France has year long events, festivals and other biennials who celebrate creation, dance, cinema, paintings, design and photography. It is an opportunity to push open the doors of unexpected places, to change one's view of the world, to share strong moments and above all, meet those who keep culture alive with passion.
La Gacilly Photo Festival, in Brittany
From June 1st to 5th October, 2025
Created in 2004, the Photography festival La Gacilly transforms the small Breton Village every summer into a huge open-air gallery. Through an immersive and ambulatory experience, the best of contemporary photography is presented, in colour or in black and white. More than 1,000 images and XXL photos, some of which are up to 70 m², are displayed on old walls, facades and alleys, exploring the theme of Man and Nature. Under the open sky, without any constraint of course, La Gacilly becomes a scenic space, shared and accessible to all, free of charge.
Le Voyage à Nantes
From 28 June to 31 August 2025
Every summer since 2012, Voyage à Nantes has been showcasing the city of the Dukes of Brittany with a wide range of free cultural events. For two months, artists, architects, designers and gardeners work together to infuse the whole city with art. Whether temporary or permanent, works and installations pop up on street corners along a route marked by a green line on the ground. Exhibitions, social spaces, unexpected encounters and shared meals bring this playful, offbeat and always poetic journey to life.
Open air museum
Loire Valley
Arles Encounters
From 7 July to 5 October 2025
Every summer since 1970, Arles has hosted Les Rencontres de la Photographie, an internationally renowned photography festival. Year after year, new talents and the biggest names in photography gather in this beautiful Provençal city, offering visitors of all ages the opportunity to experience images that help them understand and interpret the world. From early July to late September, some forty exhibitions, installed in various locations throughout the city some ancient, some contemporary, some unusual confront different points of view and sharpen the eye. Nightly screenings, concerts, and performances at the ancient theatre round out the programme.
Provence
Paris Design Week
From 4 to 13 September 2025
Every year in September, Paris celebrates design in all its forms. Alongside the Maison&Objet trade fair, professionals, enthusiasts and fans of new trends rediscover the city through the prism of innovation and lifestyle. Young talent and established names, meetings and debates, themed walking tours in selected neighbourhoods of the capital... So many visions and facets of design to experience and discover during a major free event celebrating furniture design, interior architecture, decorative arts and even gastronomy.
Lyon Biennale, Dance/Contemporary Art
From 6 to 28 September 2025
The Lyon Biennale is pulling off a double whammy, bringing together both a Dance Biennale and a Contemporary Art Biennale, organised alternately. Every year, whether even or odd, each event creates a buzz and puts on a show in the city of Gaul. Both events excite professionals and the general public alike with a programme that is always rich and participatory. Shows, choreographies, exhibitions and installations take over venues and major museums such as the Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon.
Dance Biennale Parade - 7 September
European Heritage Days
20 and 21 September 2025
The European Heritage Days were launched in 1984 on the initiative of France and its then Minister of Culture, and have since become a European event. Every third weekend in September, prestigious public and private sites, institutions, museums and gardens open their doors to the general public, free of charge, for unique and exceptional visits. This is an opportunity to discover France's rich heritage, in Paris and throughout the regions.
European Heritage Days (french website)
Open the door to French culture...
The glorious industry
From 16 to 26 October 2025
A company, an artist, a collaboration and, ultimately, an original and monumental work of art exhibited in a public space... This is the wonderful project behind Industrie Magnifique, a movement that began in Strasbourg, Alsace, in 2016. Every two years, after a joint working process lasting 12 to 18 months, the creations of the pairs are unveiled over a period of ten days and then scattered throughout the Alsatian capital. Like an open-air gallery, they also tell the magnificent story of a patronage unlike any other. The next edition, scheduled for October 2025, will be held in Lyon and Saint-Etienne.
Paris+ Art Basel
From 22 to 26 October 2025
A panorama of modern art, contemporary art and emerging creativity: this is the promise of Paris+ by Art Basel, which replaces the iconic International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC). This major artistic and commercial exhibition brings together gallery owners, collectors, curators, museum directors and personalities from the international contemporary art world in an exciting event that also involves the general public. Paris+ by Art Basel takes place at the Grand Palais.
European Artistic Crafts days
From 7 to 12 April 2026
France's regions are home to a wealth of talent and expertise, perpetuated by numerous artistic crafts. The European Artistic Crafts Days (JEMA) offer an opportunity to discover them every spring by meeting artisans who open their workshops, professionals who welcome visitors to training centres, and through events, conferences and original exhibitions in Paris and many other French cities.
Cannes Film Festival
From 12 to 23 May 2026
This is one of the biggest international events celebrating the 7th Art. Since 1946, this film festival has been held every year in Cannes on the French Riviera. Glamour and glitz, red carpets and starlets... For nearly 12 days (traditionally in May), the cream of the global film industry converges on the Croisette, with its palm trees and private beaches on the Mediterranean coast. Red carpet appearances and screenings punctuate the competition on the big screen, which culminates in the awarding of the famous and highly coveted Palme d'Or.
Le Nouveau Printemps, in Toulouse
May 2026 (dates to be confirmed)
Created 30 years ago, Le Nouveau Printemps (formerly Le Printemps de Septembre) is a month of exhibitions, screenings and other performances dedicated to contemporary art. The programme takes place throughout the city of Toulouse, in Occitanie and its surroundings, sometimes occupying unusual venues and even public spaces. Entirely free of charge, Le Nouveau Printemps aims to support artists and contemporary creation while making it accessible to as many people as possible. Each year, an artist takes a fresh look at a neighbourhood in the Pink City. In 2025, it will be filmmaker Kiddy Smile's turn to take over the Saint-Sernin neighbourhood.
White Night in Paris
June 2026 (dates to be confirmed)
An entire night to discover the City of Light from a different angle... This is the invitation extended by Nuit Blanche, an annual art event organised by the City of Paris since 2002. For one night, contemporary art takes centre stage in the capital and the Paris region. It's an opportunity to (re)discover different routes, public and private spaces, museums and cultural venues for free. The event also takes place in other cities across France.
Revelations, International Biennial of Arts and Crafts, in Paris
Spring 2027 (dates to be confirmed)
Every two years, Révélations is an unmissable event celebrating contemporary French and international creativity. This biennial event is held at the Grand Palais on the Champs de Mars in Paris, a place of lively exchange between professionals in the creative market and lovers of arts and crafts. Unpublished works and exceptional craftsmanship punctuate the discovery of Révélations, an event that lives up to its name, conceived and staged by Ateliers d'Art de France, representing 281 French crafts. In other words, the very best.
Saint Etienne International Design Biennial
Spring 2027 (dates to be confirmed)
Since 2006, every two years, the International Design Biennial in Saint-Etienne, organised by the Cité du Design, has sought to democratise design and explain its aims. Conceived as a large laboratory, the event features numerous installations and exhibitions at the Cité du design, as well as at iconic locations in Saint-Etienne: Manufacture, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Museum of Art and Industry, and the Mine Museum Park. It is an opportunity for the general public to discover new trends in society.
More events to come
France also hosts a host of major events throughout the year. From the Nice Carnival on the French Riviera in February to the oldest Christmas market in Strasbourg, Alsace, in December, not to mention the Tour de France cycling race in July, check out our calendar of major events not to be missed!
By Pascale Filliâtre
Journalist-traveller. I often voyage to the end of the world to explore what France offers... just next door. [email protected]
