Paris Events and Festivals

New Year’s Eve (31st Dec.)
Celebrations are all over the city, with the most popular places to be as follows: Champs Elysees, 8th (arrondissements ); Blvd Saint Michel, 5th; place de la Bastille, 11th; and the Eiffel Tower, 7th.

New Year’s Day (1st)
The city’s New Year’s Day parade - La Grande Parade - originates from the 1400s and takes place in various venues, especially the Grands Boulevards. 

Fête des Rois (Epiphany, the first week of January)
The patissieres of Paris bake special galette des rois pastries, some of which contain a china figurine, as part of the traditional Epiphany celebrations. Everyone eats galettes des rois, flaky-pastry pies with frangipane. As the pie is served the youngest person calls the names of diners from under the table. Whoever ends up with the fêve, or charm, is crowned with a cardboard crown. Call (33) 892 683 000 for more information.

Nouvel An Chinois
The Chinese community celebrates the New Year with dragon parades, food, live entertainment and other festivities throughout the Quartier Chinois, from Place d’Italie to the Porte de Choisy in the 13th arrondissement. The exact date varies from year to year, based on the Chinese Lunar calendar.

Festival of St. Valentine
Here's your chance to be romantic. The city of Paris re-assigns its many illuminated, digitized message boards to display sentiments of love, and allows individuals from all over the world to post their messages on them as well via www.paris.fr on Valentine’s Day.

International Circus Festival of Tomorrow 
See top circus performers from all over the world in one place, in mid-February at the Cirque d’Hiver, when they hold exhibitions and workshops for newer performers. Call (33) 47 00 12 25 for more information.

Great Wines Fair
Held at the same time as the Bibliophile Fair (book Fair) in the Carrousel du Louvre, this is a rare opportunity to see the finest grand vins of France, representing over 100 chateaux, collected in one place. Call (33) 4316 4747 for more information.

Salon International de l’Agriculture
Food food food! A 10-day gastronomic delight with heaps of food from all over France held at the Parc des Expositions at Porte Versailles in the 15th arrondissements.

Paris Film Festival (March-April)
The Cinema Gaumont Marignan serves as the centre for screenings of recent locally produced works, as well as the works of promising young directors from all over Europe. Usually held in late March into early April Call (33) 45 72 96 40 for more information.

Paris Fashion Week 
The Carrousel de Louvre hosts the final leg of a world-wide tour of fashion designers and models, as they exhibit their latest creations in early March. Call (33) 43 16 47 47 for more information

Festival of the Imagination 
The music and art of the world’s cultures is celebrated throughout the month of March at the Maison des Cultures du Monde, as representative top artists and musicians come to lecture and exhibit their crafts. Call (33) 45 44 72 30 for more information.

Poets’ Springtime 
Readings, competitions, performances and many other events occur in the streets, museums and a variety of other venues all over town, as Paris celebrates the art of poetry, starting on the second Monday in March. Call (33) 53 80 08 00 for more information.

International Women’s Film Festival
The Maison des Artes, Cinema La Lucarne and Cinemas du Palais in Creteil, Ile-de-France host screenings of recent films produced by women, some of whom will be present to meet the participants and established directors and producers also attending. Usually held in mid-March. Call (33) 43 13 19 19 for more information.

Festival des Artes Martiaux
The Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (POPB), hosts martial arts masters and enthusiasts from all over the world at this major exposition which examines and illustrates the differences between every school of martial arts currently in practice. POPB is located at 8 boulevard Bercy, 12th; to the east of the city centre. Call (33) 40 02 60 60 for more information.

Banlieues Bleues
The Paris Blues Festival is on the streets of Seine St. Denis, a northeast suburb of Paris, which attracts new as well as famous blues musicians from all over the world. Held during the first week in April Call (33) 49 22 10 10 for more information.

Paris Marathon 
This foot race commences with a food festival featuring spaghetti bolognaise, then proceeds around the monuments flanking the Champs Elysees and extends out to the town of Auteuil. Held during the month of April. Call (33) 41 33 15 68 for more information. The annual run begins at about 9am on the Champs Elysées, finishing about 11am on avenue Foch.

May Day
Everything is closed in Paris on May 1, except the Eiffel Tower. The Bastille is the focus of an annual parade down the Champs Elysees, organized by the labour unions.

Annual Jazz Festival 
From the conclusion of the Foire de Paris in early May through the month of July, jazz musicians from all over the world come to play in the Parc Floral every weekend. Call (33) 55 94 20 20 for more information.

Foire du Trone
For the entire month of May, the Pelouse de Reuilly hosts this famous traditional fair which dates back to the 1100s, where traditional pig-shaped bread is sold, and there is an abundance of rides, live entertainment, “freak shows”, and circus performers. Call (33) 46 27 52 29 for more information.

Printemps des Musees (Museums day)
For one day in May, you may be able to see a number of the important exhibits on your list, as many museums in the city will offer free admission. Call (33) 40 15 36 00 for more information.

Vintage Car Rally 
During the month of May, vintage car owners compete in a race up the Montmartre hill, the steepest and tallest, with local café and bars providing a variety of food and other events. Call (33) 46 06 79 56 for more information.

