Cheese in Livarot, a sailors' procession in Trouville, thoroughbreds in Deauville: twelve Norman outings for the weekend of August 1-2, 2026.
On August 1, Normandy switches programmes. Several July festivals give their final performance on Sunday, and the August line-up takes over straight away.
Two events carry the weekend on their own: the Fête de la Mer in Trouville-sur-Mer and the cheese fair in Livarot, both running Saturday and Sunday. Sunday August 2 then works as an opening day. The Deauville races, the Sées concerts and the staged tour of Château-Gaillard all begin on the same date.
Our pick goes to La Médiévale au Moulin de Hauville. A period encampment at the foot of a 13th-century windmill, for one day only. Here are twelve outings worth noting across Normandy's five départements.
Fête de la Mer in Trouville-sur-Mer: the sailors' procession, Saturday and Sunday
The Fête de la Mer de Trouville-sur-Mer takes over Boulevard Fernand Moureaux on August 1 and 2. The event dates back to 1933 and honours the town's fishermen.
The programme follows a well-worn ritual. A mass for sailors lost at sea, a solemn procession, then a bagpipe parade through the harbour streets. A village of stalls runs across both days.
The high point remains the departure of the Trouville boats out to sea. The whole town comes down to the quays to watch. It is the most Norman outing of the weekend, quite literally.
Livarot Cheese Fair: 80 stallholders and an eating contest
Every first weekend of August, the Livarot Animations association sets up trestle tables downtown. The Livarot Cheese Fair gathers around 80 stallholders on Saturday and Sunday in Livarot-Pays-d'Auge.
Cheeses, charcuterie, wines and regional specialities arrive from across France, not only from the Pays d'Auge. The stands fill the town streets for two full days.
The Livarot eating contest is still the draw everyone turns up for. Children's activities round out the schedule. Come hungry, and expect to leave with a heavy bag.
La Nuit des Artistes in Honfleur: studios stay open late on Saturday
On Saturday August 1, La Nuit des Artistes opens up the historic centre of Honfleur for one evening. The town has run the event on the first Saturday of August since 2015.
Streets, alleys, galleries and artists' studios host performances, exhibitions, concerts and street shows. Galleries stay open late into the night.
The appeal lies in the encounters. You talk to the artists, watch live demonstrations, and stumble on temporary installations down a side lane. One evening, one Saturday a year.
L'Août Musical de Deauville: chamber music moves in for ten days
From July 31 to August 8, L'Août Musical de Deauville turns the resort into a chamber music residency. The founders of the Festival de Pâques created it in 2002.
The idea is straightforward. Rising figures of the European music scene invite unusually gifted young performers. The repertoire runs from baroque works to 20th-century masterpieces.
Concerts are split between the Salle Elie de Brignac and Les Franciscaines. This first weekend covers the very first dates of the edition. A good moment to step in if you want to follow the whole run.
Meeting de Deauville Barrière: the flat racing season opens on Sunday
On Sunday August 2, the Meeting de Deauville Barrière starts its season at the Deauville-La Touques racecourse. The meeting then runs through August 30.
Sixteen days of flat racing make up the programme, including seven Group 1 races. It is the major French racing event of the summer, and it begins this weekend.
The racecourse opened in 1864 at the initiative of the Duc de Morny. Do you need to know anything about horses? Not really: race days come with free activities aimed at families.
La Médiévale au Moulin de Hauville: a period camp for one Sunday only
On Sunday August 2, the Fiers Normands company pitches its camp at the foot of the Hauville stone mill. La Médiévale au Moulin de Hauville runs for a single day, on Rue du Moulin de Pierre.
The setting does much of the work. This windmill ranks among the oldest in France, built in the 13th century by the abbey of Jumièges.
Period cooking, a fire-eater, combat displays, weaving and hairdressing demonstrations: the fair favours craft over large-scale spectacle. It is our pick of this first August weekend.
Château-Gaillard in Les Andelys: Richard the Lionheart back on duty
From Sunday August 2, Château Gaillard: Richard's Visit offers a ninety-minute staged tour in Les Andelys. The run continues through August 23.
An actor plays Richard the Lionheart, transported to the 21st century. He recounts the milestones of his life, up to the building of Château-Gaillard in 1196.
The show plays at night, on the site of the fortress overlooking the Seine. Humour and emotion are woven into the history. A way of visiting the ruins beyond an explanatory panel at the gate.
Festival Photo Martagny: 200 large-format prints in the open air
The Festival Photo Martagny can be visited all summer, through August 30. The village of Martagny, on the edge of the Lyons state forest, becomes an open-air contemporary art gallery.
The Visions d'Ailleurs association has run the event since 2018. It spreads around ten exhibitions across five hectares of parkland, around the Moulin de Martagny.
Close to 200 large-format photographs hang outdoors, along a route through the grounds. The format suits a slow visit, with no set screening time.
Les Nocturnes de l'Abbaye: Mont-Saint-Michel once the coaches leave
The only major event in the Manche this weekend, Les Nocturnes de l'Abbaye reopens Mont-Saint-Michel every evening through August 31. The show has existed since 2018, in partnership with the Centre des monuments nationaux.
Sound, light and video turn the thousand-year-old abbey into a living tableau, hall after hall. Visitors wander freely, once the day crowds have gone.
The route is renewed each year. Seeing the Mont without the midday crush is reason enough for the late timing.
Les Dimanches au Bord de l'Orne in Sées: first free concert on August 2
The town of Sées opens its summer cycle on Sunday August 2 with Les Dimanches au Bord de l'Orne. One free concert per Sunday evening, through August 30.
The stage sits at the Cours des Fontaines, in the lime-tree walk by the water. The setting explains much of the appeal of this event, created thirty years ago.
The line-up casts a wide net: country, rock, jazz, French chanson and themed musical shows. Audiences come as families, often with a folding chair.
Arts en Cité in Longny-les-Villages: final day on Sunday in the Perche
The Arts en Cité festival closes its edition on Sunday August 2 in Longny-les-Villages, in the Orne. It opened in late June.
Works by artists from the departmental contemporary art fund occupy the heritage sites of this Petite Cité de Caractère in the Perche. The project brings together Tourisme 61, the FDAC and the Orne departmental council.
The point is to put current work in dialogue with old buildings, without white walls or picture rails. Two days remain to walk the circuit.
Les Z'Estivales in Le Havre: 70 shows in Perret's city
From July 30 through August 30, Les Z'Estivales take over central Le Havre. Street arts and open-air music share the squares and streets.
The backdrop is listed. The city centre rebuilt by Auguste Perret is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the festival has worked there since 2010.
More than 70 shows and 200 artists from across France follow one another over several weeks. This weekend is the first of the edition. Free access lets you dip in for an hour or stay all day.
Also worth noting this weekend
- Rouen sur Mer packs up its sandy beach on Sunday August 2: a final day on the left-bank quays, between the Pont Guillaume-le-Conquérant and the Prairie Saint-Sever.
- Jours de Fête, the summer season of the Rouen Normandie metropolitan area, continues its free public shows through August 22.
Five départements, twelve outings, and a Sunday that opens more doors than it closes. For the rest of the country, everything is on this weekend's festival agenda.
