–24 (likely): Cornouaille Festival, Quimper (Breton music and cultural festivities)
July 23–August 3 (likely): Jazz in Marciac, southwest France
July 29–31 (likely): Jasmine Festival, Grasse (flower-themed parades)
August 5 (likely): Lavender parade, Digne-les-Bains
August 15: Assumption (closures)
August 17–21 (likely): La Route du Rock, St-Malo (music festival)
August 19–24 (likely): Fête de la Saint-Louis, Sète (near Montpellier; parades, fireworks, canal-boat "water-jousting")
August 26–September 3 (likely): Silhouette Festival, Paris (short-film festival)
August 31–September 4 (likely): Paris Beer Week
August 31–September 11 (likely): Jazz at La Villette, Paris
September: Wine harvest festivals across France
September–mid-February: Festival d'Automne à Paris (arts festival)
September 3–4: Braderie de Lille (world's largest flea market)
September 15–October 9 (likely): Festival Musica, Strasbourg (contemporary classical music)
September 17 (likely): Technoparade, Paris (starts at Port Royal, ends at Place de la République)
September 17–19 (likely): Heritage days (Journée du patrimoine; special openings and tours of monuments and other historical sites across France)
September 28–October 1: Monaco Yacht Show (pricey exhibition of mega-yachts)
October 1 (likely): Paris Nuit Blanche (illuminated public art, concerts, all-night public transit)
October 5–9 (likely): Fête des Vendanges, Montmartre neighborhood of Paris (grape harvest festival)
October 29–30 (likely): Festival de La Pomme, Trévières (apple-harvest festival near Honfleur)
October 29–November 10 (likely): Dijon International and Gastronomic Fair
November 1: All Saints' Day (La Toussaint; closures)
November 11: Armistice Day (closures)
November 19–21 (likely): Les Trois Glorieuses, Beaune (wine auction and festival)
Late November–December 24: Christmas markets (particularly fun in Strasbourg, Colmar, and Sarlat-la-Canéda)
December: Christmas carousels, outdoor skating rinks, and avant-garde Christmas trees around town, Paris
November 30–December 4 (likely): Les Rencontres Trans Musicales, Rennes (up-and-coming pop, rock, etc.)
December 10–17: 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