La Fête de la Musique (21st)
On the longest day of the year there’s something for all music lovers, with music being played in different concert venues, cafés and street corners across the city.

Jazz à la Villette (June-July)
Jazz and blues events at the park (Parc La Villette), the Cité de la Musique and the Grande Halle at La Villette.

Bastille Day (14th)
The storming of the Bastille is celebrated with a parade along the Champs Elysées on the morning of 14 July. In the evening there are fireworks at the Trocadéro, dancing at the place de la Bastille and the infamous firemen’s balls. For many the partying starts on the night of 13 July.

Le Tour de France (late July to early August)
Tour de France is France’s most famous and major sporting event. It usually takes place in late July, when swarms of cyclists hurl down the avenue des Champs-Elysées, which is lined with crowds in the final stages of this exciting race.

Festival de Cinema en Plein Air (six weeks from mid-July)
Viewers arrive in the Parc de la Villette well before sundown to secure their patch of grass and enjoy a leisurely picnic before the movies are shown on a large screen. Films are shown in their original language with French subtitles and start when it’s dark.

La Goutte d’Or en Fête (first week of July)
Square Léon and the surrounding quartier come alive to the beats of rap, reggae and raï.

La Villette Jazz Festival
This yearly musical celebration emphasises innovative and experimental jazz. It features a series of free open-air concerts, which take place at Parc La Villette, usually in the afternoon. Performances blend music, theatre and video installations. Located at 221 Avenue Jean-Jaurès, (Cite de la Musique). Call 08 03 30 63 06 / 08 03 07 50 75 for more information.

Les Journées du Patrimoine (third weekend)
For two days the doors are thrown open to places normally not open to the public, such as embassies and ministries. Places such as the Palais de l’Elysée, where the President lives, tend to attract large queues. Tel: 01 56 06 50 21.

Festival d’Automne (mid-September to mid-December)
This annual festival is a showcase for international contemporary art in all its forms, from theatre, music and dance right through to sculpture and ceramics. Foreign culture especially is in the spotlight, with a wealth of artists taking part on various dates and at various venues throughout Paris. 156 rue de Rivoli. Tel: 01 53 45 17 00

Foire International d’Art Contemporian (September/October)
This huge contemporary art fair, with some 160 galleries represented, is held at the Parc des Expositions at Porte de Versailles, 15th arrondessment.

Nouveau Festival International de Danse de Paris
Various dance events held throughout the month at the Theatre du Châtelet. Tel: 01 40 28 28 40 / 01 40 28 28 00.

Festival d’Automne (mid-September to mid-December)
This annual festival is a showcase for international contemporary art in all its forms, from theatre, music and dance right through to sculpture and ceramics. Foreign culture especially is in the spotlight, with a wealth of artists taking part on various dates and at various venues throughout Paris. 156 rue de Rivoli. Tel: 01 53 45 17 00

Festival d’Automne (mid-September to mid-December)
This annual festival is a showcase for international contemporary art in all its forms, from theatre, music and dance right through to sculpture and ceramics. Foreign culture especially is in the spotlight, with a wealth of artists taking part on various dates and at various venues throughout Paris. 156 rue de Rivoli. Tel: 01 53 45 17 00

All Saints’ Day - Toussaint (1st)
Traditionally, this festival is when the living honours their dead. Now, of course, things have become more commercialized, but it is still a vibrant festival.

Festival d’Automne (mid-September to mid-December)
This annual festival is a showcase for international contemporary art in all its forms, from theatre, music and dance right through to sculpture and ceramics. Foreign culture especially is in the spotlight, with a wealth of artists taking part on various dates and at various venues throughout Paris. 156 rue de Rivoli. Tel: 01 53 45 17 00

Festival d’Art Sacré
Free concerts are held within the city’s churches during the weeks preceding Christmas.

Noël (24th-25th)
Christmas Eve Mass is celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve at many Paris churches, including Notre Dame. Arrive by 11pm to find a place.

Festival d’Automne (mid-September to mid-December)
This annual festival is a showcase for international contemporary art in all its forms, from theatre, music and dance right through to sculpture and ceramics. Foreign culture especially is in the spotlight, with a wealth of artists taking part on various dates and at various venues throughout Paris. 156 rue de Rivoli. Tel: 01 53 45 17 00

New Year’s Eve (31st Dec.)
Celebrations are all over the city, with the most popular places to be as follows: Champs Elysees, 8th (arrondissement); Blvd Saint Michel, 5th; place de la Bastille, 11th; and the Eiffel Tower, 7th.

New Year's Day (1 January)
Easter Monday
Ascension Day
Labour Day (1 May)
Victory Day (8 May)
Whitsun or Pentecost Sunday and Monday
Bastille Day (14 July)
Assumption Day (15 August)
All Saints Day - Toussaint (1 Nov)
Armistice Day (11 November)
Christmas Day (25 December)

On national holidays most stores and all banks will close; some museums remain open, but usually on a "holiday" schedule. Sometimes banks and stores will close early on the day before the holiday.