The Cabourg Film Festival wraps up its romantic edition on the beach this Sunday while street arts take over the Léry-Poses lakeside park: ten Norman festivals for this weekend.
The weekend of June 13 and 14 finds Normandy playing several roles at once. In Cabourg, the Côte Fleurie dresses up for the closing ceremony of the Romantic Days. On the shores of Lac de Poses, street artists settle in for their big outdoor weekend. And across Seine-Maritime and Calvados, two weeks of D-Day commemorations draw to a close with one last round of reenactments and ceremonies. Our top pick goes to the Festival Les Embarqués: free, multidisciplinary, set in a magnificent Norman landscape between water and forest, it embodies a generous and accessible way of bringing culture to a region.
Cabourg Film Festival — Romantic Days: closing weekend on the Côte Fleurie
The Cabourg Film Festival — Romantic Days reaches its closing weekend on June 13 and 14. Founded in 1986 by Gonzague Saint-Bris, this cinema festival dedicated to romance in all its forms is one of the most elegant fixtures in Normandy's cultural calendar. Every year, Cabourg and its sandy beach host a selection of feature and short films, open-air screenings facing the sea, and the presentation of the Swann d'Or awards. This Sunday, the closing ceremony brings together the jury, filmmakers and invited actors in the grand salon of the Grand Hôtel. The town that inspired Marcel Proust's Balbec takes on the air of a seaside cinema resort for a few days. A festival with a genuinely unique atmosphere, where the red carpet runs along the seafront.
Festival Les Embarqués: big street-arts weekend at the Léry-Poses park
The Festival Les Embarqués takes over the Parc de Loisirs de Léry-Poses, in Poses (Eure), for the full weekend of June 13 and 14. Created in 2018 by the Seine-Eure agglomeration, this flagship Norman street-arts event offers free circus, theatre, music, dance and pyrotechnic shows by the waterside. Following a week of Escales across the territory's towns, the festival culminates in this grand open-air gathering. The Léry-Poses park, with its lakes and green expanses, forms an exceptional natural setting for the most spectacular artistic creations. Free entry, family-friendly programme running across both days: Les Embarqués has built in just a few years one of the most popular events in the region.
D-Day Festival Normandy: final days on the Landing Beaches
The D-Day Festival Normandy closes on Sunday June 14 after two intense weeks. Launched on May 30, the festival celebrates the anniversary of the Allied landings of June 6, 1944, with nearly a hundred events along the Norman beaches. For this final weekend, historical reenactments, vintage vehicle parades, concerts and closing ceremonies are scheduled from Caen to Bayeux. In Sainte-Mère-Église, the last memorial activities take place around the church with the famous parachutist dummy, an iconic symbol of the village liberated on June 6, 1944. A closing weekend that is often less crowded than the June 6 peak, ideal for visiting the museums and memorial sites at a quieter pace.
Gaillon Theatre Festival: three days at the Renaissance castle
The Gaillon Theatre Festival runs from Friday June 12 to Sunday June 14 in the town centre and historic spaces of Gaillon, in Eure. Each summer, the festival brings together theatre-lovers around an eclectic programme mixing classical plays, contemporary creations, street theatre and shows for young audiences. The Renaissance castle of Gaillon — the first documented Renaissance castle in France — lends its exceptional setting to some performances, while others take place in the town's halls and public spaces for more intimate moments. A fine opportunity to combine heritage and live performance in a town well worth the trip from Rouen or Vernon.
Les Hétéroclites: multidisciplinary festival in Saint-Lô
In Saint-Lô, the Hétéroclites take over the Vallon de la Dollée and the town's bars on June 13 and 14. Organised for over twenty years by the association Art Plume, this multidisciplinary festival celebrates creativity in all its forms: concerts, visual arts, street theatre, dance and participatory workshops follow one another in a natural space at the heart of the town. The festival's distinctive quality lies in this blend of the green valley setting — a verdant hollow cut through by the Vire river — and the town-centre bars, which host more electric sets in the evening. Free for the vast majority of events, Les Hétéroclites has built its reputation on a sincere programme driven by a passionate volunteer team for two decades.
