Paris Events for July 2026

Here are just a few of the top exhibitions you can see in Paris this month:

• The Grand Palais - Matisse: 1941-1954 - This large exhibition with over 230 paintings, drawings, cut-out gouaches, and other works explores the final years of Henri Matisse's career when he reinvented himself with the cut-out gouache while continuing to paint with even greater intensity.
  Dates:  Through July 26
  Tickets:  Book online
  Entrance:  17 Avenue du General Eisenhower, 8th arr;  Metro: Champs-Elysees Clemenceau
  
• Fondation Louis Vuitton - Richard Calder: Rêver en Equilibre - A major retrospective spanning 50 years of his creations ranging from avant-garde performances to his famous monumental sculptures
  Dates:  Through August 16
  Tickets:  Book in advance (includes premium (ie, fast) access through a special entrance, permanent and temporary exhibitions, a downloadable audio guide, round-trip shuttle pick up/drop off across from Arc de Triomphe, and free entrance from the Foundation to its neighbor, Jardin d'Acclimatation)
  Location: 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Bois de Boulogne, Paris 16;  Metro: Les Sablons, plus about a 10-minute walk (or take the shuttle bus included with the ticket)
  
• Orsay Museum - Renoir and Love + Renoir Drawings - With over 90 major works, this exhibition brings together many of this famous painter's most seminal works.  This is likely to be a blockbuster exhibition, so book your tickets well in advance.  A smaller concurrent exhibition features Renoir's drawings. 
  Dates:  Through July 19, 2026
  Tickets: Book a reserved access ticket for skip-the-line access, or use your Paris Museum Pass for free entry
  Location: 1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris 7;  Metro: Pont de l'Alma; Invalides
• Fondation Cartier:  General Exhibition - In this fantastic opening exhibition of their new building and galleries, you'll see nearly 600 works by over 100 artists featured by the Foundation since it first began in 1984.  If you like contemporary art, do not miss this! 
  Dates:  Through August 23, 2026
  Location:  2 Place du Palais Royal, Paris 1;  Metro:  Palais Royal
  Tickets: Book online or buy them at the ticket machine near the entrance
• Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris: Lee Miller - Largest retrospective of this fashion model/actress/surrealist artist/war correspondant American photographer in France in 20 years, including vintage and modern prints being exhibited for the first time
  Dates:  Extended through August 2; Tickets - Free - but book online
  Location: 11 Avenue du President Wilson, Paris 16;  Metro: Iéna
  

Find more Paris museum exhibitions for July & future months

Interested in a Louvre Museum guided tour?  Find out how to choose the best one to match your interests

Paris Museum and Attractions Passes

Get free admission and skip-the-line access to 60+ museums in and near Paris when you have a Paris Museum Pass for 2, 4, or 6 days.  More info

La Fête Foraine des Tuileries 2026

La Fête Foraine des Tuileries - literally, a "Fun Fair," or carnival - suddenly pops up in Paris's Tuileries Garden in late June for two months of non-stop entertainment.  With 60 attractions, multiple restaurants, and a traditional guinguette (a sort of country-style outdoor bar with snacks, music, and dancing), it offers fun for all ages.

With a giant ferris wheel (hint: have your camera or phone ready to take great skyline photos of Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower), carousels, bumper cars, "fun houses," gut-wrenching rides for thrill seekers, children's games, and a lot more, the carnival entertains families with kids, teens, and everyone else seeking fun throughout the rest of the summer.

And of course, massive amounts of carvival food will be for sale:  cotton candy, waffles (gaufres), crepes, ice cream, fried dough, BBQ, and drinks.

If you're visiting Paris, combine a stroll through Tuileries Garden and the Fête Foraine with a visit to other nearby attractions:  the treasure-filled Louvre, Monet's giant Water Lily paintings at Musée de l'Orangerie at the opposite corner of the garden, and the Muusé d'Orsay almost directly across the river. 

When:  From June 20 through August 23, 11am to 11:45pm (12:45am on Fridays, Saturdays, and the day before public holidays)
Where:   Jardin Tuileries (Tuileries Garden) between the Louvre Museum and Place de la Concorde, 1st arrondissement (enter through the gate near the Tuileries metro station)
Metro:  Tuileries
Admission:   Free - plus whatever you spend on rides and games (most cost between 2-12€)

Paris l'Été ("Paris in the Summer") 2026

Want a fun excuse to explore different Paris neighborhood while celebrating summer in the city? 

