Mary Anne
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Events in France in June 2024 show what a glorious month it is. This year there are some memorable events, including the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings on June 6, 1944. And there are festivals everywhere as well as Roland Garros tennis, Brittany’s La Gacilly famous outdoor photo festival, and Impressionist Normandy which is one of the biggest celebrations of Impressionism.
Check out the events in France in June 2024 to help plan your visit in advance.
To Jun 2, 2024: Rendezvous aux Jardins. This very popular government sponsored event takes place throughout France with around 2,400 public and private gardens opening up to the public (like the Château de Rivau below). You can talk to the gardeners, go on guided tours, watch demonstrations on plants, see exhibitions, and enjoy musical walks, games and more.
To Jun 2, 2024: Voiles d’Antibes on the Côte d’Azur is the start of the famous seaborne Mediterranean circuit races, when those beautiful rare, vintage and classic yachts unfurl their sails and race through the water.
To Jun 3, 2024: Salon Vivre Côté Sud in Aix-en-Provence is a must if you’re interested in interior design. Organised by the Maisons Côté Sud magazine, it’s a seductive view of living in the south of France.
To Jun 9, 2024: Roland Garros in Paris is one of the 4 major world Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Taking place on 20 clay courts, it began in 1925. Like other major tournaments, each match is five sets long (for men) and 3 sets long (for women).
There are two major awards: the Musketeers’ Cup for men and the Suzanne Lenglen cup for women. The womens’ cup is named after the great tennis player who (among other things) was one of the early famous women wearing a bra invented in 1889 by Herminie Cadolle. There are also trophies for the winners of the men’s doubles, ladies’ doubles and mixed doubles.
To Jun 15, 2024: Festival de musique de Sully et du Loiret. Held in the delightful Loire Valley, the festival has been running since 1973. It presents a mix of classical and jazz in the famous château and other local heritage buildings.
Discover more about this part of theLoire Valley on the drive from Nevers to Orleans.
To Jun 18, 2024: D-Day Commemorated. Each year, between late May and mid-June, the D-Day landing beaches host events commemorating the events of the great 6 June 1944 invasion of France by the Allies. There’s a full programme with guided walks, historical re-enactments, exhibitions, fireworks, parachute drops in period costume, tours of the installation and bunkers, military vehicle parades, concerts and more.
This year sees the 80th anniversary of D-Day, so expect many more events and many more people along the Normandy coastline.
See my article on a tour of the D-Day Landing Beaches from Utah to Sword.
For accommodation near the D-Day Landing Beaches, check my article here.
To Jun 27, 2024: Saint-Denis Festival is a superb festival in the great basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris and other buildings in the arrondissem*nt. Classical music concerts from French and international orchestras range from the classics to contemporary. Some concerts are broadcast on a giant screen in front of the basilica and there are plenty of events for children as well.
To Jul 27, 2024: Festival de Nîmes in Occitanie. Music festival with a big line up includes Eric Clapton, Suzanne Vega, James Blunt and many more. The festival has been wowing the crowds 1997 and is one of the important festivals in the south of France. But hurry; many concerts are sold out.
To Sep 22, 2024:Impressionist Destinationin Normandy celebrates the 150thanniversary of the birth of the Impressionists. Around 150 to 200 events are organised in the main cities celebrating the art: Rouen, Caen, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Giverny, Honfleur, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, Fécamp and Saint Lô and in other smaller towns. The connection between contemporary art and Impressionism is also a theme in the concerts, major Impressionist exhibitions, installations, dance and more, including the exhibition Whistler, the Butterfly Effect at the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum) in Rouen (May 24-Jul 24), and a Gwen John exhibition at the Château-Musée in Dieppe from end June to end September.
Here’s an overall view of Normandy Impressionism.
To Nov 3, 2024: International Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire Château in the Loire Valley is a fabulous, huge Festival, the Chelsea Flower Show of France. The Château and grounds are lovely and the festival of a series of gardens from international designers always delivers some surprises.
To Jan, 2025:Chartres en lumièressees this wonderful city illuminated for its annual festival of light. The first city to do this, it really is a must-see event.
