What’s On in Paris – June 2023

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

And for the schedule of free concerts in the park kiosks in Paris municipal parks and gardens download the summer schedule here. And see the June schedule of Luxembourg Gardens free concerts here.

June 1-5
The 34th annual Ateliers d’Artistes de Belleville (AAB), an open house of over 100 artist studios in Belleville (20^th arrondissement), takes place over four days from 2-8pm, with 64 studios open with special workshops and performances on Saturday as part of the Nuit Blanche festival. Pick up maps at the main info center is at the Galerie des AAB, 1 rue Francis Picabia, 20^th (M° Couronnes), or download the PDF online.

June 2-4
The theme of the 20th annual Rendez-Vous au Jardins garden festival is “The Music of Gardens”. It takes place in gardens all over France, with 37 free events open to the public in Paris gardens and green spaces. Find the full program here (auto-translated).

June 2-4
The We Love Green Festival in the Bois de Vincennes is an environmentally-friendly music festival with Phoenix, Bon Iver, The Blaze, and more. Tickets from €69/day.

June 2-27
The Festival Saint Denis brings a series of live classical concerts to the Saint-Denis Basilica and the Maison d’éducation de la Légion d’Honneur in Saint Denis, the suburtb north of Paris. See the full schedule and purchase tickets here.

June 3
After taking place in October for almost two decades, the Nuit Blanche is now in June! It’s a free contemporary arts festival organized by Paris City Hall in venues throughout the city (including open-air installations and performances), open to everyone all night long. You can find the full program here (you’ll need to auto-translate) and a handy map to see what’s closest to you. A few highlights? A Mexican wrestling “Lucha Libre” ring and burlesque show on the Place du Châtelet, an XXL ping-pong tournament with country music on the Quai d’Austerlitz, and a Sufi dance performance by the whirling dervish Rana Gorgani at the Petit Palais.

Through June 3
CAPITALE(S) is a free exposition at the Hôtel de Ville (4th) celebrating 60 years of Paris street art, featuring the most influential artists, including Invader, Miss Tic, André, Swoon and Banksy. In the Salle Saint-Jean at 5 rue de Lobau, free entry with reservations online, Mon-Sat 10am-6:30pm (Thursdays until 9pm).

June 3-4
One of the original Parisian artist squats (totally legal now), Les Frigos (aka 91 Quai de la Gare) open their artist studios to the public for a free open house all weekend for the annual Portes Ouvertes. Open Saturday from 2-10pm for the Nuit Blanche and Sunday 2-8pm. There will be concerts, performances, and food as well as artworks for sale.

June 3-4
The famous rose gardens of the Parc de Bagatelle (Bois de Boulogne, 16th) are featured at their finest this weekend for the annual “Weekend de la Rose”. Come see over 10,000 roses including the ones competing for “Best in Show”, gardening workshops and demonstrations, and practical gardening tips, including how to garden without pesticides (the City of Paris no longer uses any pesticides in the Municipal Gardens). There’s also a flower market if you’re in the mood to shop. Open 11am-7pm, entry €2.50.

June 4 (and every 1st Sunday)
The Avenue des Champs-Elysées is closed to vehicles every 1st Sunday of the month from 11am-6pm April through October, and 10am-5pm November through March, leaving it open for pedestrians and cyclists. Vehicle traffic is also heavily restricted on those days in the center of Paris — 1st through 4th arrondissements — so be sure to make arrangements to get around using public transportation — or your feet! — on those days.

June 4th
Fête des Mères – Mother’s Day in France

June 4 (and every 1st Sunday)
Many museums and monuments in Paris are open for free the first Sunday of the month. In June, 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.

June 9-12
Ateliers d’Artistes de la Goutte d’Or open their artist studios free to the public this weekend on the eastern-most edge of the 18^th arrondissement, with 60 artists in 23 studios. The vernissage opening is Friday from 6pm, and then the studios are open 2-8pm (note that not all of the studios are open on Monday). There are several galleries hosting info points, including EGDO (25 rue de Chartres) and Atelier Borax (11 rue Richomme), between Barbès and Château Rouge metro stations.