The annual Paris l'Été Festival (Paris Summer Festival) offers free or inexpensive outdoor music, dance, circus, and performances in various parts of the city, often in unusual places. 

Events include music, dance, and acrobatics, and celebrate the city's cultural diversity while mixing avant-garde/off-beat events with more mainstream traditions.   The festival runs from July 11 - early August (exact date TBD).

Events are free or moderately priced.  Don't miss it!

Check Paris l'Été for events and schedule details.

Les Arènes Lyriques Outdoor Concerts in Montmartre 2026

For a memorable evening in July in an only-in-Paris setting, book a ticket for a Les Arènes Lyriques concert in one of the city's most unique settings:  a secret hillside garden close to Sacre Coeur Basilica where 18 musicians and opera singers perform a classical concert under the stars.

This event takes place on 10 evenings from July 23 - August 16, and concert tickets usually sell out quickly.  You can find ticket information and other details including the garden's address and book here.

Want to stay nearby?  Find out about Montmartre's best hotels for all budgets.

Festivals du Parc Floral:  Paris Jazz Festival, Classic in Green, Pestacles, Nocturnes

Parc Floral (the Paris Botanical Garden) in Bois de Vincennes hosts four concurrent musical festivals:  Paris Jazz Festival, Classic in Green (classical music), Pestacles (a children's concert series for ages 4 and up), and Nocturnes (night concerts of contemperary, jazz, or classical music).

The outdoor concerts take place every Saturday and Sunday on several stages in the park.  All of the 25 concerts are free this year, although Parc Floral charges a small 2.60€) entrance fee during summer and early fall. 

Check the Festival's website to download a brochure with dates, lineups, and concert times.  Most take place in the afternoon and early evening, except for the Nocturnes concerts which tend to be late at night. 

The brochure is in French, but the information is easy to figure out even if you only know a few words.  One tip: "gratuit" means the concert is free.

Bring a blanket and a picnic or buy wine and a sandwich at the park's snack bar, and get ready for a relaxing afternoon and evening enjoying the sunshine, flowers, wandering peacocks, and virtuoso musicians. 

Dates: Late June - early September  

Getting there:  Bois de Vincennes, located in 12th Arrondissement on the eastern edge of Paris, is easy to reach - just hop on RER A train or Metro Line 1 to the Chateau de Vincennes Metro Station - the park is about a 3-minute walk from the station.   You can find out more about Parc Floral here.

Bonus activities:  Arrive early and stroll through Parc Floral's famous gardens, or explore Bois de Vincennes' other attractions such as its spectacular zoo, Lac Daumesnil (rent a row boat!), the aquarium, and 14th century Château de Vincennes.

Aura at Les Invalides

The Aura immersive show takes place during evening hours and brings to life the architecture and history of the Invalides Dome with spectacular lighting effects, imagery, and music designed to showcase the site's beauty and heritage.

For about 50 minutes, brilliant video projections inside the interior of Les Invalides will take you through the creation of the dome and the panorama of events associated with this important monument. 

Please note:  This is walking experience as you move to different parts of the dome; you will need to take stairs outside and inside the dome, so not accessible for wheelchairs; also, please know that no restrooms are available onsite.

Book your Aura tickets

Dates: Through 2033
Location: Invalides Dome, 2 Place Vauban, 7th arr;  Metro: Ecole Militaire, Tour Maubourg, Varenne, Saint-François Xavier

Want to visit Les Invalides, Napoleon's Tomb, and the Army Museum during regular visiting hours?  Book priority entry tickets online.

Outdoor Movies at Parc de la Villette 2026

Free outdoor movies return to Parc de la Villette again this summer for the Cinéma en Plein Air (Open Air Cinema).  This year's theme: Dancing and music.

On most Wednesday through Sunday evenings during 5 weeks in July and August, great mix of family-friendly and inter-generational movies at 6pm, and classic films and recent hits at 9pm.

The movies are mostly in French or English and are shown in their original language with French subtitles as needed.  

Dates:  July 22 - August 16

Bring a blanket to sit on, a picnic dinner, and your favorite beverage.   Food will also be sold at the site.

Check the Lineup, Dates, Times:  La Villette website
Cost:  Free, but deck chairs can be reserved and rented on the La Villette website
Location:  The movies take place in Parc de la Villette, in an area called Prairie du Triangle located between the Grande Halle de la Villette and the Philharmonie de Paris concert hall. Just look for the Philharmonie, and you'll easily spot it to the left.
Nearest Metro: Porte de Pantin (to get to Porte de Pantin, just walk down Allée du Zenith, with the Philharmonie on your right.

