Events in France in June 2021

Events in France in June 2021 are stacking up. With so many postponements from 2020 because of Covid-19 it’s going to be a bumper month for events. If they can take place, which is a big ‘if’.

However let’s hope that all will be well as there is so much to enjoy.

In June France’s parks and gardens are glorious. All the museums and attractions are open with many offering special outdoor events. As every year, events commemorate the June 6th D-Day Landings in Normandy. June also sees the festival season really kick off. And wherever you are, you’ll come across street events celebrating music, food and crafts. From mid-June to the first week of August, France’s shops get into the sales mood.

Check out the events in France in June 2021 and plan your visits in advance.

Nadal and Jokawicz on court in masks accepting trophies at Roland Garros in Paris — Roland Garros Men’s Final © Corinne-Dubreuil-FFT

To Jun 4, 2021: Roland Garros taking place in Paris is one of the 4 major Grand Slam tennis tournaments. It started in 1925 and is played out on 20 clay courts. The main court is named after Suzanne Lenglen, who was one of the first to wear the bra invented by Hermione Cadolle. Just one of the many odd fun facts about France.

Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches Map showing all 5 beach positions — Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches

To Jun 15, 2021: The annual D-Day Festival honours and remembers the allied forces and the successful June 6, 1944 landings on the Normandy beaches. There are over 80 separate events taking place all along the coast and inland as well.

For accommodation near the D-Day Landing Beaches, check my article here.

Exhibition space with industrial style ceiling and chairs mounted on a wall with 2 people looking at it — Saint Etienne Design Festival

To Aug 22, 2021: Saint-Etienne Design Festival. Every two years since 1998, the city of Saint-Étienne has hosted the International Design Biennial. It’s organised by the Saint-Étienne Regional School of Fine Arts and produced and managed by the Cité du Design centre. It promotes contemporary design in this unexpected former industrial city. Saint-Etienne in the Auvergne is the only French city designated as a UNESCO-listed Creative City of Design, joining Berlin, Bilbao, Montreal and Beijing.

Exhibitions throughout the city, workshops, conferences and meetings with design professionals make up an exciting programme.

Chartres lit up with bridge illuminated and people walking across river — Chartres lit up Chartres Tourist Office/F. Delaunay

To Oct 10, 2020: Chartres en lumières sees this wonderful city illuminated for its annual festival of light. It’s nightly so there’s no excuse to miss it.

View of MuCEM modern museum in Marseille showing strange facade of steel with white building behind all at waterside and basilica in background — MuCEM in Marseille @otcm VV

To Oct 18, 2021: Jeff Koons at MuCEM, Marseille. Some of the most famous works by American artist Jeff Koons come from the extraordinary private collection of François Pinault to Marseille. It explores the relationship between certain works and everyday objects, photographs and documents from MuCEM’s collection. It will include some of Jeff Koon’s best known works like his sculpture Balloon Dog, 1994-200, and the painting Dutch Couple 2007.

Chaumont-sur-Loire Festival: Chameleon Garden with different coloured plants and small shrubs in different areas and two mirrors facing each other — Chaumont-sur-Loire Festival: Chameleon Garden

To Nov 2, 2021: International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire Château in the Loire Valley is like the Chelsea Flower Show of France, except that it goes on for just over 7 months. The Château and grounds are lovely and the festival of a series of gardens from international designers always delivers some surprises. This year the theme is really spot on: Biomimcry in the Garden. As the Director Chantal Colleu-Dumond says ‘Understanding and imitating living systems and, in particular, natural ecosystems is one of the keys to our future’.

La Gacilly Photo Festival in Brittany with people in a wood with huge photographs — La Gacilly Photo Festival

Jun–Sept 2021: La Gacilly Photo Festival has been delighting and astonishing visitors to this small town in Morbihan, Brittany since 2004. For three months, between May and September, the festival showcases hundreds of large format photographs in the parks, green maze, squares and flowery streets of the small town. Each new edition celebrates a guest country and revolves around a theme related to the social and environmental concerns of our society.

PLEASE NOTE: There is no definite date or confirmation on the website.

Sheep with shepherds in street for transhumance — Transhumance in St Remy

Jun 2021: Annual Transhumance in and around St Remy de Provence when hundreds of sheep are driven through the town to begin their journey up to the pastures to grow fat and happy.

