From the Festival d'Avignon raising its curtain to the Eurockéennes de Belfort, twelve highlights to live the first weekend of July all across France, from theatre to live music.
July is settling in, and with it the festival season in full swing. The weekend of July 4-5, 2026 marks a real turning point: the Festival d'Avignon raises its curtain in the Cour d'Honneur, the Eurockéennes de Belfort begin their rock marathon and the Roman theatre of Vienne already echoes with jazz. Everywhere, towns and villages shift into summer mode.
Rather than list everything, we've mapped out a tour of France of twelve highlights, region by region, from the big stages that gather tens of thousands of festival-goers to quieter gems. On the same Saturday you can follow a tropical parade in Paris, cross paths with Viking warriors in the Ardennes or watch Bonifacio light up at nightfall. Here is our national pick, all genres included.
Carnaval Tropical de Paris: the capital turns Caribbean (Paris region)
On Sunday July 5, Paris switches to tropical time with the Carnaval Tropical de Paris, the capital's largest tropical parade. Created in 2001, the event brings together more than 4,000 dancers and musicians from the French West Indies, Guiana, Réunion, Brazil and Colombia for a vibrant procession up the Champs-Élysées. Decorated floats, feathered costumes, percussion and pulsing rhythms fill the avenue in a joyful, multicultural atmosphere. It's an afternoon dive into the cultures of the overseas territories and Latin America, right in the heart of Paris. Free and open to all, the carnival is enjoyed as much from the roadside as by letting the crowd carry you along.
Sorties de Bain in Granville: street arts by the sea (Normandy)
From July 2 to 5, the seaside resort of Granville, in the Manche, turns into an open-air stage with Sorties de Bain, one of western France's great street-arts festivals. Created in 2003, it stages nearly 150 free performances from around forty companies: street theatre, circus, dance, music and storytelling follow one another across the squares, quays and seafront. Around 50,000 spectators wander from one show to the next each year, in a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere. Between performances, you can soak up the maritime setting and the sea air. A popular, accessible festival, perfect for discovering the performing arts with no ticketing.
Fête Viking de Rocroi: 350 warriors of the North in the Ardennes (Grand Est)
From July 3 to 5, the fortified town of Rocroi, in the Ardennes, hosts France's largest Viking festival. More than 350 fighters from across Europe pitch their camp at the foot of the star-shaped ramparts to bring the Viking age back to life: armed combat, period crafts, demonstrations of daily life and battle re-enactments. Run by the associations Les Adorateurs de Byggvir and Fenrìs Ùlfar, the event blends historical accuracy and spectacle in a remarkable heritage setting. For history lovers and families alike, it's an immersive journey back to the age of the longships. An outing off the beaten track, far from the summer's big music stages.
Les Eurockéennes de Belfort: the summer's great rock marathon (Burgundy-Franche-Comté)
From July 2 to 5, the Eurockéennes de Belfort unfold their edition over four days and four open-air stages. Since 1989, this festival has stood as a benchmark for contemporary music in France, gathering more than 130,000 festival-goers each year. Les Eurockéennes mix rock, electro, rap, pop and world music, with a line-up that blends international headliners and discoveries. The lakeside site lives from early afternoon until late into the night, between main stages and more intimate spaces. It's the big-format festival experience par excellence, where you come to spend several days rather than catch a single concert. Crowds are huge, booking strongly advised.
Festival de Chambord: classical music in the château courtyard (Centre-Val de Loire)
From July 4 to 11, the largest château in the Loire Valley opens its courtyard to concerts with the Festival de Chambord. Created in 2011 and led by pianist Vanessa Wagner, the event offers a repertoire spanning four centuries of music, from Bach to Philip Glass. In the Renaissance setting of François I's château, the evenings bring great works of the repertoire into dialogue with more contemporary creations. The opening weekend launches the edition, with its first concerts at the foot of the estate's monumental architecture. Listening to classical music in such a heritage setting is an experience of its own. Plan your access ahead, the estate is vast.
Le Voyage à Nantes: the city becomes an open-air museum (Pays de la Loire)
From July 4 through September 6, Nantes can be explored like a work of art with Le Voyage à Nantes. Conceived in 2012 by Jean Blaise, this art trail, unique in France, links contemporary installations, permanent works and ephemeral creations scattered across the whole city along a green line painted on the ground for 16 kilometres. From the banks of the Loire to the Machines de l'île, art springs up at street corners and turns the urban space into a vast open-air museum. The visit is free, on foot or by bike, at your own pace. For anyone who loves to wander and be surprised, it's one of the finest ways to discover Nantes in summer.