June 10
A dance carnival like no other, “Hayoka” (or “upside down”) is a music and dance carnival on the esplanade of the BnF Mitterrand (in front of the MK2 Bibliothèque, 13th) at 6pm, free and open to anyone who would like to join the costumed “wild” dancers who — it seems — will not let anyone lurk on the sidelines: “The revelers will find their clique identity around a single theme: the abandonment of the fears that poison our lives! The whole will be placed under the sign of the fantastic and the strange, of exaggeration, of passage; in short, under the sign of the Full Moon! Bursting with energy, jumping like the spring of a rabid animal, making as much noise as possible, worrying. Better: scare and laugh at the same time, howl like an animal and sing nonsense, knock down and tickle passers-by.”

June 10-11
Artists of the 5^th and 13^th arrondissements (around Mouffetard, Gobelins, and Butte aux Cailles) open their studios to the public for the annual Portes Ouvertes of Les Lézarts de la Bièvre. There are four circuits, with info points in each one: Maison de la Vie Associative (25 rue Linné; this is where you can purchase small artworks for €60), Foyer des Jeunes Travailleurs (21 rue Daubenton), Digital Village (21 rue Albert Bayet, right near Place d’Italie), and Le Fil Rouge (4 rue Wurtz). Visits open 1-8pm both days, vernissage opening Friday at the Maison de la Vie Associative.

June 10-11
If you’re into escaping the city into the great outdoors but don’t want to go too far, the free Chilloway Festival at the Fondation GoodPlanet (in the Bois de Boulogne, 16th) is for you. There will be music, documentary screenings, and all sorts of conferences and presentations on how (and where) to travel locally without much cost or carbon footprint.

June 10-11
If you want to attend a free event with “ordinary” Parisians, check out this weekend’s Festival Popul’Art, a community project for the Bédier-Oudiné districts of the 13th arrondissement with family-friendly cultural entertainment of concerts (rap, pop, even opera), theatre performances, dance and open-air cinema from 6pm. There will be stands representing local community organizations, bouncy castle for kids, and food stands. The festival is at the Pelé stadium (1 avenue Boutroux, 13th). Almost certainly not a place to spot hipsters and tourists! 😉

June 10-14
This week is the Festival du Mieux Manger, or “Festival of Better Eating” a festive week dedicated to the promotion of sustainable food and agriculture to reduce our environmental impact with cooking classes, tasting workshops, activities, and conferences hosted throughout Paris. The opening day festivities take place at the Académie du Climat in the center of Paris (the former Mairie of the 4th arrondissement on Place Baudoyer). The week will end on Place des Fêtes (19th arr) with a showcase of the actors who work daily to produce, promote and sell organic, sustainable and local products, and a huge communal meal. Note that some events require registration, even if all are free of cost. All of the events are in French, and the full program is in French, but if you try the auto-translate you’ll find many events that only need your taste buds! 😉

June 11
Today is the 15th annual community bicycling event known as La Convergence, a celebration of cycling in Paris and Ile-de-France. Basically, there are over 100 departure points throughout the Ile-de-France and Paris that anyone with a bike can join, and ride together to the meeting place for a huge picnic on the lawns behind Les Invalides (Avenue de Breteuil, 7th arrondissement) from 12:30pm. Afterward, everyone will be departing together at 2pm for a final parade of several thousand cyclists through Paris along the Seine. Learn more and see the interactive map on the official website here.

June 11-July 19
The 14th annual “Chopin au Jardin” festival features free Chopin concerts at the Kiosque du Parc Montsouris (14th) every sunday from 5-6pm. This year, five pianists will perform on the Parc Montsouris outdoor stage: Magdalena Baczewska, music professor at Columbia University in New York, as well as four young and talented Polish artists: Zuzanna Pietrzak, Joanna Goranko, Tomasz Marut and Kamil Pacholec . The festival is organized by the City of Warsaw, Stołeczna Estrada and the Polish Institute of Paris.

