Many attractions open at Easter, so all the main sights are open in April. Check with the tourist office of the city / regions you are visiting for more information. These are just a few of the main events, but France is full of local festivals that are diverse, interesting, and always a lot of fun.
- Check out the general information on April in France : the weather, what to pack and what to see
Major events in April in France
- April 3, 2016 – Paris Marathon
Runners from all over the world roam the streets and cobblestones of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
- April 9-17, 2016 – International Kite Festival , Berck-sur-Mer, Northern France
Oddly shaped kites fill the skies on the massive windswept beaches of this northern French resort for a week. It is one of the largest kite festivals in the world, with beach demonstrations, exhibitions, a children’s village, and dock entertainment.
- April 12-17, 2016 – Bourges Spring Festival, Bourges , Valle del Loira
Scale models, concert halls and four free stages fill up for one of the first great popular music festivals. Mainly aimed at young people, there is a large fringe festival, as well as street art and shows in this great cathedral city.
- April 16 to May 2, 2016 – Antibes Antique Fair, Antibes, Côte d’Azur
Extensive antique show at Port Vauban in Antibes for amateur and professional collectors with international stands.
More about Antibes
Antibes guide
Things to do in Antibes
Best hotels in Antibes / Juan-les-Pins
Budget hotels in Antibes / Juan-les-Pins
- April 16-September 26, 2016 – Normandy Impressionist Festival, all over Normandy
This is the third major Impressionist festival held in Normandy and in 2016 it is the turn of the Impressionist artists who painted portraits, not a subject we usually associate with the art movement of the 19th century. Take a look at the main exhibitions and events in Le Havre, Etretat and Honfleur, Rouen and Giverny.
- April 17 – La Rederie d’Amiens Brocante Sale , Amiens, Picardy
80,000 enthusiastic visitors come to the attractive city of Amiens for its huge garage sale that takes 51 streets to the stalls that sell everything. It is the second most important event of its kind after the famous Braderie in Lille in September.
- April 20-July 17, 2016 – Musicircus. Masterpieces from the Center Pompidou Collection , Center Pompidou-Metz, Metz, Lorraine
The Center Pompidou-Metz has some very successful temporary exhibitions, and this one takes masterpieces on the theme of the link between the visual arts and music. Some artists were amateur musicians (Wassily Kandinsky); others took music and rhythm as inspiration. Works by Marc Chagall, Sol le Witt and others are included.
How to get from London, UK and Paris to Metz
More about Metz
- April 21 to November 2, 2016 – International Garden Festival Chaumont-sur-Loire, Loire Valley
Now in its 25th year, the gardens at the elegant Château de Chaumont overlooking the Loire River are once again the setting for France’s greatest garden show, which lasts all summer. Garden and landscape designers around the world design and present a series of gardens around a theme.
- 23-24 April 2016 – The Great Roman Games, Nimes
See the largest reenactment of the Roman Games in the massive Roman amphitheater in Nimes. It is extraordinary and takes you back to ancient times with gladiators fighting in front of you, chariots racing and all the fun of the fair.
William the conqueror and 2016
Throughout 2016, northern France and Great Britain celebrate the 950th anniversary of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Follow the path of Guillermo the Conqueror
William the Conqueror and Medieval Normandy
William’s Normandy Castillo de La Falaise
Caen medieval
