November
All Saints' Day
1 November
official holiday
Remembrance Day
11 November
official holiday
Celebrates the WWI armistice.
May
International Film Festival
mid May
festival/event
The international film festival, held in Cannes each year, attracts the cream of the film-making world.
Les Nuits Sonores
May
festival/event
This newish event ('The Sound Nights', first organised in 2002) celebrates electronic music. We're talking techno, electronica, house, drum'n'bass and breakbeat, but also innovative music that interacts with electronic music, such as hip-hop, jazz, electro-rock, experimental music and so on.
May Day
1 May
official holiday
Across France, the workers' day is celebrated with trade union parades and diverse protests.
Victoire 1945
8 May
official holiday
Celebrates the Allied victory in Europe that ended WWII.
Ascension Thursday
May
official holiday
Celebrated on the 40th day after Easter.
Pentecost/Whit Sunday & Whit Monday
mid-May/mid-June
official holiday
Celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter.
December
Fête des Lumières
8 December
festival/event
Winter's arrival is a spectacular one in Lyon. For several days around 8 December (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception) the city is lit up for this Festival of Lights. Sound-and-light shows are projected onto the city's most important buildings (place des Terreaux is always a key festival venue) and everyone puts candles in the windows of their homes.
Christmas
25 December
official holiday
January
New Year's Day
1 January
official holiday
Celebrated with parties in larger cities, but fireworks are subdued by international standards.
July
Festival Interceltique
Jul
festival/event
This massive event pulls hundreds of thousands of Celts to Lorient from all over Brittany and the UK for a massive celebration of their shared Celtic culture. For more info see www.festival-interceltique.com.
Fêtes de Bayonne
July
festival/event
Bullfighting, cow-chasing and Basque music are the order of the day at Bayonne's biggest event.
Biennale d'Art Contemporain
July
September
festival/event
Odd-numbered years hail the Art Biennial, a large-scale artistic event taking place in various parts of the city. See www.biennale-de-lyon.org.
Bastille Day (aka National Day)
14 July
official holiday
Fireworks, parades and all-round hoo-ha to commemorate the storming of the Bastille in 1789, symbol of the French Revolution.
June
Fête de la Musique
21 June
festival/event
Bands, orchestras, crooners, buskers and spectators take to the streets for this national celebration of music. See www.fetedelamusique.culture.fr.
Les Nuits de Fourvière
early June
early August
festival/event
Enjoy warm, culture-filled evenings at the two-month Nights of Fourvière (www.nuitsdefourviere.fr), which brings a multitude of fabulous open-air concerts to Fourvière's magnificent Roman theatre (Théâtre Romain). There's a stellar programme of drama, music, dance and cinema.
Tout L'Monde Dehors
June
August
festival/event
This summer festival with the charming name (it means 'Everyone Outdoors') takes advantage of sultry summer evenings with a (generally free) programme of events (theatre, music, cinema, festivals).
September
Braderie de Lille
Sep
festival/event
Three days of madness and mussel-munching as this colossal flea market engulfs Lille with antiques, handicrafts and bric-a-brac.
Journées du Patrimoine
21 September
festival/event
Countrywide festivals that see some of France's most important public buildings unusually open to the public.
Biennale de la Danse
September
festival/event
Kick up your heels in even-numbered years, which host the month-long Dance Biennial. See www.biennale-de-lyon.org.
August
Assumption Day
15 August
official holiday
March
Easter Sunday & Monday
late March/April
official holiday
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