Must-See Summer Festivals
The cultural highlights of the French summer, from the theatre of Avignon to the jazz of Marciac and the Vieilles Charrues.
A pick of the summer festivals you shouldn't miss, to plan a France in full celebration from July to August. The Avignon Festival and its theatre in the city of the Popes, the Vieilles Charrues in Brittany — one of Europe's largest music festivals — Jazz in Marciac in the Gers, the Arles photography meetings and the Lorient Interceltic Festival: gatherings where culture takes over the whole town. Dates change every year and headline tickets sell fast — watch for box offices opening in spring. Accommodation books up very early in host towns, which are often full. Combine one or two festivals with exploring the surrounding region.
Practical info
- Stops
- 5
- Duration
- July-August
- Transport
- 🚗 Car
- Best time
- Spring and autumn
Itinerary
- 1
Festival d'Avignon
Le plus grand festival de theatre au monde, chaque juillet dans la cite des Papes.
- 2
Les Vieilles Charrues
Le plus grand festival de musique de France a Carhaix, ambiance bretonne et tetes d'affiche internationales.
- 3
Jazz in Marciac
Festival de jazz de renommee mondiale dans un petit village du Gers depuis 1978.
- 4
Rencontres d'Arles
Le festival international de la photographie, expositions dans les monuments historiques d'Arles.
- 5
Festival Interceltique
Dix jours de musique celtique a Lorient, le plus grand rassemblement celtique au monde.
