Vaison Festival

Vaison Festival: The Ancient Stage Celebrates Every Summer

In the heart of Vaison-la-Romaine, one of France's richest archaeological cities, the Ancient Theatre is not just a monument: it is a living, vibrant stage that the inhabitants and visitors of the region have come to love in the summer. While the Choralies (choral singing) and Vaison Danses (contemporary dance) have made the site famous, the Vaison Festival holds a special place in this panorama: that of a popular, generous event, tailored for the general public who want to spend a pleasant summer evening under the Provençal stars.

Each summer, the Vaison Festival schedules several distinct evenings, each dedicated to an artist or a show. Diversity is its hallmark: you'll find comedians on national tours, French and Francophone variety singers, and unclassifiable musicians who touch on multiple genres. It's not a festival in the strict sense of the term – with camping, multi-day passes, and a sense of community – but rather a series of individual summer events, allowing everyone to choose the evening that suits them.

An Ancient Theatre as a Stage

The Ancient Theatre of Vaison-la-Romaine is one of the best-preserved Roman theatres in France. Built in the 1st century AD, it can accommodate up to 6,000 spectators in a semi-circular cavea carved into the rock. Like all ancient theatres in Provence, it benefits from remarkable natural acoustics and an exceptional visual setting, with the medieval rock on which the Haute-Ville of Vaison stands as its backdrop.

Attending a performance in this theatre on a starry summer night, with the warmth of the ancient stones and the scent of the surrounding garrigue, is an experience in itself that transcends the performance itself. Many artists testify to the special emotion that this unique stage provides, where history and live art meet at each performance.

Vaison-la-Romaine, a Festival City

Vaison-la-Romaine is an exceptional city in the cultural landscape of Vaucluse. Its archaeological excavations – the most extensive in France – reveal the remains of a prosperous Gallo-Roman city: houses with mosaics, thermal baths, Pompey's portico, an archaeological museum. The medieval Haute-Ville, perched on its rock and dominated by the castle of the Counts of Toulouse, offers a timeless stroll. The single-arch Roman bridge connecting the two banks of the Ouvèze is one of the most beautiful in Provence.

The city is also known as the Provençal capital of the black truffle of Vaucluse, with its winter market and gastronomic restaurants, and as a prime starting point for exploring the Dentelles de Montmirail, Mont Ventoux, and the hilltop villages of the Haut-Vaucluse. The Vaison Festival is part of this cultural and heritage richness as one of the faces of Vaison's summer life.

A Program for All Audiences

The Vaison Festival's programming favors artists whose notoriety guarantees the appeal of a wide audience: comedians on national tours whose shows have been eagerly awaited for months, variety singers whose repertoire is shared by several generations, pianists and musicians who transcend genre boundaries. The 2025 edition is a prime example, featuring Inès Reg (comedian), Sofiane Pamart and Ferdi (piano and neo-classical music), and Laurent Gerra (impersonator and comedian).

This mix of genres – from laughter to music, from spectacle to emotion – is at the heart of the festival's identity, which refuses to be defined by a single genre and prefers to reflect the diversity of tastes and expectations of the Provençal and tourist public.