12 festivals to enjoy in France in August 2023
If summer is festival season in France, then August is peak-time festival season.
Here is our pick of 12 events across the country that you may want to check out.
l’Eté à Pau
This one started at the end of July, but runs until August 5th, so we’re claiming it. If free concerts in an open air theatre are your thing, this is for you. Find out more, here.
Jazz au Phare
Head to the Atlantic coast, until August 3rd for some cool jazz at Saint-Clément-des-Baleines, on Île de Ré. Murray Head is performing on August 2nd. More details available here.
Salon Festival International de Musique de Chambre de Provence
The 31st Festival International de Musique de Chambre de Provence runs until August 5th, in Salon-de-Provence. More information here.
MiMa
If puppets are your thing, MiMa - the International Festival of Puppet Art, held from August 4th to August 7th in the mediaeval town of Mirepoix, Ariège - is for you. More details here.
Festival du Chant de Marin
Did you love the Wellerman, which took social media by storm a while ago? Then the Sea Shanty festival, in the Breton resort of Paimpol, is for you. This year’s event runs from August 4th to August 6th, with performances from 160 groups on seven stages, while the port is filled with 200 boats. More information here.
Festival Interceltique de Lorient
Sticking in Brittany for a 10-day festival (August 4th to 13th) that pretty much does exactly what it says on the bodhran. More than 100 shows on stages across the Morbihan coastal town celebrate anything and everything Celtic. Artists at this year’s event include Irish folk group Clannad, The Kilkennys, and Usher’s Island. Full details here.
Festival du Bout du Monde
The darkly named End of the World Festival takes place from August 4th to August 6th at Landaoudec Prairie on the Crozon Peninsula in Brittany, a few hundred yards from the wild Atlantic ocean. Franz Ferdinand and Suzanne Vega are among the acts in a packed showcase for a festival that’s nowhere near as gloomy as its name suggests. More here.
Cabaret Vert
Somewhere in the region of 125,000 spectators are expected to descend on the Ardennes’ town of Charleville-Mézières between August 16th and 20th, to catch the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Christine and the Queens, Cypress Hill, Calvin Harris, and - proving the line-up isn’t all C-related - Yungblud, PLK and Dropkick Murphys. More details available here.
Woodstower
Fans of rap and electro rejoice. The 22nd annual Woodstower festival, near Lyon, takes place between August 23rd and 27th. More information here.
Delta Festival
In fact, there’s a little bit of a dilemma for electro fans, as the Delta Festival is in Marseille at exactly the same time as Woodstower, and features an equally eclectic line-up. Details here.
Rock en Seine
If rock’s more your thing, Billie Eilish, Florence + the Machine, The Strokes, Placebo, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are among the acts lined up for this year’s annual Rock en Seine festival at Domaine national de Saint-Cloud from August 23rd to August 27th. Details here.
V and B Fest
Louise Attaque, DJ Snake, Doria, Shaka Ponk and Damso are among a musically wide-ranging list of stars at the V and B Fest in Craon, in the Mayenne. More here.
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Here is our pick of 12 events across the country that you may want to check out.
l’Eté à Pau
This one started at the end of July, but runs until August 5th, so we’re claiming it. If free concerts in an open air theatre are your thing, this is for you. Find out more, here.
Jazz au Phare
Head to the Atlantic coast, until August 3rd for some cool jazz at Saint-Clément-des-Baleines, on Île de Ré. Murray Head is performing on August 2nd. More details available here.
Salon Festival International de Musique de Chambre de Provence
The 31st Festival International de Musique de Chambre de Provence runs until August 5th, in Salon-de-Provence. More information here.
MiMa
If puppets are your thing, MiMa - the International Festival of Puppet Art, held from August 4th to August 7th in the mediaeval town of Mirepoix, Ariège - is for you. More details here.
Festival du Chant de Marin
Did you love the Wellerman, which took social media by storm a while ago? Then the Sea Shanty festival, in the Breton resort of Paimpol, is for you. This year’s event runs from August 4th to August 6th, with performances from 160 groups on seven stages, while the port is filled with 200 boats. More information here.
Festival Interceltique de Lorient
Sticking in Brittany for a 10-day festival (August 4th to 13th) that pretty much does exactly what it says on the bodhran. More than 100 shows on stages across the Morbihan coastal town celebrate anything and everything Celtic. Artists at this year’s event include Irish folk group Clannad, The Kilkennys, and Usher’s Island. Full details here.
Festival du Bout du Monde
The darkly named End of the World Festival takes place from August 4th to August 6th at Landaoudec Prairie on the Crozon Peninsula in Brittany, a few hundred yards from the wild Atlantic ocean. Franz Ferdinand and Suzanne Vega are among the acts in a packed showcase for a festival that’s nowhere near as gloomy as its name suggests. More here.
Cabaret Vert
Somewhere in the region of 125,000 spectators are expected to descend on the Ardennes’ town of Charleville-Mézières between August 16th and 20th, to catch the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Christine and the Queens, Cypress Hill, Calvin Harris, and - proving the line-up isn’t all C-related - Yungblud, PLK and Dropkick Murphys. More details available here.
Woodstower
Fans of rap and electro rejoice. The 22nd annual Woodstower festival, near Lyon, takes place between August 23rd and 27th. More information here.
Delta Festival
In fact, there’s a little bit of a dilemma for electro fans, as the Delta Festival is in Marseille at exactly the same time as Woodstower, and features an equally eclectic line-up. Details here.
Rock en Seine
If rock’s more your thing, Billie Eilish, Florence + the Machine, The Strokes, Placebo, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are among the acts lined up for this year’s annual Rock en Seine festival at Domaine national de Saint-Cloud from August 23rd to August 27th. Details here.
V and B Fest
Louise Attaque, DJ Snake, Doria, Shaka Ponk and Damso are among a musically wide-ranging list of stars at the V and B Fest in Craon, in the Mayenne. More here.
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