Tour de France Grand Finale in Paris 2026

The famous Tour de France bicycle race - 23 days and almost 2,000 miles (3,320 kilometers) long - comes to an exciting close in Paris on Sunday, July 26.  

Arrival time in Paris is hard to predict and varies every year, but somewhere between 3:30 and 5:30 is a reasonable guess.   The final Paris stretch includes 6-10 laps around the Arc de Triomphe, up and down Champs-Élysées and around the Tuileries Garden - which gives you plenty of chances to see the racers.

You can watch the race anywhere along this route, but viewing areas along Champs-Élysées fill up quickly due to barriers keeping you away from the street and "privitized" areas used for outdoor dining by restaurants and other businesses.  Tuileries Garden and areas on the other side of surrounding streets are usually somewhat less crowded, and especially if you get there early, you can usually find a good place. 

Keep in mind that most metro stations along and near the route will be closed for much of the day, and city buses will be re-routed.  Traffic usually becomes gridlocked, so taxis and ride services such as Uber and Bolt will cost much more than usual.  Be prepared to walk.

Paris Fashion Week 2026

Haute Couture Fashion Week takes place in Paris from July 6 - 9, 2026 for designers to present their latest haute couture collections for the Fall/Winter 2026/2027 season. 

Fashion Week always brings a noticeable buzz to the city, along with designers and models from around the world.

The best places to catch a glimpse of the models (assuming you're not going to the invitation-only shows) are near the venue locations - the Grand Palais in the ritzy 8th arrondissement near the ornate Pont Alexandre III bridge, Espace Eiffel near the Branly Museum on the other side of the Seine, and at a variety of smaller, hipper venues scattered around the city such as Palais de Tokyo and Musée Galliera in the 16th.  

The trendy Marais neighborhood, especially around Place des Vosges, Palais Royal and the grounds of the Louvre in the 1st arrondissement, and Champs Elysees (shown in photo) and other locations such as the Palais Galliera fashion museum in the 8th are always good model-spotting locations. 

The Paris Cauldron Returns 2026

The 2024 Olympic Cauldron - now renamed the Paris Cauldron - returns to Tuileries Garden this summer to lift off each evening from June 21 through mid-September.

The almost 100-foot (30 m) floating cauldron simulates a luminous ring of flames while avoiding the danger of an actual fire through a clever blend of technologies: LED lights, jets of mist, and fans as helium gas - again, no fire, just gas - lifts it high above the Parisian skyline.

Lift-off from the Cauldron's resting spot over the garden's largest pool takes place every evening around sunset, at a specific time each month:  June and July, 10:30pm, August, 9:30pm, and September, 8:30pm.

Tuileries Garden will close about half an hour before the launch each night, but here are some other spots where you'll have reasonably unobstructed views of the Paris Cauldron:   

• Place du Caroussel and its surrounding garden next to the Louvre (expect it to be packed)
• The Seine River banks between the Pont Neuf bridge (near the tip of Ile de la Cité and Pont de la Concorde bridge (across from Place de la Concorde)
• The upper end of Champs Elysees, near the Arc de Triomphe
• The plaza in front of Sacre-Coeur Basilica
• Many rooftop terraces and bars throughout the city

Fnac Live Festival at Hotel de Ville - Free Concerts - Canceled for 2026

Update:  the Fnac music fest has been canceled for 2026, reported due to budgetary constraints.  It's not clear whether this is a permanent cancelation or whether the popular event will return in 2027.

This is what usually happens:

Don't miss three days of free live concerts by 30 artists in front of Hôtel de Ville (Paris's City Hall) from around 6pm-midnight on July 1, 2, and 3 as part of the big Paris Plages (beaches) summer event.  French electronic retail chain Fnac sponsors the concerts, which usually attract around 100,000 fans. 

Location: Place de Hôtel de Ville, in front of the Paris Town Hall and also inside in some of the salons, 4th arrondissement. 
Admission:   Free, but you must have a ticket.  Usually you can pick them up (maximum 2 per person) starting at noon on the first day of the concert at any Fnac ticket office in Paris and the Ile-de-France - to be confirmed for this year
Nearest Metros:  Châtelet, Cité

More Things to Do & See in Paris in July