What’s On in Paris – April 2024

April 1st (Easter Monday) is an official holiday in France, so municipal offices will be closed.

VACANCES SCOLAIRES (French School Holidays): Spring break for the Paris region schools is April 6th-22nd (April 20th-May 6th in other parts of France).

April 2-7
The Journées Européennes des Métiers d’Art is a European-wide festival of artisans who open their workshops to the public, this year with a focus on the artisans of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes of France and Portugal. The website is all in French, but a little auto-translate help is all you need to find the artists, jewelry makers, designers, furniture makers, ironsmiths, and more wherever you are in France (use the “near me” function to find the open studios). Free entry.

April 4
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 dishes of all kinds at affordable prices (kind of like a gathering of static food trucks, but without the wheels) from 6pm-10:30pm. This month’s theme is “Tudo Bem” featuring Portuguese cuisine and culture. It can get quite crowded, so get there early to avoid waiting (there are huge tables to sit and eat).

April 7th
For this first Sunday of the month, many Paris museums and monuments are open free to the public, including the Musée du Quai Branly, Musée d’Orsay, Centre Pompidou, gardens of the Musée Albert Kahn, La Monnaie de Paris, l’Orangerie, and the Château de Versailles. But be forewarned: reservations are a must. Three chateaux don’t require reservations: Château de Fontainebleau, Château de Malmaison, and Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

April 7th
This morning is the Marathon de Paris, expect road closures throughout the Right Bank of the city close to the Seine. The race starts at 8am from the Arc de Triomphe, then passes the Place de la Concorde, along the Rue de Rivoli, past the Opéra Garnier, to the Place de la Bastille, the Bois de Vincennes, then back along the quays past the Eiffel Tower to the Bois de Boulogne and finishing back at the Arc de Triomphe.

April 12-25th
Christie’s in Paris is hosting their popular Spring auction, Handbags Online: The Paris Edit, featuring rare and limited-edition handbags from luxury brands such as Hermès, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, etc. A selection of them will be available for viewing at Christie’s (9 avenue Matignon, 8th) from April 18-24th. The online bidding starts at noon on April 12th at noon Paris time.

April 20th
Attention vinyl fans, Disquaire Day, or Record Store Day, is celebrated today at over 200 independent record shops in 90 cities all over France (41 in Paris) and Belgium. In addition to unique collections and limited-edition records available for purchase, there will be live events, DJ sessions, showcases, and arts expositions. Participating record stores in Paris: A-One Records, All Access Paris, Babaluma, Balades Sonores, Bar Italia Records, Betino’s Record Shop, Born Bad Record Shop, Cracki Records, Crocodisc, Culture Factory, Disques Hi-Fi Video, Etoile Disques, Gibert Joseph Saint-Michel, Ground Zero, Hands and Arm, Hark Records, La Cuve à Son, La Dame Blanche, Le Rideau de Fer, Le Silence de la Rue, Lucky Records, Major Tom, Modulor, Monster Melodies, Music Avenue Paris, Musica, Patate Records, Plastic Soul Records, Pop Culture, Potemkine, Quinze.Bis by Gibert, Record Station, Rock & Roll Voltage, Rock Paradise, Rupture, Sam Records, Souffle Continu, The Mixtape, Toolbox Records, Yoyaku Record Store, Zic et Bul.

April 20-21
The Château de Fontainebleau is holding an immersive historical reenactment of Napoleon’s Farewell to his Guard. “Don’t miss this unforgettable opportunity to step back in time and relive the period of the Twenty Days leading up to and culminating in the collapse of the Empire.” There will be more than 250 historic re-enactors and actors, military demonstrations in the Château’s gardens and courtyards, a Napoleonic bivouac, the famous scene of Napoleon I’s farewell to his loyal soldiers in the Honour Courtyard, and scenes played out in the rooms of the Château de Fontainebleau. Tickets €19-€23.

April 25-28
The 8th edition of the Urban Art Fair features 42 international urban art exhibitors and more than 100 iconic artists, their new projects and immersive installations. The Galerie Mathgoth will be there representing three street artists: Bordalo II, Jef Aérosol and Gérard Zlotykamien. At the Carreau du Temple (4 rue Eugène Spuller, 3rd), 11am-8pm (Sunday until 7pm). Entry €15, book online.

April 27
Curious Creature Productions puts on staged play reading events in English, called DRINK & PLAY, every two months at Le Pavé d’Orsay (48 rue de Lille, 7th). Tonight’s theme is “Mystery Edition”, tickets are €12 at the door, which includes the show and a buffet of sweet and savory food as well as wine, juice and water. Doors open at 7pm and the show starts roughly at 7:30pm so there is time before and after the show for people to eat, drink and mingle.

Through April 27
The legendary street art gallery Lavo//Matik celebrates its 10 year anniversary with a giant collective exposition, “Murs Ouverts #63”, with 102 artistes. Open Tues noon-5pm, Wed-Sat noon-7pm, at 20 Boulevard du Général d’Armée Jean Simon, 13th.

Through April 28th
Celebrate the Hanami spring festival, or the flowering of cherry trees (sakuras in Japanese), at Domaine de Sceaux (south of Paris on the RER B). You can picnic on the designated lawns while admiring the pink and white cherry blossoms. The best time to see the trees in full bloom in the last two weeks of April. Note that the park is PACKED on the weekend afternoons, so if you go, get there early to claim a good spot. Free access. You can also see the exposition “Floraison” an homage to spring and photographic portraits by Laure Ledoux, in the Château de Sceaux museum (entry €5).

Through May 5
For the new exposition by Invader, one of the most famous street artists in the world, he’s taking over five floors of a deserted building (the former headquarters of Libération newspaper, 11 rue Béranger in the 3rd, which will be converted into a hotel at some point in the future) for a special exhibition of his pixellated tile street art. Tickets are €10, with specific time slots to visit, ONLY available online. Note that there is no elevator or other way to access the exhibit besides the stairs, and there is no coat check (and no heating, either, so…maybe keep your coat on). The spaces are going to fill up fast, book ASAP! If you missed out, they are going to open up more time slots, sign up here to be notified when they do.

Through June 1
Discover Paris of the 1970s through the lens of photographers François-Xavier Bouchart and Léon Claude Vénézia at the Roger-Viollet Gallery’s free exhibition from March 7 to June 1, 2024. Featuring sixty photographs, this exhibit captures the vibrant, colorful, and unique essence of the popular neighborhoods of Belleville and Ménilmontant in the 20th arrondissement, offering a glimpse into the lives of workers, immigrants, and the modestly employed during a time of significant urban renewal. The vernissage will be the evening of March 7th from 6:30pm-9pm.