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French School holidays, Public Holidays (Fêtes Nationale), festivals, and events in France - Day-tripper.net the web magazine for visitors to France.

Events in France - French Festivals and Events

Making a note of festivals and events before you go away can add some value to your break. Here we list as many of those we have come across.

Please check with the local the tourist office for dates and other news.

Useful link. www.frenchcitybreaks.co.uk

• Related site pages •

Events in France - Brittany - Nord Pas de Calais - Normandy - Belgium - Food & Wine - Musical - Annual markets - French Public holidays - Holiday shopping - Sales - Shows about France - Skiing dates to watch - Ski Testing events - Strikes in France - The France show (London) - Tour de France - Xmas shopping

Quick booking links

Ferry companies to;

Nord & Pas de CalaisNormandy & BrittanySpainIrelandNorth SeaMini Cruises

Cheapest return ferry fares with DFDS Ferries. - Daytrips £19, Overnight £25, 5 day return £39 (until 12th July).

Daytrip from Dover to Calais with PO Ferry. Daytrips only £25 (Car and up to 9 people).

Brittany Ferries Offer. Daytrip from £75 (£29 a car plus £23 per passenger, minimum two people). Direct ferry booking links

DFDS Seaways Ferries . Mini cruise breaks to Amsterdam from Newcastle. Great deals available.

Rail companies; Eurostar • Eurotunnel • Rail Europe

Airport parking & lounges • Airlines • Car hire • Coaches • Travel Insurance

Book a hotel in France & the U.K.

Festivals, Fairs and Fêtes - find an event in France

A Fête is a festival, usually with eating, drinking, singing, dancing and often performances of some kind. A variations is a fête champêtre - a village festival, or the fête patronale, a celebration of the local Saint's day.

These are the sites offering information on whats on in France.

via France - ViaFrance. www.viafrance.com

Summer Festivals. festivals-de-l-ete.viafrance.com

Music Festivals. fete-de-la-musique.viafrance.com

maison de France - Maison de la France. uk.franceguide.com

What's on Where events - Whats on When. www.whatsonwhen.com

ABTOF events - France, Yes you Can. Events page from Holiday France (ABTOF - Association of British Travel Organisers to France). www.holidayfrance.org.uk

info tourism - Info Tourisme. Lots of very useful information on this site. www.infotourisme.net

Le Monde des Arts - Le Monde des Arts. Current cultural shows in France. www.lemondedesarts.com

Le Chineur - Le Chineur. Brocantes, Antiques and collectable events. Use the search box, as many events are listed for free. www.lechineur.fr

Christmas Markets and shopping

For further festival and events information in Nord-Pas de Calais contact the local tourist board via the following: Tel: 0033 320 145 757.

Cultural and sporting events in France

FNAC shop - FNAC Spectacles, book a ticket for a wide variety of events in France. www.fnacspectacles.com

Some popular cultural events held in France every year.

Citadels Open Day - April every year. For one Sunday each spring the cities and towns of the far north of France, open the doors to the stupendous collection of historic fortifications which formerly guarded the frontier. Many of the 16 fortresses open to the public are the work of Sébastien Leprestre, Marquis of Vauban, who designed the citadels in the wake of Louis XIV's 17th-century conquest of much of this territory. The grandest is that of Lille, a classic star-shaped fortress built of 60 million bricks. This "Queen of Citadels" formed part of a double line of strongholds between Gravelines, Dunkirk and Maubeuge.

Printemps des Musées - May (Every year). French museums open for free for one day in spring, offering a chance to whizz round the country's finest temporary and permanent collections.

Nuit des Musées (annually in May). This annual event only started in 2005, but has caught on throughout Europe. Public buildings, museums and other institutions are open to the public free of charge from sunset until 1.00am. Light shows, theatrical performances and public readings bring a whole new life to exhibits. nuitdesmusees.culture.fr

Journées du Patrimoine - Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) and Journée des Moulins (Mill Days). Various towns. Every year in June. France's Heritage Days give visitors the chance to take a peep behind the doors of more than 14,000 buildings which are usually closed to the public. All over the country visitors queue for hours to catch a glimpse inside their politicians' homes, or to visit the seats of power. Many museums also open their doors for free. Each year there is a theme to the events. In 2004 for example it was science and technology, in 2008 it is "places of production". It's worth checking the local tourist office web site as well for the latest up to date information. www.journeesdupatrimoine.culture.fr