Kann al Loar in Landerneau: Brittany celebrates its culture (Brittany)
From July 2 to 6, Landerneau, in Finistère, comes alive to the rhythm of Kann al Loar, one of the great gatherings of Breton culture. Created in 1986, the festival showcases Breton and Celtic music, traditional dances, theatre in the Breton language and the festoù-noz that keep the town dancing into the night. Concerts, shows and activities follow one another in the streets and along the banks of the Élorn, in an atmosphere both festive and deeply rooted in its land. To discover a living Brittany, far from the clichés, it's a warm and authentic gathering that brings every generation together.
La Félibrée in the Dordogne: the Périgord's biggest Occitan celebration (New Aquitaine)
From July 3 to 5, the Dordogne celebrates its identity with La Félibrée, the largest festival of Occitan culture in the Périgord. Held for more than a century, it moves to a different host town each year, and the chosen town mobilises entirely for the occasion. For one weekend, traditional costumes, parades, and Occitan music and dance fill the streets, while demonstrations of old crafts revive the know-how of earlier times. It's one of the oldest identity celebrations in the South-West, passed down from generation to generation, where regional pride meets a festive spirit. A dive into the living memory of Occitania, at the heart of a Périgord in full swing.
Worldwide Festival in Sète: Gilles Peterson's discerning gathering (Occitanie)
Through July 5, Sète hosts the Worldwide Festival, the summer event devised by the renowned British DJ and tastemaker Gilles Peterson. For a week, the port city of the Hérault brings electronic music, soul, jazz and world sounds into dialogue, in a multidisciplinary line-up known for its rigour and eclecticism. Worldwide draws lovers of discovery, those who like to move from a jazz set to an electro night without any boundary of genre. The Mediterranean setting adds to the charm, between daytime concerts and evenings that stretch on. For the closing weekend, the atmosphere is at its height. A connoisseurs' festival, human in scale, far from the summer's biggest line-ups.
Jazz à Vienne: jazz beneath the tiers of a Roman theatre (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)
Through July 11, Vienne, south of Lyon, lives to the rhythm of Jazz à Vienne, one of Europe's largest jazz festivals. Created in 1981, it takes over the Roman theatre each summer, a first-century edifice whose stone tiers offer exceptional acoustics and a striking setting. Over the editions, the festival has gathered 200,000 festival-goers around some 250 concerts and a thousand artists, from the purest jazz to neighbouring sounds such as soul, blues and world music. Watching a great concert unfold before the ancient stones, at nightfall, is one of the strong experiences of the French musical summer. The first weekend of July already promises fine evenings.
Festival d'Avignon: theatre raises the curtain in the Cour d'Honneur (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur)
From July 4 to 25, Avignon once again becomes the world capital of theatre with the Festival d'Avignon, founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar. For three weeks, more than forty shows — theatre, dance, performances, readings — take over the city, beginning with the legendary Cour d'Honneur of the Palais des Papes, a stone showcase for the great creations. The opening weekend kicks off the edition, in a city that transforms into a giant stage, from schoolyards to cloisters. It's one of the world's biggest performing-arts events, where creators, professionals and passionate audiences meet. For theatre lovers, attending the opening of Avignon is a moment apart. Booking essential for the IN programme.
Festi Lumi in Bonifacio: the Corsican citadel bathed in light (Corsica)
From July 2 to 4, the medieval upper town of Bonifacio, in Corse-du-Sud, dresses itself in light with Festi Lumi, a festival entirely devoted to the art of light. For its 11th edition, created in 2014, the event drapes the ramparts, the alleys and the Marina with light installations and monumental projection mapping cast onto the façades. At nightfall, the town perched on its limestone cliffs becomes an enchanting trail to discover on a leisurely stroll. It's another way of seeing Bonifacio, one of the most beautiful citadels of the Mediterranean, transfigured by light. Free and family-friendly, the festival offers a magical interlude to evening wanderers, far from the bustle of the beaches.
Building your weekend, anywhere in France
A tropical parade in Paris, street arts in Granville, Viking warriors in the Ardennes, rock in Belfort, classical music at Chambord, contemporary art in Nantes, Breton culture in Landerneau, an Occitan celebration in the Dordogne, discerning sounds in Sète, jazz beneath the Roman stones of Vienne, theatre in Avignon or a floodlit Corsican citadel in Bonifacio: this first July weekend offers twelve moods for twelve desires, from the great thrill of the headliners to the quieter gem. Every region holds many more treasures beyond this national pick. For the full rundown of what's on near you, see our this weekend's agenda and compare programmes region by region.
