Medieval Booker

Medieval festivals in France

8 medieval festivals in France with dates for 2026–2027 — where they happen, when, and how to choose.

France calls them médiévales; these are the ones worth crossing a border for. Les Médiévales de Provins, on a weekend in mid June, are reckoned the best-attended in France and the easiest from Paris, eighty minutes by train to a walled upper town ticketed for the weekend. Les Médiévales de Bayeux follow on the first weekend of July, free, opening with a Friday-night parade. From mid July to late August the Tournoi de Chevalerie de Carcassonne jousts daily except Saturday in the lices between the double walls. And in a Burgundy quarry Guédelon Castle is being built with the tools of the 1230s, open spring to early November; it needs a car and half a day.

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8 festivals, upcoming first

April 2026

  • Guédelon Castle (living medieval construction site) in Treigny Stéphane D · CC BY-SA 2.0
    Featured
    Living History & Museums Castle Events

    Guédelon Castle (living medieval construction site)

    Treigny, France

    Guédelon is a 13th-century castle being built from scratch in a Burgundy forest quarry using only the tools, materials and techniques of the 1230s, open to visitors from spring to autumn since the first stone was laid in 1997. Around forty masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, tilers, rope-makers and carters work in front of the public, and the site draws roughly 300,000 visitors a season.

    On now until
    Family

December 2026

  • Featured
    Medieval Markets & Fairs Medieval Christmas

    Ribeauvillé Medieval Christmas Market

    Ribeauvillé, France

    On the first two weekends of December the whole Grand'Rue of Ribeauvillé, a walled wine town under three ruined castles of the lords of Ribeaupierre, becomes a medieval Christmas market: costumed beggars, peasants, dancers and jugglers work the street, the Three Kings arrive with camels, wild boar turns on spits and cervoise is poured from barrels. The 2026 market is on 5–6 and 12–13 December, Saturdays 10:00–19:00 and Sundays 10:00–18:00, and entry is free.

    – 2026
    Family

June 2027

  • Les Médiévales de Provins in Provins Pline · CC BY-SA 3.0
    Featured
    Medieval Markets & Fairs Music, Feasts & Theatre +1

    Les Médiévales de Provins

    Provins, France

    Les Médiévales de Provins turn the UNESCO-listed upper town into a two-day medieval fair each June, with a market of around 320 stalls, tournaments, a Saturday-night ball and concert and a Sunday parade of about 700 costumed participants. Held since 1984, it attracted 120,000 visitors in 2025, the largest attendance of any medieval festival in France.

    Expected 2027
    Family

July 2027

  • Les Médiévales de Bayeux in Bayeux Mbzt · CC BY-SA 3.0
    Medieval Markets & Fairs Music, Feasts & Theatre +1

    Les Médiévales de Bayeux

    Bayeux, France

    Les Médiévales de Bayeux turns the cathedral quarter of this Normandy town into a free three-day medieval festival on the first weekend of July, opening with a night parade of more than 500 performers and continuing with a market, street theatre, siege engines and concerts. Around 60,000 people attend, making it one of the largest medieval festivals in France.

    Expected 2027
    Free Family
  • Featured
    Jousting & Tournaments Castle Events

    Tournoi de Chevalerie de Carcassonne (Knights' Tournament and Falconry Show)

    Carcassonne, France

    Every summer the lices between the double walls of the Cité de Carcassonne host a daily knights' tournament, a 45-minute show of mounted combat in armour, billed in 2026 as 'Tournois de chevalerie et spectacle de fauconnerie' after a falconry display was added. The 2026 season runs from 12 July to 27 August with three performances a day, every day except Saturday.

    Expected 2027
    Family
  • Medieval Markets & Fairs Jousting & Tournaments +1

    Fête des Remparts de Dinan

    Dinan, France

    The Fête des Remparts is a biennial two-day medieval festival in the walled Breton town of Dinan, with a large market, knights' tournament, camps, parades and a tavern stage of medieval music. Founded in 1983, it drew about 110,000 visitors for its 25th edition in July 2025; the next is planned for 24–25 July 2027.

    Expected 2027
    Family

September 2027

  • Cidre & Dragon in Merville-Franceville-Plage Suzelfe · CC BY-SA 3.0
    Medieval Markets & Fairs Music, Feasts & Theatre +1

    Cidre & Dragon

    Merville-Franceville-Plage, France

    Cidre & Dragon turns the Normandy seaside village of Merville-Franceville-Plage into 'Merravilla' for one free weekend every September: a medieval market of artisans, a medieval-fantasy camp with workshops and combat, stages of folk and fantasy music, authors, games and parades of dragons and costumed visitors. The market, camp and music are the backbone of a French fête médiévale; the layer on top is Tolkien-flavoured fantasy, run since 2006 by the Association Raid Tolkien with the town hall.

    Expected 2027
    Family

October 2027

  • Reenactment & Battles Medieval Markets & Fairs +1

    Festival Médiéval de la Rose d'Or

    Avignon, France

    Every autumn some 60 to 70 historical associations camp on the Île de la Barthelasse, the island in the Rhône facing the Palais des Papes, for a re-enactors' festival with a market, archery, tournaments and a closing battle. Running since 2007 and organised by volunteers without public subsidy, it is one of the largest medieval gatherings in southern France; the 2026 edition, billed as the twentieth, falls on 10–11 October.

    Expected 2027
    Family

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