Things to do in Normandy, Paris, Rennes and Nîmes this month

1. Seafood specials 

Readers in Normandy who enjoy both seafood and a good party are spoilt for choice during the autumn, when the region’s ports celebrate their scallop and herring fishing traditions and maritime heritage.

The scallop season runs from October to May, with Le Goût du Large – Port-en-Bessin’s scallop festival – a highlight (November 7-8). Norman scallops proudly boast the prestigious Label Rouge for quality, so be sure to enjoy plenty of tasting opportunities and cooking demos.

The festival also includes Musique sous les embruns, a music festival with a maritime inspiration.

Meanwhile, Dieppe salutes the humble hareng (herring) with the 56th Herring and Scallop Fair (November 14-15). More than 100,000 people come to enjoy grilled herring and scallop skewers, as well as a grand parade by the Brotherhood (Confrérie) of Herring and Scallops.

2. Life through a lens in Paris 

The Grand Palais in Paris is the place to be from November 12-15 if you enjoy browsing superb photographs in a splendid setting.

Paris Photo is the leading international fair dedicated to photography and image-based art. It provides an ever-evolving programme, says Florence Bourgeois, the event director: “Each year, we work to renew the content of the fair with the galleries, bringing out new artists, practices and perspectives. We nurture our connections with the art world through our travels during the year.

“Photography also shapes the way we see and understand the world, which is perhaps one of the strongest reasons to engage with the visions of artists,”
she says.

There are five sectors to browse: Main, including large-scale Prismes projects; Voices; Digital; Emergence; and Book.

Plus, to mark the bicentenary of photography, under the patronage of the French Ministry of Culture, the event will present around one hundred artworks by 30 artists from the Centre Pompidou’s collection.

3. Jazz in Rennes 

Brittany becomes a hotbed of jazz music during November, when some 20 venues in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) host more than 60 music events. Expect an eclectic programme featuring jazz in all its forms, from instrumental to vocal and improvised music. Rennes-based Afro-fusion/Afro-funk project Yeko (led by guitarist Yohann Le Ferrand) is among the acts performing. Runs from November 3-21.

4. Roman history 

Located opposite the Roman amphitheatre in Nîmes (Gard), the Musée de la Romanité opened in 2018. Its current temporary exhibition, which ends on January 10, 2027, is the result of a partnership with the Louvre to explore the place of art in Roman civilisation. Roman Art from the Louvre: A World of Images explores the function, application and meaning of beautiful relics, not merely their aesthetic appeal. “The exhibition demonstrates that Roman relics are not ‘art for art’s sake’: works were not created solely for their beauty and aesthetic value but fulfilled concrete and social functions,” says the museum.

The exhibition is in four parts: the first section explores the practical role of Roman art; the second reveals how Roman art is a mirror of society, representing its symbolic structures and hierarchies; the third explores the way images convey messages, sometimes political, sometimes moral; and the final section explores the works’ visual appeal: how the Romans borrowed extensively from the Greeks, but reinterpreted with their own cultural specificities.