Events and festivals in Grand Est on October 3-4, 2026: the International Geography Festival draws 40,000 visitors to Saint-Dié

Events and festivals in Grand Est on October 3-4, 2026: the International Geography Festival in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges draws more than 40,000 visitors, between grape harvest in Barr and jazz in Nancy.

Friday evening, in the streets of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. The International Geography Festival opens here on October 2. Events and festivals in Grand Est on October 3-4, 2026: the International Geography Festival in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges draws more than 40,000 visitors, between grape harvest in Barr and jazz in Nancy.

The International Geography Festival in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges

Since 1990, the International Geography Festival has turned Saint-Dié-des-Vosges into a meeting point for maps and continents. Christian Pierret founded it that year, in the Vosges, where it has been held every autumn since.

Over three days, geographers, writers, philosophers and artists gather around a theme and a guest country of honour. Two hundred and fifty conferences, round tables and exhibitions fill these three days, alongside a book fair set up at 26 rue d'Amérique.

More than 40,000 visitors crowd these streets and halls every year. The weekend of October 3-4 (03-04/10/2026) closes the last two days of this 2026 edition.

The rest of the weekend

Nancy opens two weeks of concerts this Saturday with Nancy Jazz Pulsations, around a hundred in total. The festival fills the Chapiteau de la Pépinière, L'Autre Canal, the Salle Poirel, the Théâtre de la Manufacture and the Opéra national de Lorraine, mixing jazz, blues and soul since 1973. Arab cinema takes centre stage in Fameck. The Arab Film Festival, founded in 1990 by Mario Giubilei, Denis Darroy and René Cahen, presents its yearly selection of films, documentaries and short films from the Arab world, with screenings, debates and meetings with directors over some ten days at the Cité Sociale. In Metz, the International Fair gathers around 550 exhibitors across 25 sectors at the Parc des Expositions. Homeware, food, crafts, gardens and leisure sit alongside a themed exhibition, activities and three evening openings, running since 1928. It topped 155,000 visits in 2025. The GAB 52 organises the Chaumont Organic Fair every first weekend of October at the Edgard Pisani agricultural college in Chamarandes-Choignes. Around fifty exhibitors from the Grand Est region take part. Organic producers and craftspeople present their goods there.

In Vitry-le-François, Bulles en Champagne gathers around fifty comic book authors, publishers and specialist dealers under the town's restored market hall, held every first weekend of October by the Numi's Club. Signings, exhibitions and meetings with artists add to the programme, alongside activities for young readers. The Nature and Hiking Fair gathers outdoor activities around walking, cycling and adventure travel in Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy. Beginner hikers and seasoned athletes mix here. Exhibitors in technical gear, textiles and off-grid mobility offer demonstrations and equipment trials.

Three autumn traditions in Alsace

In Barr, a wine-growing town on the Vosges foothills, grape harvest takes over the weekend. Over three days, the election of the Wine Harvest Queen, a giant flea market, a gala concert and a floral parade of dahlia-decked floats fill the streets for the Wine Harvest Festival. The ritual has repeated itself here since 1952.

Krautergersheim celebrates its king of vegetables. The town has called itself the sauerkraut capital since 1974, and closes this Saturday the second of its two weekends devoted to the vegetable. Alsatian brass bands under a marquee, floral float parades, cabbage-cutting demonstrations and sauerkraut tastings fill the Place des Fêtes.

In the Munster valley, autumn brings the animals back down. In spring, Vosges cattle climb up to the high pastures for the summer, decked in flowers and cowbells. In autumn, they come back down and cross the village of Muhlbach-sur-Munster to applause. Around 200 animals make up the herd.

In Nancy, the concerts of Nancy Jazz Pulsations run until October 17.