PLEASE NOTE: The website is not giving a date for this.

View of old racing yacht with all sails out in the voiles d'antibes with other old boats behind — Voiles d’Antibes © Patrick Hanez

Jun 2-6, 2021: Voiles d’Antibes on the Côte d’Azur is the start of the famous seaborne Mediterranean circuit races, attracting those beautiful rare, vintage and classic yachts. Watch the old versus crews sailing in America’s Cup yachts.

Lemons with green leaves attached in basket with blurry face behind, part of the Agricultural pavilion, Versailles Food Fair — Agricultural Pavilion at the Versailles Food Fair

Jun 2021: The Paris Food Forum, Paris. On the initiative of President Emmanuel Macron, the Paris Food Forum will be held in the Tuileries Garden. It’s an important international event with serious discussion on the future of gastronomy along with cookery demonstrations by world-famous chefs. Check out the many stalls selling food products, and enjoy the entertainment. In addition there’s a special international cookbook section and a French market.
PLEASE NOTE: It has been postponed from 2020 but there is no current date.

Gardens of William Christin showing gravelled paths between flower beds with box hedges and pyramid trees looking towards a little p;linth and gateway at back — Gardens of William Christie

Jun 4-6, 2021: Rendez-vous aux Jardins. Thousands of gardeners, botanists, landscapers, private and public owners get together to show off the art of the garden. Around 2,400 public and private gardens in France and 600 in other European countries open up to the public. You’ll come across guided tours, demonstrations on plants, exhibitions, musical walks, games and more. The theme this year is Transmission of Knowledge.

Vivre Cote Sud exhibition showing ppol with splashing fountain in front, small parasols behind climbing up small hill, trees and sky in background — Vivre Cote Sud exhibit © S. Spiteri

Jun 4-7, 2021: Salon Vivre Côté Sud in Aix-en-Provence is the annual fair where you can check out the latest French trends. Have a look then transform your home, wherever it might be, into a gorgeous, definitely Instagrammable place.

Festival poster for Nimes 2021 with Vianney on one side and Carla Bruni with guitar sitting on steps on other and festival details underneath

Jun 6-7, 2021: Field of the Cloth of Gold (Camp du Drap d’Or), between Ardres and Guines , north France. In June 1520 the young King of England, Henry VIII and his contemporary King of France, François I met in north France. Various events to celebrate this historic moment will take place in Calais, Guînes and Ardres, as well as at Hampton Court in the UK. There’s not much information at the moment, but concerts, re-enactments and more are expected.

Here’s what the fantastic 18-day Field of the Cloth of Gold party in 1520 was all about.

If you want a feeling of what it was like, the unlikely place for this is the Puy du Fou, a fabulous theme park in the Vendée. One of the themed hotels is called the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Choose to stay in a Blue (French) tent or a Red (English) one. Discover more here.

Jun 10-Jul 24, 2021: Festival de Nîmes in Occitanie. Music festival with a big line up includes Sting on Jul 4^th, Kiss on 6^th Deep Purple on 12^th and Black Eyes Peas on 13^th. And there’s much more! It’s been happening since 1997.

Le Mans 24 hour race with one leading car coming round bend and second behind — Le Mans 2020 © JEP CC-BY-SA 4.0

Jun 12-13, 2021: 24 Hours of Le Mans race, near Le Mans in the Loire Valley, always captures the world’s imagination. It began in 1923 and covers a road circuit of just over 8 miles (13kms) in Le Mans.

PLEASE NOTE: The 24 Hours of Le Mans has been rescheduled for August 21-22, 2021.

Provins medieval fair showing group of dressed up people with banners in co ordinated stance standing on each others shoulders in the walls of the city — Provins Medieval Fair © JF Leroux

Jun 12, 13, 2021: Medieval Festival de Provins. This UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Seine-et-Marne near Paris is a beautifully preserved fortified medieval city. So it’s a perfect setting to enjoy their annual Medieval Fair. Swashbuckling galore and some sinister characters along with musicians, stilt walkers and entertainers. There are camps, craftspeople making and selling jewellery, spices, fabrics and costumes from the distant past. And it’s great for children.

looney Tunesd characters on stage with name behind at Annecy animation Festival — Looney Tunes at Annecy 2019 © Boungawa – CC-BY-SA 4.0

Jun 14-19, 2021: International Animated Film Festival in Annecy, Haute-Savoie. Since 1985, the questions is: Who will win the Cristal award? It’s asked each year at the international festival, founded in 1960 and organised by CITIA. Over 200 films from around the world compete: short and feature films, TV movies and final year student films. There are premières at the town’s venues, exhibitions and more, plus nightly free outdoor screenings on Le Pâquier field.

