Key cultural dates for France in May 2025
Including the Cannes Film Festival, Eurovision, the European Night of Museums and more
May sees the return of the Cannes Film Festival, the Eurovision Song Contest and the European Night of Museums
Sarah Henshaw/Eurovision Song Contest/YouTube taniavolobueva/Shutterstock
Several bank holidays and major cultural events take place in May. Below, we cover the most important cultural dates for your calendar.
May 13 to 24: The Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes), one of the most prestigious events on the cinematic circuit, will this year be hosted by Laurent Lafitte.
The actor played French businessman and politician Bernard Tapie in the recent Netflix mini-series Class Act.
May 17: The final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Basel, Switzerland. France is represented by Louane with the song Maman.
The singer/actress came to prominence on reaching the semi-final of The Voice in 2013 and is also known for her role in the 2014 film La Famille Bélier, for which she won a César.
May 17: European Night of Museums. Hundreds of museums across the EU will open until the early hours of Sunday morning to welcome visitors, with many offering free entry.
This includes the Musée des Arts et Métiers and Monnaie de Paris in the capital. Check official websites for museums close to you.
May 23: Fête des Voisins. Now in its 25th year, the event encourages neighbours to become better acquainted over an apéro or meal.
May 25: Fête des Mères. In France, Mother's Day is usually celebrated on the last Sunday of May, except when it is occupied by Pentecost, in which case it is postponed to the first Sunday of June.
May 25 to June 8: The French Open (Roland Garros), the second of the four Grand Slam tennis events every year, begins in Paris.
May 25: The Monaco Grand Prix takes place over 78 laps of the 3.337km Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo
Throughout May: David Hockney 25 is at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, until August 31. The British artist’s biggest show to date comprises 400 works from 1955 to 2025.
