Mary AnneAs always October has some great events in France. And there’s the added advantage of being without the crowds of the summer vacation. Festivals range from film and art to music and gardens. Harvests bring mouth-watering food festivals and the the French celebrate the annual wine harvest as autumn turns the vineyards deep orange. Check out these events in France in October 2025.
October, 2025: Wine harvest festivals across France. Check the local tourist offices for celebrations where you are.
To Oct 1, 2025: Musica International Festival, Strasbourg, Alsace, Grand Est. If you love to explore contemporary classical music, this is the festival to aim for. It’s a rich introduction to 20th-century major works as well as works by new generations of composers and performers.
To Oct 5, 2025: 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 5, 2025: 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 Oct 5, 2025: Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, Saint Tropez, PACA. Around 300 sailing boats, both traditional and modern, gather to race in the Mediterranean. This is one of the last events in France in September so try to make it to catch that last summer sun. It’s a sight to see.
To Nov 1, 2025: 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 2, 2025: 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 is Once Upon a Time in the Garden.
To Dec, 2025: Paris Autumn Festival is a huge arts events, taking in every discipline and taking place in different venues throughout Paris. Around 50 events cover the new and the avant-garde. It was created in 1972 by Michel Guy under the impetus of Georges Pompidou who wanted Paris to become a cultural capital. He succeeded; today around 150,000 people attend one of the events.
Please Note: Exact dates to be decided.
To Jan 5, 2025: 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.
Events in France starting in October 2025
Oct 1-5, 2025: British & Irish Film Festival, Dinard, Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. Go British in Dinard at this great festival where awards are given and new films showcased. 7 different venues give you a comprehensive look at the British and Irish film industry. There are 6 films in the main competition, premiers, short films and more for the 30,000 fans at this event.
Oct 1-Nov 2, 2025: Disneyland Paris begins its Halloween Festival with Disney villains roaming the streets. On October 31 Disney’s Halloween Party takes over the park from 8pm to 2am. Book early and expect lots of families.
Oct 4-5, 2025: Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Longchamp in Paris is the chic setting for the equally chic race. It’s a great racecourse with 500 screens for those not in the centre of the action. Racing is almost an afterthought.
Oct 5, 2025: Rederie d’Amiens This great annual flea market takes over the city, occupying a massive 5km of pavements. It’s the second biggest in France after Lille. Part of a great long tradition in France of scouring markets for bargains.
Oct 8-12, 2025: La Fête des Vendanges is the extraordinary Montmartre’s annual Grape Harvest Festival attracting over half a million visitors. It has everything, from grape stomping to a Grand Parade, music, dancing, vineyard tours (who knew Montmartre had a vineyard?), a grand picnic and more.
Montmartre was once the place for artists like Van Gogh who lived at 25 Rue Victor Masse. Van Gogh in Paris.
Oct 9-12, 2025: Salon de la Photo. Held at La Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, this large photography fair is aimed at both amateur and professional photographers.
Oct 8-12, 2025: La Rochelle Jazz Festival, Charente-Maritime. Jazz between the Towers in La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast is a must for jazz fans. Well-known and new musicians, official concerts and a lively off festival events complete the package.
PLEASE NOTE: Date to be confirmed.
Oct 11-12, 2025: Fête de la Coquille et de la Pêche. Honfleur in Normandy holds this popular annual festival. Expect craft stalls, cookery demonstrations and plenty of fish, as well as local produce.
Oct 14-19, 2025: Semaine du Gout – Taste Week takes place throughout France. Discover the local gastronomy and specialities, take cooking classes, taste (a lot) and be entertained.
Oct 18-19, 2025: Chestnut Festival (Fieira de la Castanha) takes place in Mourjou in the Auvergne. Enjoy chestnuts every which way as the harvest comes in.
Oct 25-26, 2025: The Pepper Festival in Espelette, Pyrénées-Atlantiques just east of St Jean de Luz in south west France (Pays Basque/Nouvelle Aquitaine) is a grand tradition. There’s Basque traditional dancing, and music, parades and pelota as well as a lot of spicy food. In 1650 a Basque navigator, part of Christopher Columbus’ crew brought chili peppers back home. And the rest is history. The first flowers on the plants appear in June and fruit in July. Harvesting takes place in mid-August then the houses are festooned with peppers hung out to dry.
Read about more Food Festivals in France.
Oct 24-26, 2025: La Grande Braderie de Saint Tropez is a popular event on the Cote d’Azur. The main shops take their fashion items into the street and sell at very discounted prices. It’s one of the great fun events in shopping for bargains in France.
Oct 25-26, 2025: Chablis Wine Festival in Burgundy. The festival includes tastings of all Chablis appellations, seminars, dinners, auctions, and many other wine-related activities.
Oct 25-Nov 2, 2025: Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament is the final ATP World Masters event. Held in the Accor Arena on a hard surface, 48 players will compete. The 2024 tournament was won by Alexander Zverev.
Oct 29-Nov 2, 2025: Paris Chocolate Fair at Porte de Versailles is just delicious…and always surprising. 700 or so chocolatiers, pastry chefs and other professionals take part. There are tasting sessions and cookery demonstrations, children’s pasty-making workshops and more. But most startling are the set pieces, the live performances and the fashion show which challenge your ideas about chocolate.
Oct 29-Nov 2, 2025: The prestigious Paris Salon d’Automne art show began in 1903 with the likes of Guimard, Cezanne, Bonnard, Roualt, and Matisse. The idea was to shock the old and introduce the new. It continues today with works by 890 artists including 161 new participants from 43 countries. It takes place in the Petit Palais.
Oct 31-Nov 2, 2025: Halloween is not celebrated in France as it is in the UK or USA. But it remains a special time, with France taking All Saints’ Day on November 1 seriously.
Here’s more about how the French celebrate Halloween in France.
If you know of other events you think I should include, please do let me know!
Events in France in 2025
Events in France in January 2025
Events in France in February 2025
Events in France in March 2025
Events in France in April 2025
Events in France in May 2025
Events in France in June 2025
Events in France in July 2025
Events in France in August 2025
Events in France in September 2025
I am currently updating the last two months. Many of the events remain, though the dates change slightly. So in the meantime, click on the link of each event to get an idea of what is covered.
Events in France in November 2024
Events in France in December 2024
To help you find those events, here are a couple of articles on the geography of France
Regions of France
Departments of France
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