Hellfest heavy metal concert showing band on stage with red and black smoke amidst instruments — Hellfest © Selbymay CC-BY-SA 4.0

Jun 18-20, 2021: Hellfest in Clisson, Loire-Atlantique. Founded in 2006 by Benjamin Barbaud, Hellfest attracts fans of hard rock, gothic rock, heavy metal, black metal and hardcore punk. Seven stages for the biggest names from Guns’n’Roses to Iron Maiden, Kiss to Deep Purple, Alice Cooper and many more I confess I haven’t heard of but over 150,000 spectators have. Apparently the audience is an eclectic one with a sense of humour. Festival-goers appear as pink rabbits, Gauls and Teletubbies. Entertainment includes dance shows with flaming jets while the young can skate in a park shaped like a giant coffin.

PLEASE NOTE: Despite trying everything, Hellfest has been cancelled for this year. It is now scheduled for June 19th to 21st, 2022. So start planning NOW!

Saint Saens opera Samson et Delilah showing dramatic dark stage with one beareded, crowned figure holding up dagger and holding onto servant on floor and soldiers around with spears — Saint Saëns: Samson et Delilah © Alain Hanel OMC

June 19-Jul 31, 2021: Chorégies d’Orange, the oldest festival in France is the time to enjoy, opera and music in the extraordinary Roman amphitheater in Orange, near Avignon.

Lady in long orange medieval dress playing electric harp on street with microphones. She is singing in Belfort France — Street Musician in Belfort Public domain via Wikimedia 4.0

June 21: Fête de la Musique (concerts and dancing in the streets throughout France). It began in 1982 and has blossomed since then. Everyone participates so there’s an enormous variety of music from contemporary to folk as the music schools, conservatories, museums, hospitals, radio, concert halls, cafés, street performers and more put on their own versions.

Girl in long dark green coat showing just from shoulders to knees with back to us carrying lots of shopping bags — Shopping in Paris © Paris Tourist Office Amélie Dupont

Jun 23-Jul 20, 2021: Summer Sales throughout France

Poster for Jazz à Vienne 2021 showing cartoon characters following lady in green — Jazz à Vienne 2021

Jun 23-Jul 10, 2021: Jazz à Vienne, Isère. Great names lined up for this annual popular jazz festival. Jamie Cullum, Ibrahim Maalouf, Anne Paceo and many more are on the billing. Over 200,000 people descend on the city to see the performances on four stages. Isère is a fabulous place to visit (there’s more on Isèrere here).

Paul a la Maison at Angouleme Animated festival showing Paul in 6 panels whopping in supermarket — Paul a la maison ©-Michel-Rabagliati-et-Les-editions-de-La-Pasteque

June 24-27, 2021: The International Comic Strip Festival has taken place in Angoulême every year since 1974. Normally in January, it’s been postponed in 2021 to June. Professionals from all over the world meet some 200,000 fans in giant marquees for signings, exhibitions, screenings and more. A special youth area offers activities and games.

PLEASE NOTE: Sadly this has just been cancelled due to new Covid-19 restrictions.

Gravel is Bike Festivalin France showing lone cuclists on gravel cycling uphill with dust behind and hills — Nature is Bike © Shimano

Jun 26-27, 2021: Nature is Bike, Angers, Loire Valley. France has come up with another first (postponed from 2020). This is the first festival dedicated to gravel bikes. It’s a sporting event but is aimed at reconnecting with nature, involving families, professionals and enthusiasts. There are two events: a 64km night ride and a 100km daytime course. There’s also a family ramble, a ‘Gravel Expo’ trade fair and environment-focused events. Angers is a major cycling centre, located where three major cycling routes cross. The town is well known for its extraordinary historic and contemporary tapestries.

Official Tour de France 2021 map showing route — Tour de France 2021 A.S.O.

Jun 26–Jul 19, 2021: Tour de France It starts this year in Brittany after the starts in Copenhagen and Denmark was postponed to 2022. This most famous of cycle races is always exciting, always has upsets and always thrills. It ends on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.