Events in France in September 2025

September is a wonderful time for a visit to France. The days are warm and the sea beckons; the trees begin to change their colour; the crowds have largely gone, and the country starts the first grape harvests.

Here are some great events in France in September 2025.

To Sep 7, 2025: Paris Jazz Festival. 25 free festivals spread over the summer at weekends in the Parc Floral offer 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.

Paris jazz festival poster with Sėlēnę singer and two musicians in background — Paris Jazz Festival with Sėlēnę

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. And the theme? So British!

La Gacilly Photo outdoor festival with photos hung along path, lawn in middle and people looking on aerial shot — La Gacilly Festival © J M Niron

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.

Les Rencontres d'Arles 2025poster with black writing on yellow background and dates — Les Rencontres d’Arles 2025

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.

Giverny garden with Japanese bridge in background and flowering plants — Giverny © L. Leloup D. Dumas CRT Normandie

To Nov 2, 2025: International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire château in the Loire Valley is equivalent in prestige to the Chelsea Flower Show. 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.

chaumont Festival poster 2025 with open book and chaumont on it and wording at top left — Chaumont Childrens’ Garden © Chaumont Festival

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.

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

Events in France starting in September 2025

Mid-September onwards: Wine harvest festivals are beginning all across France. Check the local tourist offices for celebrations where you are as the wine harvests are always one of the major events in September in France.

epernay vineyards in autumn. Long view with orange and red vines and church in distance with sun just appearing over horizon — Epernay vineyards in autumn © Alexandre Coudreux/Epernay Tourism

Sept 5-14, 2025: American Film Festival, Deauville, Calvados, Normandy. At this well-established event you get the chance to see around 100 American films – from blockbuster Hollywood productions to small independent films. They’re on at the Lucien Barrière casino and Le Mony cinema. The festival village provides information on all the events.
Here’s a guide to chic Deauville, well worth a visit any month of the year.

Black and white photo of Sharon Stone at 1991 Deauville film festival. Star sits on a balcony with photographers facing her — Sharon Stone at the 1991 Deauville Film Festival © Roland Godefroy

Sept 6, 2025: Nuits de Sologne starts at 5pm at Lamotte Beuvron in the Loir-et-Cher, south of Orléans, with musical entertainment and craft exhibitions, a bar and food stands. Sit on seats on the grass and wait for the first part of this spectacular show. At 8.45pm, there’s a projection onto an enormous façade. At 9.30pm the big fireworks start, synchronized to music. This might be a bit off the beaten track but it’s one of the events in September in France to try to see. You must buy tickets in advance from the website.

Fireworks showing back sky and red and white huge rockets snaking into the air and dropping down again — Fireworks at the Nuits de Solange

Sept 13-15, 2024: The famous Lille Braderie takes over the city in Nord-Pas de Calais for a non-stop antiques and bric-a-brac fair that is quite a sight to see. It starts at 8am on Saturday and finishes at 6pm on Sunday. Wander among the streets of 10,000 amateur and professional exhibitors. If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, you never will. To keep up, eat endless portions of mussels and chips, then pile up the shells outside the restaurant. The competition for the largest pile is kept going by the 3 million or so visitors.

Lille Braderie in main square with stalls and people around — Lille Braderie © Jérémy-Gunther-Heinz Jahnick/ CC-BY-SA 4.0

Sept 13-14, 2025: Crémieu Medieval Festival, Crémieu in Isère. Watch the Middle Ages come to life as around 200 professionals and 300 volunteers re-enact the past. Horse shows, jousts, jugglers, stilt-walkers, flag-twirlers, fire-eaters, musicians and magicians provide the entertainment.
To see how the great unwashed lived, visit the living camps and watch the occasional dispute and fight with swords, lances and shield. Walk along the street where old trades flourish: potters, bow-makers, chainmail-makers and spinners.

Cremieu medieval festival with figure in medieval costume playing a large lute like instrument i the street with other costumed figures behind — Crémieu Festival © Didier Jungers/Balcons du Dauphine Tourisme

Sept 13-21, 2025: Dieppe International Kite Festival (Festival International de Cerfs-Volants). Adding to Normandy’s attractions in 2025, the biannual kite festival takes to the skies with an extraordinary array of fantastic (in every sense) creations. And there’s more: kite-making demonstrations, kite-flying lessons, street entertainment and, it being the 21st century, drone flights.

