Key cultural dates for your diary in France in July 2025

Several major cultural events are taking place in France this summer, as the country prepares to celebrate its national day in the middle of the month. 

July 5: Start of the 112th Tour de France. This year the Grand départ takes place in Lille (Nord).

July 5-26: Festival d'Avignon, France’s oldest surviving arts festival, returns to the courtyard of the Palais des Papes.

July 14: France’s national day (la fête nationale). The French do not call it ‘Bastille Day’, even though that is how it is often translated in English. It celebrates the storming of the eponymous fortress in 1789, is a national holiday in France and coincides with firework shows and events across the country, including a major military parade in Paris. 

July 17-20: France’s largest music festival, Vieilles Charrues, will run in Carhaix-Plouguer (Finistère). 

It features a wide range of artists including Macklemore, Alanis Morissette, Stereophonics and the Sex Pistols (a reformed line-up featuring punk vocalist Frank Carter). 

July 18-20: Lollapalooza Paris returns after being cancelled last year due to a lack of security staff in relation to the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

The three-day festival, which has iterations held in several international cities as well as in its birthplace of the US, will see an eclectic mix of performers this year including DJ David Guetta, popstar Olivia Rodrigo, jazz musician Jacob Collier, and Justin Timberlake.

July 27: End of the Tour de France in Paris. After a break in 2024 due to the Paris Olympic Games, the final stage of the 2025 race is returning to the capital for a finish on the Champs-Elysées.