June 15
Le Food Market is a monthly open-air food festival on Boulevard Belleville (between metro Ménilmontant and Couronnes) with over a dozen stands serving up tasty and affordable dishes of all kinds (kind of like a gathering of static food trucks, but without the wheels) from 6pm-10:30pm. It can get quite crowded, so get there early to avoid waiting (there are huge tables to sit and eat).

June 15
The Mayor of the 13th arrondissement is throwing the second annual Grand Banquet communal dinner tonight along Boulevard Vincent Auriole, under the elevated metro line 6, between rue Jeanne d’Arc and rue du Chevaleret from 7-10pm. Open to anyone of all ages, it’s an opportunity to celebrate both the inauguration of the new frescoes that came in the spring to the open-air street art museum “Boulevard Paris 13” and the launch of the second edition of Treize’Estival summer festival. You can bring your own food, opt for the giant ratatouille from the Petites Cantines, or purchase food from the foodtrucks and the many restaurants and merchants on boulevard Vincent Auriol who are participating in the event. The evening will be punctuated by artistic and musical entertainment with the Maurice Ravel municipal conservatory, the Academy of the 13th arrondissement , the Musical Academy of the 13th arrondissement and artists who will participate in Treize’Estival.

June 15-24
Treize’Estival is back for a second edition: ten days of festival where all artistic disciplines are represented and take over the four corners of the 13th arrondissement! We will start in style with a large participatory banquet under the elevated metro on Thursday, June 15. The program includes poetry on the Place d’Italie, tours of Spot13 streetart, art exhibit with tea, open-air silent films in the Parc de Choisy, concerts in the péniches along Quai François Mauriac, a foam party at the Butte-aux-Cailles swimming pool, improv piano, literary readings, puppet shows for kids, salsa and Creole dance classes, jazz concerts at the Barbizon, circus performances on the Place Basquiat, and a theatre performance of Richard III. See the full program here.

June 16
The Bal à la Cour des Valois at Les Invalides is a costumed ball in the spirit of the 16th-century court of French kings in coordination with the latest exposition about France’s Wars of Religion. Come dressed as Princess Marguerite or King Henri IV!

June 16-17
La Nuit des Arènes Festival connects the arts, the media, politics and citizens in an exceptional setting in the historic Roman arena, Arènes de Lutèce (Rue Monge, 5th), with concerts, shows, debates, exhibitions, and workshops. Program and tickets online (many events in the daytime are free).

June 20-27
The 12th annual Champs-Élysées Film Festival celebrating independent French and American films takes place in cinemas on and around the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, with screenings open to the public (passes from €49). One of the best events of the festival is without a doubt the premiere party on June 23rd with the film crew on the rooftop of the Drugstore Publicis, hosted by Lost in Frenchlation. Open bar and snacks from 6:30pm, film screening from 7:30pm, and Q&A with the film crew afterward. Tickets are €35.

June 21
Fête de la Musique! The 41st annual all-night music festival takes place throughout France, but in Paris the whole city is overtaken: public spaces, bars, cafés, parks, sidewalks and even the streets are closed off for live music of every kind, performed by both famous and amateur musicians, from late afternoon through early morning, all concerts are free and open to everyone. Please note the main metro lines will be running all night, but it will be hard to get around by taxi because of road closures (and Vélibs are typically locked down for the night). Bring your earplugs if you expect to try and sleep!

June 23-25
Solidays is one of the best summer music festivals in France. For the 25th anniversary of the festival, this year’s acts include Angèl, Hamza, Shaka Ponk, J Balvin, and over 160,000 attendees are expected to join the fight against AIDS at Paris-Longchamp racecourse. Day passes start at €35 and sell out fast!  

June 24
The Pride March is back! This year the Marche des Fiertés LGBT+, the march for LGBT+ rights, will take place from outside metro Michel-Bizot in the 12th arrondissement at 1:30pm and finishes at the Place de la République.