Events in France starting in June 2024
Jun 1-2, 2024: Medieval Festival de Provins. This UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Seine-et-Marne near Paris is an exceptionally well preserved fortified medieval city. Their annual Medieval Fair is great fun with swashbuckling galore, sinister characters along with musicians, stilt walkers and entertainers. There are camps, craftspeople making and selling jewellery, spices, fabrics and costumes from the distant past. And it’s great for children.
Jun 3-Jul 16, 2024:Les Nuits de Fourvièrein the Gallo-Roman theatres of Lyon is a magical feast of theatre, music, dance, opera and circus. Around 60 performances are watched by over 130,000 spectators.
Jun 9-15, 2024: Annecy Animated Film Festival The international competition, founded in 1960, has over 200 films from short to feature films, TV movies and student films. Premières take place at different venues, plus conferences and more. There are free outdoor screenings each night at Le Pâquier.
Jun 9-Jul 6, 2024: The Anjou Festival now in its 72nd season has become the second biggest outdoor theatre event in France. The festival presents a varied programme in historic venues.
Jun 12-16, 2024: Festival du Film de Cabourg, Normandy. Every summer, Cabourg’s film festival is dedicated to romantic films. Premières, tributes and retrospectives, lectures, debates and meetings, all open to the public. There’s also an outdoor cinema with 400 seats set up on the beach. You’re likely to spot French stars like Marion Cotillard and Sophie Marceau. At the end of the competition, the Swann d’Or awards are given to the best feature-length films, best short film, best actress and best actor.
Jun 12-Jul 5, 2024: Les Flaneries de Reims is a delightful classical music festival that also includes world music and jazz. Around 60 concerts, many of them free, take place around the city: in the St. Remi Basilica, the Opera, the Manège de Reims Circus, the Palace of Tau and Reims Station Forecourt. A big outdoor picnic finishes the festival. Free shuttle buses take people from one part of the city to another.
Jun 13-16, 2024:24 Hours of Le Mansrace, in Le Mans in the Pays de la Loire is one of the most famous car races in the world. It covers a road circuit of just over 8 miles (13kms) in Le Mans, part of which is on a public road.
More about the Le Mans race and the museum.
Jun 14-16, 2024:Nature is Bike, Angers, Loire Valley. Dedicated to gravel bikes, it’s a sporting event but is aimed at reconnecting with nature, involving families, professionals and enthusiasts. There are two events: a 64km night ride and a 100km daytime course. There’s also a family ramble, a ‘Gravel Expo’ trade fair and environment-focused events. Angers is a major cycling centre, located where three major cycling routes cross. The town is well known for its extraordinaryhistoric and contemporary tapestries.
Jun 14-22 Jul, 2024: Chorégies d’Orange started in 1869, making it the oldest festival in France. It’s held in the magnificent Roman Théâtre Antique, which seats 8,600 people, has superb acoustics and puts on popular operas and classical music.
Jun 21-Nov 3, 2024: La Gacilly Photo Festival is a wonderful outdoor photo festival. For three months, hundreds of large format photos are displayed in the parks, green maze, squares and streets of the small town in Morbihan, Brittany.
Jun 24, 2024:World Music Day (concerts and dancing in the streets throughout France). It began in 1982 and has blossomed since then. Everyone participates so there’s an enormous variety of music from contemporary to folk as the music schools, conservatories, museums, hospitals, radio, concert halls, cafés, street performers and more put on their own versions.
Jun 24-29, 2024: Jazz a Ramatuelle, Var, PACA. Since 1986, swing jazz has been played here, mainly with American and French jazzmen. Established musicians and new discoveries play her and at the Fringe Festival.
Jun 25-30, 2024: Marseille Film Festival, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône. Over 200 films from around 30 different countries are shown, many for the first time. There are three competitions: international, French and debut films. Open to professionals and the public at cinemas, art galleries, theatres and outdoor amphitheatres. There are also retrospectives and great classics. Around 500 professionals and over 20,000 spectators attend.