Journées du Patrimoine - Journée internationale de la Francophonie (Originally this term described the geographic areas where French is spoken, but today it refers to the "ensemble of people around the world who speak French"). This event celebrates the French language and all things French, every year on March 20th. In 2012 there was an event in Trafalgar square, London. Throughout France there were 36 events. Apparently 13% of the world's population speak French. French is also the official language in 32 countries. 20mars.francophonie.org

tour de France - Tour de France. France's most popular annual event. www.letour.com

Tour de France a la Voile - Tour de France a la Voile (sailing). Usually running from the end of June over one month each year. www.tourvoile.fr

Bastille Day Celebrations. 14th July every year. Public celebrations don't come much grander than France's Bastille Day. Be prepared for spectacular fireworks and the belting out of La Marseillaise as the French celebrate 1789 and a swarm of revolting peasants. Major cities and rural towns alike congregrate for this huge annual commemoration.

Annual events in France

Events in Belgium

We now have a page with useful links for events and festivals in Belgium.

Events in Brittany

We now have a page with useful links for events and festivals in Brittany.

Events in NORD, Pas de Calais

We now have a page with useful links for events and festivals in Nord and Pas de Calais.

Events in Normandy

We now have a page with useful links for events and festivals in Normandy.

Food, Wine and other themed events in France

Our extensive and comprehensive list of events, fetes and festivals in France concerning wine, food and other themes.

We have started building a list of towns and villages which are famous for specific products.

Useful Outside links

northern France books - NorthernFrance. Great site for visitors to the North of France (buy the bookNorthern France). www.northernfrance-within90minutesofcalais.co.uk

Informative site full of events and braderie held in Nord Pas de Calais. www.sabradou.com

Le Chineur - Le Chineur. Useful site for events in French Towns. www.lechineur.fr

normandy tourist - Events listings. www.normandy-tourism.fr

 

Cultural Events

fetes et foires - Fête et Foires. In French but up to date list of events in France. www.fetes-et-foires.com

demeure historique - Demeure Historique. Body representing private historic places. Its mission is to allow the owners to protect their sites, to make authorities aware of their needs and to make available to the public their buildings. www.demeure-historique.org

culture France - Culture France, events in France. www.culture.fr

monum France museums - Monum, Centre des monuments nationaux. www.monuments-nationaux.fr

Via France Events listings. www.viafrance.com

World Events Guide, France listings. www.worldtravelguide.net

Survive France Network, events. survivefrance.ning.com

Excellent site full of information for Provence. www.beyond.fr

Excellent events listings. www.portsmouth-port.co.uk

Comprehensive website for Public Holidays worldwide. www.bank-holidays.com

Useful site for events in French Towns (pay). www.lechineur.fr

Chambres de Commerce et d’Industrie de France. www.cci.fr

 

Food and wine events

French Duck - French Duck. Excellent source of information about France and its many events. www.frenchduck.co.uk

Slow Food France - Slow Food. www.slowfood.fr / www.slowfood.com

Blog - We liked the recipies on this one. tascadaelvira.blogspot.com

Salon del Gusto - Salon del Gusto, Turin. Italy. Huge event, with a vast range of interesting foods on dislay for tasting and buying, from Italy mostly, but from many other countries as well. www.salonedelgusto.com

Terre Marde network - The Terre Marde network, is made up of all those who wish to act to preserve, encourage, and support sustainable food production methods. www.terramadre.info

 

France school holidays

French Education Ministry. www.education.gouv.fr

Click on Date des vacances scholaires. www.peep.asso.fr (Fr)

Click on Calendrier Scolaire for French school holidays. www.fcpe.asso.fr (Fr)

French education site. www.peep.asso.fr

French education site. www.fcpe.asso.fr

 

United Kingdom term dates. local.direct.gov.uk

 

Belgium

Belgium Tourism. Practical information including Public Holidays and events in Belgium. www.belgium-tourism.net

 

Luxembourg

Holidays in Luxembourg. www.luxembourg.co.uk

School holiday in Luxembourg. www.myschool.lu

School holidays in Europe and Luxembourg. www.acl.lu

School holidays in Luxembourg. www.men.public.lu