June 27
Looking for a unique volunteer opportunity in Paris? The Nuit de la Solidarité is organized every year by the City of Paris with the help of social service professionals and Parisian volunteers to count the number of people living on the streets at night. This operation consists of going street by street – at night – to meet and talk with homeless people. Volunteers help fill out an anonymous survey for those they meet, which is used to better understand the profiles of the homeless as well as their needs, and to adapt public solidarity policies in Paris accordingly. This year, as an experiment, the Summer Solidarity Night will take place in three Parisian arrondissements: the 8th, 12th and 20th arrondissememnts. To participate, fill out the form (in French) here: https://nuit-solidarite.paris.fr/nuitsolidarite/

June 28-30
Choose between 31 free concerts at the 12th annual Festival FNAC Live, featuring Franz Ferdinand, Beck, Hot Chip, Benjamin Biolay, Selah Sue, and Ofenbach, among others. Shows at the Scène du Parvis in front of the Hôtel de Ville (4th) are open access to anyone for free (expect crowds). Shows at the Scène du Salon (inside the Hôtel de Ville) require an invitation that can be picked up for free at FNAC stores in Paris on June 27th (limited spaces). See the full program here.

June 29-July 2
The Saint-Sulpice Céramique is a ceramics fair in front of the eponymous church that brings together 110 ceramicists from around the world. There are also workshops, conferences and a “Café Céramiqie” on site. Free entry, open Thursday 1-8pm, Friday 11am-11pm, and the weekend 11am-8pm.

All Month Long

Through July 8
Murmuration is a mesmerizing performance choreographed by Sadeck Berrabah at the 13e Art theatre. “More than 40 dancers will make you travel and dream for 75 minutes.” Tickets €20-59. Get a sneak preview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9IxogvCvxo&t=119s

Through September 3
The Centre Pompidou Library (BPI) is hosting a free exhibit on the private belongings of the late French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, “Le Mot Exact” (the exact word) to celebrate the opening of the new Maison Gainsbourg museum in September (tickets are already on sale, reserve yours online here). The free BPI exhibit is “a thematic journey exploring the very special relationship that the artist had with more than 500 songs to literature, through precious manuscripts and annotated typescripts, personal objects, small papers, books from his library and archival documents, is built around three thematic parts. As soon as you enter the exhibition, the photo of Serge Gainsbourg at his office, in which he wrote most of his texts, welcomes visitors, inviting them to enter into the intimacy of his creative process.” Open weekdays (except Tuesday) noon-10pm, weekends from 10am. Follow signs for the “espace d’exposition” in the BPI on the 2nd floor of the Centre Pompidou (downloadable brochure of the exhibit in English here).

Through November 3
Visit the free, open-air exhibition of the Cité Universitaire’s 6th edition of “Gardens of the World in Motion ” festival, featuring six of the competition’s winning gardens spread around the 34-acre grounds of the university campus. “The ephemeral gardens fit harmoniously into the decor by interacting with the emblematic architecture of the City and by integrating sustainable development through the use of biosourced materials, the recovery of rainwater or the creation of ecological niches.” Free and open to the public during daylight hours. Cité Universitaire (17 Boulevard Jourdan, 14th).

Through November 5
Immerse yourself in the art of the iconic Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha at the interactive digital show at the Grand Palais Immersif (110 rue de Lyon, 12th). Tickets €6-€20. Reserve your time slot online.

Planning Ahead – Book it Now!

Cinema Paradiso – July 6-9 – register now to win one of the free spots at the third annual open-air films and concerts in the Cour Carré of the Louvre Museum.

Rock-en-Seine Festival – August 23-27 at the Domaine de Saint-Cloud, headliners for the 20th edition include Billie Eilish, Placebo, Florence + The Machine, The Strokes, The Chemical Brothers.

Paris Sketchbook Workshop – October 24-29 in Paris, with four world-famous sketchbook artists.