Jun 26-30, 2024: Rock and electronic music Since 1997, the Garorock festival in Marmande by the Garonne river has offered 3 days of rock and electronic music. Outdoor stages attract thousands of music lovers, listening to music from 1pm to 5am.
Jun 26-Jul 23, 2024: Summer Sales throughout France.
Read more about Discount shopping, malls, bargains and sales in France.
And…Flea markets and brocante fairs are always great entertainment.
Jun 26-Sep 8, 2024: Paris Jazz Festival. 25 free festivals spread over the summer take place in the Parc Floral in jazz, world music and Afro-American music (soul, blues). Along with the concerts, there are workshops where you can make instruments from salvaged objects, introductions to percussion and conferences as well as a sound discovery area for children in the Botanic Garden. All concerts and activities are free; there’s a charge for admission to the park.
Jun 27-30, 2024: Hellfest in Clisson, Loire-Atlantique. Since 2006 Hellfest has been staging hard rock, gothic rock, heavy metal, black metal and hardcore punk. Seven stages for the biggest names from Guns’n’Roses to Iron Maiden, Kiss to Deep Purple and many more. Not everyone goes in the gear you’d expect: Festival-goers appear as pink rabbits, Gauls and Teletubbies.
Jun 27-Jul 16, 2024: Jazz à Vienne, Isère. Great names lined up for this annual popular jazz festival held in the Théâtre Antique which can hold over 7,000 spectators. Over 200,000 people descend on the city to see the performances at venues from Jazz Mix to the Cybèle stage. There’s a Jazz Parade and if you’re near Vienne you might catch the Caravan’Jazz which travels around the local communes. Isère is a fabulous place to visit (there’s more on Isèrere here).
Jun 28-30, 2024: Les Nuits de Nacre in Tulle, Limousin. If you are an accordion fan this is for you. Music is everywhere from the streets to cafés, from concert halls to public squares. Most of the 90 concerts which feature all kinds of music from gipsy jazz to world music, are free.
June 28-30, 2024: Saumur in Anjou has a great event – a Vintage Cycle Ride! Participants register for a ride – anything from 30kms to 105 kms, dress up as their favourite vintage character and set off around Saumur.
June 28-Jul 31, 2024: Carcassonne Festival is fabulous in a superb setting. 120 shows (80 of which are free in the OFF festival) are performed on 11 stages taking in opera, theatre, dance, music classes. With over 250,000 visitors it’s one of the biggest festivals in France.
Jun 29-Jul 21, 2024: Avignon Festival. Founded in 1947 this festival has grown to become one of the biggest for international contemporary live performance events. It’s a beautiful city, so seeing a performance here is truly magical. Over 130,000 people come for theatre, visual arts, dance and music. Every night there’s a permiere of a new work.
Jun 28-Jul 7, 2024: La Rochelle International Film Festival on the French Atlantic coast explores the world of films from everywhere. 250 films, historic and contemporary are shown at a festival that prides itself on the unusual and the unknown (many are not distributed through the usual channels). Retrospectives rediscover forgotten works and stars. This year it’s the turn of Marcel Pagnol, the great influencer on 20th century literature, theatre and cinema. Older generations remember films with Fernandel and others; younger ones remember Manon des Sources. New films bring European and international works to the audience. And international stars always come to this festival.
Jun 29-Jul 21, 2024: Tour de France. The world’s greatest cycling race starts in Florence then goes to Turin before crossing into France. Due to the Paris Olympics, the Tour will finish for the first (and only) time in Nice.
Events in France in 2024
Have I missed an event you think I should include? Please do let me know.
Events in France in January 2024Events in France in February 2024Events in France in March 2024Events in France in April 2024
Events in France in May 2024
I am updating the events in France in 2024 but have left 2023 as many of France’s major events occur each year, usually at the same time of the month.
Events in France in July 2023Events in France in August 2023Events in France in September 2023Events in France in October 2023Events in France in November 2023Events in France in December 2023
More about greatFood Festivalsin France
Public holidays in France
More about Normandy, much in the news this year.
Here’s a quick guide to the French regions and departments to help you find where the events are taking place.
Regions of France
French Departments
