What’s On in Paris – August 2024

Summertime is music festival time. Time Out Paris is a great place to start if you want to see the schedule of festivals in and around Paris this summer, in French only (use Google translate): Les Festivals de Musique à Paris

August 4 (and every 1st Sunday)
Many museums and monuments in Paris are open for free the first Sunday of the month. In July, that includes the Orsay, Picasso, Pompidou, Cluny, Arts-et-Métiers, Orangerie, Cité de l’Architecture, Quai Branly, and the Château Fontainebleau. Be sure to check each museum’s website, as some still require you to have a timed ticket; even if the entrance is free. See the full list here.

Through August 11
Lost in Frenchlation, the company bringing you French films with English subtitles in independent cinemas all over Paris (as well as Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, Beaulieu and Caen), are holding a special Summer Olympics Film Festival. See the Catherine Deneuve classic Le Dernier Métro (The Last Metro), the international award-winning Anatomie d’Une Chute (Anatomy of a Fall), sports comedies Les Crevettes Pailletées (The Shiny Shrimps) and L’Esprit Coubertin (The Coubertin Spirit), the new summer hit Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo), the cult classic, Amélie (The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain), and more! See the full schedule here: https://lostinfrenchlation.com/events

Through August 17
Les Arènes Lyriques are back in Montmartre, with ten live concerts featuring orchestra, opera, and piano classics in an open-air garden setting with a view over Paris. Buy your tickets {€39 for adults) online to ensure you get a spot! https://areneslyriques.com/en/programme/

Through September 1
The annual Fête des Tuileries has been moved to the Porte de la Muette in the Bois de Boulogne this summer (because of the Olympic Games), and is now called “La Fête de l’Eté à Paris”. You’ll find the Ferris wheel, stomach-emptying rides, barbe-à-papa (cotton candy) and whack-a-mole games. Open daily 11am-11pm (free entry, tickets can be purchased for individual rides).

Through September 8
Paris Plage is still taking place in 2024! It opens on the Canal St-Martin and Bassin de la Villette starting July 6th, with smaller Paris Plage activities on the Seine starting August 8th (after all of the Olympics Opening Ceremony stands are removed). There will be protected swimming zones, water sports, themed cruises, as well as the usual sun loungers, kids’ play areas, pétanque courts, morning yoga sessions, nightly dances, and canal-side refreshments. See the full program here (and the shortened English version here).

Through September 7
The Château de Versailles jumps on the drone show bandwagon this summer with The Magic of the Drones, their new night fountains and fireworks show in the gardens. There are six dates available, July 27th, August 3, 9, 11, and 31st, and September 7th. tickets from €34. Can be combined with the Royal Serenade costumed concert in the Royal Apartments (I recommend making it a two-day event, staying at a hotel in Versailles, which are cheaper than Paris).

July 26-August 11 and August 28-September 8
The 2024 Summer Games begin with the Opening Ceremony on the Seine in Paris on July 26th. The Olympics Games take place throughout France through August 11th, then the Paralympic Games from August 28-September 8th (there are still lots of tickets available for both!) See the full schedule of Olympics events here: https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule And the free fan zones to watch the events on the big screen throughout Paris here: https://secretsofparis.com/featured-events/free-olympics-events/

Through September 8
The annual open-air summer concerts in the Bois de Vincennes’s Parc Floral include the free Paris Jazz Festival (with French and international jazz concerts) and the free Classique au Vert featuring up-and-coming classical music ensembles and orchestras. Even when concerts are free; entry to the park is €2.50. 

Through September 15
The French Romantic painter Théodore Géricault devoted most of his short painting career to horses, drawing them at all hours of the day and night, racing, hunting, working, on the battlefield or in the stables. Two hundred years after his tragic death at age 32 (ironically after breaking his back in a fall from a horse on Rue des Martyrs), the new exposition at the Musée de la Vie Romantique celebrates his passion with over a hundred of his best paintings, drawings and sketches capturing equestrian beauty in all its forms. Entrance €10 (permanent collection is free; the little garden café is also worth a stop!)

Through September 28
The magical Candlelit Evenings at the Château Vaux-le-Vicomte are back! Open every Saturday (through Sep 28th) from 5:30pm (last entry 9:30pm), with 2000 candles, an immersive show in the Grand Salon, several dining options, and fireworks show at 11pm before closure; reservations required. Free parking and regular shuttles from the train station in Melun. Tickets €22 (Château and Gardens), €16 for gardens only. Read the Secrets of Paris article about it here.

Through November 17
Don’t miss “We Are Here”, the free exposition of the world’s greatest street artists at the Petit Palais. Over 200 extra-large contemporary artworks and installations by artists like Shepard Fairey, Invader, Seth, Hush and Vhils are found mixed right into the permanent collection of the beautiful Petit Palais, the city’s Fine Arts Museum in the gardens of the Champs Elysées. Watch the video here to get an idea of what to expect.