With all that's going on
in Paris,
festivals
- in the traditional
"popular"
sense - are no big deal.
But there is an
impressive array of arts
events and an inspired
internationalist
jamboree at the Fête de
l'Humanité.
The tourist office
produces a biannual Saisons
de Paris - Calendrier
des Manifestations ,
which gives details of
all the mainstream
events; otherwise, check
the listings and other
Paris magazines.
Many Parisian
quartiers like
Belleville and
Montmartre have portes
ouvertes (open
doors) weeks, when
artists' studios are
open to the public and
some festivities are
laid on - keep an eye
open for posters and
flyers.
JANUARY
La Grande Parade
New Year's Day parade
on January 1 from Porte
St-Martin to Madeleine.
FEBRUARY
Chinese New Year
Paris's Chinese
community brings in the
New Year in the 13e
around Avenue d'Ivry.
MARCH
Festival Exit
International
festival of contemporary
dance, performance and
theatre at Créteil;
information from Maison
des Arts, place
Salvador-Allende, 9400
Créteil (tel
01.45.13.19.19).
Printemps des Rues
Free street
performances atthe end
of March in the areas of
La Villette, Gambetta,
Nation and République.
End of
March/Beginning of April
Banlieues Bleus
International jazz
festival in the towns of
Seine-Saint-Denis
(Blanc-Mesnil, Drancy,
Aubervilliers, Pantin,
St-Ouen, Bobigny); info
tel 01.49.22.10.10.
Festival de Films
des Femmes
Women's film festival
at Créteil; information
from Maison des Arts,
place Salvador-Allende,
9400 Créteil (tel
01.49.80.38.98).
Festival du Film
de Paris
Films on preview at
the Cinéma Gaumont
Marignan, 27-33 av des
Champs-Élysées, 8e (tel
08.36.68.75.55).
APRIL
Poisson d'Avril
April Fools' Day, on
April 1, with spoofs in
the media and people
sticking paper fishes on
the backs of
unsuspecting fools.
END OF
MARCH/BEGINNING OF APRIL
Foire de Paris
Food and wine fair at
the Parc des
Expositions, Porte de
Versailles (tel
01.49.09.60.00).
MAY
Fête du Travail
May Day (May 1) with
marches and festivities
in eastern Paris and
around place de la
Bastille.
MAY TO JULY
Jazz in the Parc
Floral
Big jazz names give
free concerts in the
Parc Floral at the Bois
de Vincennes (entrance
to park 1.52, tel
01.43.43.92.95).
JUNE
Festival Agora
Contemporary
theatre/dance/music
festival organized by
IRCAM and the Pompidou
Centre (tel
01.44.78.48.16, ).
Festival de
St-Denis
Classical and
world-music festival the
last two weeks in June,
with opportunities to
hear music in the Gothic
St-Denis basilica (tel
01.48.13.06.07, ).
Fête de la
Musique
On June 21, live
bands and free concerts
throughout the city. (tel
01.40.03.94.70, ).
Feux de la
Saint-Jean
Around June 21,
fireworks for St-Jean's
Day at the Parc de la
Villette and quai
St-Bernard.
Gay Pride
Gay and Lesbian Pride
march (tel
01.43.57.21.47).
JUNE TO JULY
Foire St-Germain
Concerts, antique
fairs, poetry and
exhibitions in the 6e (tel
01.40.46.75.12).
Villette Jazz
Festival
Jazz festival at in
the park and Grande
Halle at la Villette (tel
01.40.03.75.75, ).
JULY
Arrivée du Tour
de France Cyclistes
On the third or
fourth Sunday of july,
the Tour de France
cyclists cross the
finishing line in the
avenue des champs-Élysées.
Bastille Day
On July 14 and the
evening before, the 1789
surrender of the
bastille is celebrated
with official pomp:
tanks parade down the
Champs-Élysées,
firework displays and
concerts are put on. At
night there is dancing
in the streets around
place de la Bastille to
good French bands.
La Goutte d'Or en
Fête
Held in the first
week of July, a music
festival of rap, reggae
and raï with local and
international performers
(tel 01.53.09.99.22).
Paris Quartier d'Été
Music, cinema, dance
and theatre events
around the city (tel
01.44.94.98.00, ).
JULY 15 TO AUGUST
15
Festival de Cinéma
en Plein Air
Open-air cinema for
free at Parc de la
Villette (tel
01.40.03.76.92).
SEPTEMBER
Fête de l'Humanité
Mº La Courneuve,
then bus #177 or special
shuttle from RER.
Held in the second
weekend of September and
sponsored by the French
Communist Party and L'Humanité
newspaper, this annual
three-day event just
north of Paris at La
Courneuve attracts
people in their tens of
thousands and of every
political persuasion.
Food and drink (all very
cheap), and music and
crafts from every corner
of the globe, are the
predominant features,
rather than political
platforms. Info tel
01.49.22.72.72.
Journées du
Patrimoine
On a weekend in
mid-September, a
France-wide event where
normally off-limits
buildings - like the
Palais de l'Élysée -
are opened to a curious
public. Details in local
press.
Techno Parade
Held in
mid-September. Floats
and sound systems parade
from Place de la République
to Pelouse de Reuilly
and celebrations
culminate in a big party
(tel 08.36.68.94.94).
End of September
to end of December
Festival d'Automne
Theatre and music
festival including
companies from Eastern
Europe, America and
Japan; multilingual
productions; lots of
avant-garde and
multimedia stuff, most
of it very exciting (tel
01.53.45.17.17).
OCTOBER
Fête des
Vendanges
On the first or
second Saturday in
October, the grape
harvest festival takes
place in the Montmartre
vineyard, at the corner
of rue des Saules and
rue St-Vincent (tel
01.53.41.18.18).
Foire
Internationale d'Art
Contemporain (FIAC)
International
contemporary art fair
held at Paris Expo,
Porte de Versailles (tel
01.41.90.47.80).
NOVEMBER
Festival
FNAC-Inrockuptibles
Dubbed Les Inrocks
, a rock festival in
early November,
featuring lots of new
names at various venues
around town, put on by
the book-and-record
chain store FNAC.
Lancement des
Illuminations des
Champs-Élysées
At the end of
November, jazz bands,
the Republican Guard and
an international star
turning on the Christmas
lights on the Champs-Élysées.
Marjolaine
Environmental/ecological
festival in early
November, with more than
400 stalls in the Parc
Floral, Bois de
Vincennes. Everything
from organic produce to
Greenpeace stands (tel
01.45.56.09.09).
Mois de la Photo
A biennial event
(even years).
Photographic exhibitions
are held in museums,
galleries and cultural
centres throughout the
city (tel
01.44.78.75.00).
END OF NOVEMBER TO
MID-DECEMBER
Festival d'Art
Sacré de la Ville de
Paris
Concerts and recitals
of chruch music in
Paris's churches and
concert halls (tel
01.44.70.64.10).
DECEMBER
Le Nouvel An
New Year's Eve,
December 31, means
fireworks, drinking and
kissing, notably on the
Champs-Élysées.
Parc de la Villette (tel
01.40.03.76.92, ).
