Fête de Rueil-Malmaison

The Rueil-Malmaison Grape Harvest Festival: harvest, history, and local life

Rueil-Malmaison is a city of approximately 80,000 inhabitants in the Hauts-de-Seine, crossed by the Seine and rich in history, particularly linked to the Napoleonic era. La Malmaison — the castle of Joséphine and Napoleon Bonaparte — is its most famous symbol. But the city also hosts a living wine tradition, with the municipal vineyards of the Buzenval district producing around 400 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc each year from nearly 1,000 m² of vineyard.

The Grape Harvest Festival

Organized annually in mid-October by the Confrérie des Clos de Rueil-Buzenval, the Grape Harvest Festival is one of the city's most popular events. It takes place over one day (Sunday) in the Buzenval district, around the Place and Rond-point Henri Regnault. From 9 am, more than 200 exhibitors set up their stands for a large flea market and offer their goods: crafts, local products, clothing, second-hand items.

The morning is marked by the induction of new members of the Confrérie, followed by the harvest mass at the Saint-Joseph de Buzenval church. From 2 pm, the festival takes on a festive dimension with musical groups — choirs, local orchestras, and folk groups — performing outdoors. Rides and children's attractions complete the program, and the wine from the municipal vineyards is tasted, a symbolic highlight that annually brings residents together around the winemaking tradition.

Rueil-Malmaison, city of culture and heritage

The Grape Harvest Festival makes perfect sense in the context of a commune that has invested in culture for decades. The city hosts the Théâtre de Rueil, one of the most important theaters in the Hauts-de-Seine, the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional, and an extensive cultural program throughout the year. The annual festival is the moment when this institutional culture blends with popular traditions to create a unique event in the life of the city.