Mary AnneFrance in August is one of the busiest months of the year as half the French (particularly Parisians) go on holiday while the rest put on events to entertain their holidaying compatriots. While the seaside resorts and popular destinations like the Loire Valley are busy, you can always find peace and quiet in the deep rural countryside. Try the small villages in the south, explore the great rivers of France, or take in the views, the air, and the space in the mountains of France.
In particular, August is the month when Brittany comes into its own with so many festivals celebrating Celtic culture.
And don’t miss the many vide-greniers fairs held everywhere in August. Half of France is putting on those ‘open-attic’ fairs; the other half is buying old plates, glasses, wooden furniture, old farm implements and more items than you could ever imagine.
Brocante, bric-a-brac, vide-greniers and any old tat sales in France.
Check out these top events in France in August 2026
To Aug 2, 2026: Festival du Bout du Monde. The annual festival on the Crozon Peninsula, Finistère, Brittany, attracts the crowds for its music and its setting near the sea. International artists, some well known, some new ones, perform on 3 stages.
To Aug 5, 2026: Jazz in Marciac, Gers, Occitanie. This great jazz festival attracts over 200,000 people each year to listen to some great international names. There’s also a fringe festival on the main square.
To Aug 7, 2026: Festival Saint-Céré, Saint-Céré, Lot. The delightful town hosts a lyric festival with four alternating shows and 40 events performed in the town and throughout the Lot department. The productions then tour France during the following winter.
From Saint-Céré you can see the towers of the Saint-Laurent-les-Tours castle where the artist Jean Lurçat lived and worked…and during World War II operated a secret radio for the French Resistance. He’s best known as a driving force in the creation of modern French tapestry in the 20th century.
Here’s the Story of Tapestry in France
To Aug 7, 2026: Menton Music Festival From 1950, this festival has been the place to watch and hear the world’s top classical artists. Outdoor concerts are held opposite the port on the Forecourt of the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel. Younger, less well known musicians appear at the Jean Cocteau Museum and there are free concerts in different parts of Menton in the streets and squares.
To Aug 8, 2026: Pablo Casals Festival. Since 1950, world famous soloists, and up and coming young groups, have performed in Prades in Pyrénées-Orientales. The festival, which takes place in historic religious buildings like the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, focuses on chamber music from Bach to Mozert, as well as contemporary works. Also here: meetings with artists and film screenings.
To Aug 9, 2026: Festival Interceltique Lorient. Music and culture from the Morbihan Peninsula in Brittany plus the Celtic people of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Ireland and northern Spain (Galicia and Asturias). Over 800,000 festival-goers flock here for 4,500 artists, 120 shows, 11 new creations, all performed on 11 stages. Booksellers line the quays along with the Celtic market. There are processions, fest-noz, traditional Breton games, a race and a dinner concert.
To Aug 16, 2026: International Piano Festival, widely regarded as one of the most important piano festivals in the world, takes place in La Roque d’Anthéron, just 25 kms from Aix-en-Provence. Outdoor and indoor concerts.
In the intervals there are dinners and picnics and after the concert there’s a chance to meet with the artists and others in the bar.
To Sep 6, 2026: Paris Jazz Festival 25 free festivals spread over the summer take place in the Parc Floral in jazz, world music and Afro-American music (soul, blues). Along with the concerts, there are workshops where you can make instruments from salvaged objects, introductions to percussion and conferences as well as a sound discovery area for children in the Botanic Garden. All concerts and activities are free; there’s a charge for admission to the park.
To Sep 6, 2026: Le Voyage à Nantes: Summertime festival is one of the most exciting, and original, summer events in France. It’s an urban trail with works of art, some of which are new, others are created. 30 or so different works start at the former LU factory by the Canal Saint- Félix, then continue past iconic sites and buildings like the castle of the Dukes of Brittany and the Machines de l’Isle park with its grand elephant. A green line on the ground takes you along the itinerary. Don’t worry if you miss it; there is a permanent Voyage à Nantes through the city.
To Sep 20, 2026: Normandy Impressionist Festival celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Impressionists and celebrates Claude Monet. Around 150 to 200 events are organised in the main cities celebrating the art: Rouen, Caen, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Giverny, Honfleur, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, Fécamp and Saint Lô and in other smaller towns.
This year, Normandy and Paris commemorate the death of Claude Monet in 1926.
More about Normandy and Impressionism
Normandy and Impressionism
Guide to Impressionist Painters
To Oct 4, 2026: La Gacilly Photo Festival is a wonderful outdoor photo festival. For three months, hundreds of large format photos are displayed in the parks, green maze, squares and streets of the small town in Morbihan, Brittany.
To Oct 4, 2026: Les Rencontres d’Arles is a huge, well established international photo expo, now 50 years old. Over sixty exhibitions take place in heritage locations and most of the exhibits have not been seen before.
