August opens in Gennevilliers: what's on around Paris on August 1-2

On Saturday August 1, July puts away its fireworks and August rolls out its first stages. Around Paris, the switch happens mainly in the suburbs. Gennevilliers launches a festival, Vincennes closes its summer season, and the Ourcq canal starts its second-to-last weekend of events.

Our pick of the week is the Festival des Essentiels, setting up on the market square from Saturday. It is the only Paris-region event that actually starts these days. Everything else has been running for weeks, which takes nothing away: the Versailles fountains and the 2,000 candles of Vaux-le-Vicomte still hold their rank. So where should you head this weekend? Here are ten ideas for August 1 and 2, from the Bois de Vincennes to the lake of Enghien.

Festival des Essentiels in Gennevilliers (92): the only curtain going up this Saturday

The Festival des Essentiels takes over the market square in Gennevilliers from Saturday August 1 to Sunday August 9. Theatre, dance, circus and concerts follow one another in the open air, free or at accessible prices.

This travelling festival changes neighbourhood every summer, moving between Gennevilliers, Paris and Montreuil. Its aim fits in one sentence: bring live shows where cultural programming rarely goes. Sharing, fairness, artistic mediation and respect for the environment shape its approach.

This is the one to try if you want something new this weekend. The open-air format, on a market square, puts live performance at street level. Nine days of programming begin on Saturday.

Vincennes (94): last day for the Estival Club below the château

The Fête Nationale de Vincennes wraps up on Sunday August 2. It started on July 14 at the Château de Vincennes with a screening of the military parade and a concert by the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France, and the run will have lasted three weeks.

The Vincennes Estival Club has occupied the avenue de Paris and the château surroundings since mid-July. A DJ night, a torchlight procession and the firefighters' ball opened the national holiday side of the programme.

Sunday August 2 is the final date of this summer season. For anyone who has not been yet, it is now or next year. The setting of the château, one of the finest addresses in the Val-de-Marne, does the rest.

L'Été du Canal in Saint-Denis (93): second-to-last weekend on the Ourcq banks

Launched on June 27, L'Été du Canal closes on August 9. August 1 and 2 are therefore its second-to-last weekend. Themed boat trips, open-air shows, dances, craft workshops and water activities are spread between the Ourcq canal, the Saint-Denis canal and the Bassin de la Villette.

More than fifty cruises feature on the season programme. Since 2007, the event has turned the canal banks into a summer playground between Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis.

It is the ideal plan for a car-free day. You walk along the water, stop at a dance, leave by boat. The whole thing stays popular, with free access to most activities.

Fête des Loges in Saint-Germain-en-Laye (78): 200 rides under the trees, two weeks left

Open since June 26, the Fête des Loges runs until August 16 in the Saint-Germain-en-Laye forest. Established in 1652 around the cult of Saint Fiacre, it remains the oldest funfair in France.

More than 200 rides, carousels, restaurants and stalls stand under the trees along the avenue des Loges. Three million visitors pass through over the full season.

Entry is free: you only pay for what you use. After this weekend, only two Saturdays remain on the calendar. The fair unfolds deep in the forest, a change from the asphalt of urban funfairs.

Grandes Eaux Musicales in Versailles (78): Lully and Rameau set the fountains going

Every weekend from April to November, the Grandes Eaux Musicales put the château gardens to music. August 1 and 2 are no exception.

The basins designed by Le Nôtre come alive to pages by Lully, Rameau, Charpentier and Gluck. The tradition goes back to the 1660s, when Louis XIV ordered the waters played for his guests.

The walk follows the rhythm of the fountains, from one jet to the next. Allow a good half-day to cover the grounds without rushing. It is one of the most striking open-air shows in France, and it crosses generations without ageing.

Candlelit Evenings of Vaux-le-Vicomte (77): 2,000 candles on Saturday August 1

In Maincy, the Candlelit Evenings return on Saturday August 1, as on every Saturday night since mid-May. The series runs until the end of September.

2,000 candles light the château and its gardens as day fades. The fountains play at dusk in this 17th-century masterpiece, the birthplace of the French formal garden designed by André Le Nôtre.

The tradition dates back to 1980. You can simply wander through, or book a candlelit dinner. It is the most photogenic evening of the Paris-region weekend, as long as you aim for the dusk slot.

Classique au Vert at the Parc Floral (75): classical music with free entry

At the Parc Floral in Paris, Classique au Vert programmes its concerts on summer weekends, from June to September. August 1 and 2 fall within that series.

Chamber music, symphonic repertoire, performers from the French classical scene: the City of Paris curates the programme and entry stays free. The backdrop is the Bois de Vincennes and its lawns.

The festival has existed since 2002 and has kept its simple format. You sit on the grass, you listen, you leave. For a family wanting to introduce children to classical music without a concert hall or a dress code, it is the most direct option in the region.

Open-Air Cinema at La Villette (75): a giant screen on the Triangle lawn

Until August 16, Open-Air Cinema at La Villette turns the Triangle lawn into an open-sky screening room. The event has been running since 1992.

Access is free. Viewers arrive with a picnic, settle on the grass and wait for nightfall. It is the largest open-air cinema in the capital, and one of the oldest.

The weekend of August 1 falls in the middle of the session, which began on July 22. Arriving early remains the best way to pick your patch of grass. An easy outing to improvise, especially for those staying in Paris in August.

Tremblay l'Estivale (93): cumbia and salsa at the Parc de Tremblay

In Tremblay-en-France, the Fête de Tremblay-en-France takes the form of Tremblay l'Estivale, a series of free evenings at the Parc de Tremblay. The programme runs until August 30.

Cumbia, salsa and world music concerts, DJ sets, dance classes open to all: the town bets on the dance floor rather than the seated concert. Circus arts round out the bill at the Château Bleu.

It is one of the rare Paris-region offers built around Latin music all summer long. Free, outdoors, in a Seine-Saint-Denis park: the formula costs nothing to try on a Saturday night.

Festiv'Été in Enghien-les-Bains (95): concerts and games by the lake

From July to the end of August, the Enghien-les-Bains festival spreads its Festiv'Été around the lake and the Jardin des Roses. Activities are free.

Open-air concerts across musical genres, a small torchlight procession, sports games, craft workshops, yoga sessions and open-air cinema make up the programme. The Val-d'Oise spa town turns its lakeside into a summer stage.

The weekend of August 1 falls right in the heart of the season. This is the pick for stringing together music, sport and a nap by the water in a single day. The lake remains the strongest argument here, especially in the hottest hours.

Worth a mention too

• Paris Plages (75): sand, deckchairs and misting stations along the Seine and at the Bassin de la Villette, every day until August 30.
• Les Dimanches au Bord de l'Eau (94): on Sunday August 2, the Port de Nogent-sur-Marne brings back its dances, dance lessons and jazz and musette concerts.
• Fête de Taverny (95): the Dimanches au Kiosque continue at the parc Henri-Leyma, with a Sunday concert from April to October.

For the rest of the country, our weekend agenda lists what is on in the other regions. Enjoy August 1 around Paris.