Events and festivals in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on 24 and 25 October: 300 open-air photographs around Chamonix, mountain films in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and a beer night in Saint-Paulien.
Saturday, 10 a.m., at the foot of the Mont-Blanc massif. The Chamonix Vallée Photo Festival welcomes the public to the Majestic Centre des Congrès in Chamonix for the weekend of October 24, 2026. Events and festivals in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on 24 and 25 October: 300 open-air photographs around Chamonix, mountain films in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and a beer night in Saint-Paulien.
Three days of photography in five valley towns
Founded in 2023, the Chamonix Vallée Photo Festival runs from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October. More than 300 photographs are on show in the open air in Chamonix, Argentière, Les Houches, Servoz and Vallorcine, free for walkers and residents alike.
About twenty photographers take part.
The masterclasses happen at altitude, led by professional photographers: big landscapes, alpine wildlife, macro photography and play of light, shot from the Aiguille du Midi, the Plan de l'Aiguille, La Flégère, the Parc de Merlet and the Alpage de Charousse.
Talks and film screenings take place at the Majestic Centre des Congrès. Exhibitions and meetings with the artists are in the Kandahar room, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The Tremplin programme backs photographers under 30, and the competitions open to everyone offer five themes each year. A one-day pass costs 5 euros, a three-day pass 10 euros, and children under 15 get in free.
Hoteliers, shopkeepers, mountain guides and residents all pitch in to run the event. From Geneva, allow about 1 h 15 on the A40 motorway, 1 h 30 from Annecy. By train, the TGV stops at Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet, then the Mont-Blanc Express climbs to Chamonix.
From concerts to murals
Last night for Jazz en Tête, founded in 1988: on Saturday 24 October the Maison de la Culture in Clermont-Ferrand closes five days of concerts that run from bebop to free jazz. In Valence, the Drôme de Guitares Festival continues until Sunday 25. Weekend concerts start at 8:30 p.m. at the Théâtre de la Ville, while the international competition, the fair of luthiers and the guitar academy fill the week. In Les Martres-de-Veyre, the GergoBrass Festival opens a week of brass on 24 October: evening concerts, master classes and a course for trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba.
The Xplore Alpes Festival, born in 2021, opens on 24 October in Bourg-Saint-Maurice. About a hundred mountain and adventure films are spread over twelve communes of Haute-Tarentaise, with meetings with the directors, talks on mountain issues and a festive village run by volunteers. Screenings are booked online.
In Grenoble, the 14th Festival Voir Ensemble runs until 27 October at the Le Méliès cinema: unreleased films in competition before three audience juries, previews and film-concerts for young audiences. No online booking here: tickets are bought at the box office, 9 euros full price, 5 euros for a child aged 2 to 13 at a film longer than an hour. Le Méliès is a non-profit arthouse cinema in the Caserne de Bonne district.
Last day, Saturday 24 October, for the Street Art Rillieux Festival: monumental murals in the public spaces of Rillieux-la-Pape and Le Seize, a 150 m² pop-up exhibition space set up in the basement of a building in the Mont-Blanc district. Free. Urban walks and visits to Le Seize are booked in advance with Spacejunk Lyon, the association behind the festival, and graffiti and stencil workshops are on the programme.
In Massiac, in the Cantal, the Fête des Palhàs closes on Sunday 25 October ten days of Occitan gatherings, run by the Autour des Palhàs association since 1997. On Saturday evening its Grande Soirée mixes Brazilian batucada and African sounds.
On Saturday 24/10/2026 in Saint-Paulien, the Oktober Velay Fest opens its doors at 7 p.m. in the Halle du Chomeil, free entry, and stays open until 3 a.m.: eight beers, a Beercoins system to pay on site, beer pong tournaments and the Band'a Vorey brass band before the DJ. Its first edition, in 2019, drew 1,800 people.