To Nov 1, 2026: Giverny, Claude Monet’s house and garden open for the season. A visit is a must on most people’s itinerary and this year with so many great events in Normandy it will be busier than ever.
To Nov 1, 2026: International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire château in the Loire Valley is a fabulous, huge Festival, the Chelsea Flower Show of France. The Château and grounds are lovely and the festival of a series of gardens from international designers always delivers some surprises. This year’s theme plays tribute to the cinema and gardens.
To Jan, 2027: Chartres en lumières sees this wonderful city in the Loire Valley illuminated for its annual festival of light. Chartres was the first city to light up its glorious buildings every night and it’s still one of the best light shows in France. Wander the streets to see monks walking, the theatre resplendent and the cathedral turned into the story of its past. It’s nightly from dusk to 1am so there’s no excuse to miss it.
Events in France starting in August 2026
Aug 1-3, 2026: Corso of Lavender in Dignes les Bains is a long-standing festival celebrating lavender, an important industry in the past. It opens with music, fireworks and a grand ball on Place Général de Gaulle. Floral floats process through the streets during the day and the evening; lavender purses are given out, and on Saturday international folk groups perform.
Aug 5, 15, 24, 2026: Cannes Pyrotechnic Art Festival is a sight to behold. It takes place at 10pm. And it’s huge. On the 400-meter long sea front, over 200,000 watch it from the Croisette. But you can also see it from around the bay and if you’re at the Jazz a Juin festival it finishes the evening off with pizzazz. Six different countries compete in a competition (except on July 14 which is exclusively French) for the best and spectators can vote online on the website.
Aug 7-10, 2026: Relive the past at the Bridiers Historical Festival with 400 actors, cavalry, horse-drawn carriages, pyrotechnics and more on the medieval site. They tell the story of over 6,000 years of history from prehistory to 1945. The gallop through the past takes you to the Romans, Bacchus, marriages and exiles, Hermione, Lafayette and the US War of Independence, the trenches of 1917 and World War II. It’s a heady mix in the Creuse in Nouvelle-Aquitaine!
Aug 14-16, 2026: Paimpol Traditional Sailing Ships Festival in Brittany is all about the sea and particularly features the sea shanty. Shanties were sung for rhythm, co-ordination of the sailors’ movements on board. They’re about shipwrecks, travel, discovery, heroism and love. The festival is also all about ships and several hundred boats appear in the harbour. Each morning the day’s festivities are announced with a foghorn concert. Expect a fun, if noisy festival.
Aug 9-21, 2026: Darc Festival (Dance, art, rhythm, culture) started in 1975 in Châteauroux, Indre, Centre-Val-de-Loire. An international audience of over 65,000 people come for concerts and dance workshops run by famous professionals. Everything here from modern jazz to Argentinian tangle, hip hop to African dance. Trainees take part in a big show at the end.
Aug 10-16, 2026: Confolens Folklore Festival, Confolens, Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. 150,000 visitors go to the international music and dance festival where performers from all 5 continents put on shows that reflect the culture of the world.
Aug 11-16, 2026: Les Cultures du Monde Festival de Montoire, Montoire-sur-le-Loir. It’s the turn for international amateur artists at the World Culture Festival when 300 of them are invited to perform their dances, songs and world music. Plus courses, exhibitions, traditional meals, crafts, street theatre and more. Catch performers from Brazil to Serbia.
Aug 12-15, 2026: La Route du Rock, Saint-Malo, Brittany. Beautiful setting and top musicians in Fort Saint-Père in Saint-Père-Marc-en-Poulet, and other venues. There are some pretty diverse groups playing with an emphasis on British bands, from the Irish Fontaines D.C to Yard Act.
Aug 12-16, 2026: Festival des Filets Bleus, Concarneau. One of the biggest of the great traditional festivals in Brittany, it began in 1905. It celebrates all aspects of Celtic traditions from costumes and those great headdresses to music and dance, from sea shanties to nautical jousting. Costumed performers take to the streets and the quaysides; most activities are free.
Aug 12-16, 2026: Feria, Dax, Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Dress in red and white and take to the streets to sing and dance with the crowds, and drink copious amounts of alcohol. There are folk music groups, horse shoes, sports events and parades, bullfights and great fireworks to round it all off.
Aug 13-16, 2026: L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue International Fair celebrates with its huge, world famous antique festival. 200 exhibitors tempt the crowds with stalls in the streets, in Gautier Park and on the quays of the river. And that’s before you go into the town’s 250 antique, art and decoration shops. There are experts to help you authenticate your art, antiques or bric-a-brac decorative item.
Aug 14-16, 2026: Festival d’Arvor, Vannes, Brittany. Traditional Breton culture is celebrated with exhibitions, bagadoù shows (traditional pipe bands), fancy dress parades, concerts and introductions to Breton dancing. Since 1928 the festival has elected a Queen of Pays Vennetais from over 80 towns and villages. At the end there’s a grand firework display on the Vannes ramparts.
