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
Through November: International Garden Festival, Chaumont-sur-Loire
July 10–August 22: Paris Plages (ersatz beaches along the Seine and several canals
Six nights July 14–August 24: International Fireworks Festival, Cannes
August 17–20: La Route du Rock Summer, St-Malo (rock acts)
August 18–23: Fête de la Saint-Louis, Sète (near Montpellier; parades, fireworks, canal-boat "water-jousting")
August 26–September 3: Silhouette Festival, Paris (short-film festival)
August 31–September 11: 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 2: Festival Musica, Strasbourg (contemporary classical music)
September 24: Technoparade, Paris (starts at Port Royal, ends at Place de la République)
September 17–18: 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: Paris Nuit Blanche (illuminated public art, concerts, all-night public transit)
October 5–9: Fête des Vendanges, Montmartre neighborhood of Paris (grape harvest festival)
October 29–30 (likely): Festival de La Pomme, Trévières (apple-harvest festival near Honfleur)
November 1–13: Dijon International and Gastronomic Fair
November 1: All Saints' Day (La Toussaint; closures)
November 11: Armistice Day (closures)
November 19–21: 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
December 7–11: 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
2023
January 1: New Year's Day (closures)
February 10–26: Nice Carnival (Mardi Gras, parades and fireworks)
February 11–26: Lemon Festival, Menton
February 26 (likely): Le Corso Fleuri, Bormes-les-Mimosas (traditional flower parade in coastal Provence)
March 8–11 (likely): La Route du Rock Winter, St-Malo and Rennes (rock and post-punk acts)
April–November: International Garden Festival, Chaumont-sur-Loire
April 7: Good Friday (Vendredi Saint, closures)
April 9 & 10: Easter Sunday and Monday (Pâques, closures)
May 1: Labor Day (Fête due Travail or Fête du Premier Mai; closures)
May 1–7 (likely): Roman Week, Nîmes
May 1–7 (likely): Paris Beer Festival
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 12–21 (likely): Fête de la Bretagne (cultural celebrations across Brittany, centered around St. Yves' Day on May 19)
May 13 (likely): Night of Museums, across France (museums stay open late and for free)
May 16–27: Cannes Film Festival
May 18: Ascension (closures)
May 19–28 (likely): Joan of Arc Festival, Rouen (pageants)
May 24–28 (likely): Nuits Sonores, Lyon (electronic music festival)
May 25–28 (likely): Monaco Grand Prix
May 28 & 29: Pentecost and Whit Monday (closures)
Late May–mid-June: D-Day Festival, across Normandy
May 30–July 2 (likely): Festival of St. Denis, Paris (classical concerts by international artists)
June–July: Nuits de Fourvière, Lyon (theater and music in a Roman theater)
June 4–6: Rendez-vous aux Jardins (noteworthy gardens open to the public), Paris and elsewhere
June 6: 79th Anniversary of the Normandy D-Day Landing (Jour J)
June 8–18: Rouen Armada (quinquennial sailboat festival with concerts, fireworks)
June 10–11: Le Mans auto race, near Loire Valley
June 19–August 5 (likely): Chorégies d'Orange (performances in Roman theater)
June 21: Fête de la Musique (concerts and dancing in the streets throughout France)
June 28–July 12 (likely): Jazz à Vienne, south of Lyon
July 1–21 (likely): Colmar International Festival (classical music)
July 1–23: Tour de France (starts in Bilbao this year; culminates, as always, on the Champs-Elysées in Paris)
July 1–August 5 (likely): Jazz in Marciac, southwest France
July: Carcassonne Festival (theater, music, dance, plus jousting matches and medieval festivities)
July 3–22 (likely): Aix Festival (classical music and opera)
July 5–18 (likely): Jazz à Juan, Antibes/Juan-les-Pins (international jazz festival)
July 6–25 (likely): Avignon Festival (theater, dance, music)
July 7–30 (likely): Beaune International Festival of Baroque Opera
July 9–August 21 (likely): Paris Plages (ersatz beaches along the Seine and several canals)
July 10–30 (likely): Festival Paris l'Été (theater, dance, concerts)
July 13–16: Vieilles Charrues Festival, Carhaix (Brittany; France's biggest music festival)
July 14: Bastille Day ("le 14 Juillet," closures, fireworks, revelry)
July 14–18 (likely): Nice Jazz Festival
Six nights July 14–August 23 (likely): International Fireworks Festival, Cannes
July 19–23: Cornouaille Festival, Quimper (Breton music and cultural festivities)
August 4–8 (likely): Corso de la Lavande (lavender festival with parades of lavender-covered floats, music, fireworks), Digne-les-Bains
August 5–6 (likely): Jasmine Festival, Grasse (flower-themed parades)
August 15: Assumption (closures)