Over 1,000 events in France for European archaeology festival 2026

The Journées européennes de l’archéologie (European Archaeology Days) take place this weekend (June 12 - 14), with workshops, tours, and site visits organised across France.

Over 5,000 events are also planned in 30 countries across the continent, inviting amateurs and professionals alike to engage with local history and go behind the scenes of research and talk to experts in the field.

“Archaeology is not just about the past: it enriches our present by providing shared points of reference, both across the ages and across Europe,” stated Dominique Garcia, President of the Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (Inrap) - the festival’s partnering organisation.

“Whether you come on your own, with family or with friends, I invite you to join in this great celebration of archaeology and to exchange with the professionals and enthusiasts who bring it to life,” he added.

This year, the festival’s theme centres around the Gaulois (Gauls) - dating to the Iron Age and the Roman period - with a significant part of the programme offering exhibitions, re-enactments, archaeological experiments, and open days at excavations.

Several live dig sites and research centres usually closed to the public will also be exceptionally open for the weekend.

You can find a full list of over 1,000 activities in France via an interactive map on the official website, and filter based on location, age range, and several other criteria.

Most of the events are free, although you may need to book in advance. This is indicated in the event description on its dedicated page.

Note that Friday (June 12) is mainly reserved for school groups, so you may find more events open to the general public on Saturday and Sunday.

‘Archeology Villages’ are also being set up across France to welcome visitors of all ages and offer everyone the chance to discover the discipline.

The 24 participating French ‘villages’ are located in: Argentomagus, Belle Île-en-Mer, Bordeaux, Campagne, Champagnole, Chartres, Cap d’Agde, Colmar, Dijon, Haguenau, Jarville-le-Malgrange, Le Mans, Lons-le-Saunier, Lumio, Lyon, Nice, Paris, Pierre-de-Bresse, Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Vaison-la-Romaine and Vendeuil-Caply.

For those looking to find out even more, the Arte channel will once again be dedicating the whole of Saturday (June 13) to showing content related to archaeology. Arte is free to view online.