Dieppe Kite Festival showing beach to left, hundreds of different colored kites in the air and sea to left with green space and town on right — Dieppe Kite Festival © Xavier Retout

Sept 16-20, 2025: Biennale of Contemporary Dance, Lyon. Every two years the Lyon Dance Biennale alternates with the Contemporary Art Biennal. Dancers from all over the world show around 100,000 spectators every kind of dance from ballet to samba, from African dance to hip-hop. Over forty shows take over different venues and the streets.

Sept 17-21, 2025: Fête Renaissance du roi de l’oiseau in Le Puy-en-Velay, Auvergne. This Festival of Renaissance Arts just gets better each year. The whole town goes back in time, with most of the residents dressed up in costumes they have been making all year. There are parades, archery contests, camps and much more. And it takes place just 25 kms from my house.

Le Puy en Velay Bird Festival with woman in costume with sticks of fire in her hands and men on horseback behind her all in costume — Le Puy en Velay Bird Festival Le Puy TO

Sept 18-21, 2025: Bol d’Or, Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, Var, PACA. The Bol d’Or is the chance for endurance motorcyclists to compete with an international line-up. Lasting 24 hours, teams of three riders take turns during the competition. Races take in the Bol d’Argent, a 3-hour race for medium engine size motorbikes and the Bol d’Or Classic, which sees the great vintage bikes take to the track.
Enthusiasts can also see the race on a giant screen and check out the latest products from major manufacturers like BMW, Yamaha and Suzuki. And if that’s not enough, there are rock concerts, a funfair, paintball, freestyle demos and mini-bike workshops for those mini champions.

New Speed Triple 1200 RR Triumph on display at the Bol d'Or 2022 with two super motorbikes parked on land with mountinas behind, one red, one black — The new Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR at the Bol d’Or 2022

Sep 19-21, 2025: European Heritage days (Journées du patrimoine). Monuments and historic site throughout France (and Europe) put on a special show. You can get inside buildings not normally open like the Élysée Palace and private villas and castles. It’s not just about seeing the places; there are guided tours, skills demonstrations, theatre and music.

Patrimonie days 2025 poster with stulised buildings drawings and people — European Heritage Days. 2025 © Clement Barbe/Ministry of Culture

Sept 22-28, 2025: What a Trip! Heyme Festival, Montpellier, Herault, Occitanie. The International Travel and Adventure Festival has everything: a travel village, world bookshop, workshops, adventure travel and an official film competition, free concerts, exhibitions, talks and more. It’s organised by people who love travel and is not like so many trade shows around the world.

What a Trip Festival with lights syncopated in front of classical building — What a Trip Festival

Sep 19-28, 2025: World Puppet Theatre Festival in Charleville-Mézières is the one every puppet and marionette lover tries to attend. Founded in 1961 by Jacques Félix, and held every two years, this year’s 23rd edition expects 155,000 visitors watching around 200 shows from 250 troupes from all over the world, from traditional to contemporary shows. That’s not all: you can check out the fringe festival, street shows, meetings, exhibitions and other festivities.

Poster for World Puppet Festival 2025 with words and stylised drawings of puppets — World Puppet Festival 2025

Sep 23-28, 2025: The Great Bulwark (Grand Pavois), La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. This impressive and important international nautical fair fills Minimes Harbour. Check out more than 800 exhibitors, look at the boats, try one out and buy it! And stay for the final fireworks.

Sept 27-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.

1/10/2024, Saint-Tropez (FRA), Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez 2024, Race Day 2

Sept-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.

Opening Evening of Paris Festival showing classical lit up building at night to right, lit up huge tree and lawn with festival goers sitting and standing — Opening Evening of Paris Festival

Sept 30-31, 2025: VVR (vignes vins randos). Walk the vineyards in Anjou, the Loire Valley and Touraine. by Val de Loire. Over 18 walks, each lasting around three hours, are guided and hosted by local winegrowers. Discover more, taste local products and visit local attractions. Plus Plus cooking demonstrations and kids events.