Festival Photo Martagny: opening weekend at the Eure mill
The Festival Photo Martagny opens its doors this Saturday June 13 for its 2026 edition. Organised since 2018 by the association Visions d'Ailleurs, this photography festival transforms the village of Martagny — on the edge of the Lyons forest — into an open-air contemporary art gallery each summer. Across five hectares of gardens and meadows surrounding the Moulin de Martagny, around ten large-format exhibitions display nearly two hundred photographs. Theme and scenography change each year, making it a loyal destination for fans of documentary and artistic photography. The opening weekend is the best time to discover the edition before the later-summer crowds arrive.
Quartier d'Été at Cirque-Théâtre Elbeuf: contemporary circus by the Seine
In Elbeuf-sur-Seine, the Quartier d'Été at Cirque-Théâtre continues its mid-June programming on Place du Champ de Foire. The Cirque-Théâtre d'Elbeuf — a National Circus Pole in Normandy — invites contemporary circus companies every weekend from late May to late June to take over this public space. Acrobatic shows, high-wire performances, mini-concerts and initiation workshops fill the Saturday and Sunday programme. Most events are free or pay-what-you-can, making this a highly accessible outing for all. For families looking for a spectacular afternoon within an hour of Rouen, it is one of the best options this weekend.
Festival Normandie Impressionniste: Impressionist summer in Rouen
The Festival Normandie Impressionniste continues its fifth edition this weekend in the museums and public spaces of Rouen and Le Havre. Launched on May 29 and running until September 27, this internationally acclaimed festival deploys exhibitions, installations and live performances across the region. Mid-June is a particularly good time to visit the major inaugural exhibitions without the July crowds: the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen with its Impressionist legacy programming, as well as the outdoor installations in the gardens and along the Seine quays. The exhibitions in Giverny and the Seine valley in Eure are also worth the trip.
Festival Rush: final free concert in Rouen
Saturday June 13 is the closing day of Festival Rush, the roving contemporary music festival run by Le 106, Rouen Normandie Métropole's live music venue. Since 2023, Rush has taken its programme out of doors into public spaces, parks and gardens across the Rouen metropolitan area, always free of charge. This closing Saturday features the edition's most ambitious headliners. It is one of the rare opportunities to see quality concerts in Rouen without a ticket or a queue. Check the official Le 106 programme for artists and exact venues for the final evening.
Spectacles Équestres de la Michaudière: Norman equestrian art in the open air
Every weekend from June to October, the Spectacles Équestres de la Michaudière welcome visitors to Juvigny-Val-d'Andaine in Orne for their show "De la Terre à la Scène". In a traditional Norman farmstead nestled in an orchard of century-old pear trees, around thirty horses — Percherons, Norman Cobs, Shires and other breeds — perform dressage, vaulting, liberty work and carriage driving. This mid-June weekend is ideal for families: the meadows and renovated barns form an authentic rural setting, far from the main tourist routes. For more than thirty years, the Michaudière has built its reputation on the quality of its equestrian presentations and the beauty of its surroundings.
Also worth noting this weekend
- L'Eure Poétique et Musicale: classical music and poetry concerts in the churches of southern Eure, around Tillières-sur-Avre and Verneuil-sur-Avre, as part of the AMA travelling festival
- Festival des Embarqués en Escales: final weekend of the Seine-Eure agglomeration's street-arts cycle at Léry-Poses park, complementing the main Les Embarqués programme
- Festival d'Orgues de l'Eure: possible recital at Notre-Dame Cathedral or Saint-Taurin Church in Évreux as part of the AM.OR.C.E. annual organ season
To explore other regions this weekend, visit our national agenda or check selections from neighbouring Brittany and Hauts-de-France.