Aug 15, 2026: The Cannes Pyrotechnic Festival has the world’s greatest creators making the show. (Also Aug 24).
August 15, 2026: Assumption. France takes another public holiday when shops and banks close, but happily not attractions, restaurants and bars.
Public Holidays in France
Aug 18-22, 2026: Météo Music Festival in Mulhouse, Alsace. The festival always surprises with contemporary jazz and experimental music. It’s aimed at national and international new names and has been an annual event since 1983.
Aug 18-30, 2026: La Chaise Dieu Classic Music Festival is set in the glorious abbey church. International and national orchestras perform in the ancient building. I’ve never managed to get to it, though it’s near my house in the Auvergne. It has some of the best classical music you can find and the settings are magical, from the abbey in La Chaise-Dieu where the painted Dance of Death sends shivers down your spine to local medieval churches and the theatre in Le Puy-en-Velay.
Aug 19-22, 2026: Aurillac International Street Theatre Festival, Aurillac, Cantal, Auvergne. This is one of the best street theatre festivals in France taking over the whole town. Around 500 troupes from around the world perform outdoors and in the evenings, there’s a big party helped by some pretty wild percussion sounds. There’s also an event before, Les Préalables, where troupes are welcomed in the local communes.
Aug 19-23, 2026: Festival de Saint-Loup, Guingamp, Côtes-d’Armor, Brittany. The Festival of music and dance started in the 19th century and is one of Brittany’s oldest. Today there are dancing workshops, Breton games of strength, a traditional costume competition, shows with regional pipe bands and the dérobée – a folk dance procession. Since 1957 it has staged the National Championship of Breton Dance.
Aug 19-30, 2026: The Berlioz Festival in La Côte-Saint-André, the birthplace of Hector Berlioz, has around 50 events, involving over 1,000 musicians and artists. Most of the works are played in the courtyard of the Louis XI Castle plus more music and contemporary works and minstrels in the medieval hall, castles, abbeys and churches in the region.
Aug 20-23, 2026: Le Cabaret Vert, Charleville-Mézières, Ardennes. This unusual, diverse festival takes in a remarkable line-up of musicians from rock to reggae. And there are recycling workshops, short films, street art and exhibitions. Particular emphasis is on the environment and eco solutions to the world’s problems. The name Le Cabaret Vert refers to a poem by Arthur Rimbaud, the 19th-century poet who originally came from the town.
Aug 20-24, 2026: Saint-Louis Patronal Festival, Sète, Hérault, Occitanie. It began in 1666 when the port opened. This is no refined rowing or sailing festival but a full-on battle of water jousts between boats on the royal canal. It’s non-stop eating and drinking in between the sports tournaments and fireworks.
Aug 26-30, 2026: Rock en Seine, Paris, Île-de-France. The last great annual rock event in France, this is a real crowd drawer. Over 100,000 gather in Saint-Cloud, on the western outskirts of Paris, to hear music on four stages. It’s a wonderful setting in grounds designed by the 17th-century garden designer Le Nôtre and great music at summer’s end from names like Franz Ferdinand and Deftones.
Aug 24, 2026: Cannes Pyrotechnic Art Festival is a sight to behold and this one, the last in the series, is magnificent.
Aug 24-30, 2026: The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTBM) running race is extraordinary. In the Alps mountains, it goes through France, Switzerland and Italy. This is one of the most difficult races, following the Tour du Mont Blanc, a Grand Randonnée hiking trail over 170 km. And it’s all done with a cumulative change in altitude of 10,000 m.
Around 1760 of the world’s best top-level athletes and elite runners compete and the race can take under 20 hours over over 46 hours. It ends in Chamonix.
Aug 28-29, 2026: The Agen Prune Festival in Lot-et-Garonne combines gastronomy and culture in the unique way that the French manage such events. You can taste the first fruits of the harvest, buy regional products in the gourmet market, play a few sports and glory in the street theatre and music.
Late August 2026: The Mirabelle Plum Festival in Metz is all about the iconic fruit of Lorraine. Plums are the stars: in dinner, shows, concerts, danced a parade and more. Buy them and related goods at the huge market over the weekend. There’s also an election…of the Mirabelle Plum Queen and you can’t miss the Montgolfiades of Metz, a hot air balloon gathering in the town centre.
Have I missed an event you think I should include? Please do let me know.
Events in France in 2026
Events in France in January 2026
Events in France in February 2026
Events in France in March 2026
Events in France in April 2026
Events in France in May 2026
Events in France in June 2026
Events in France in July 2026
I am updating the events in France in 2026 but have left 2025 as many of France’s major events occur each year, usually at the same time of the month.
Events in France in September 2025
Events in France in October 2025
Events in France in November 2025
Events in France in December 2025
More about great Food Festivals in France
Public holidays in France
Here’s a quick guide to the French regions and departments to help you find where the events are taking place.
Regions of France
French Departments
