The town of Bayeux has staged Les Médiévales every summer for nearly four decades; the 39th edition took place on 3–5 July 2026. Each year has a theme — in 2026 it was ‘air’, with wind instruments, glass-blowers, kites and legendary birds woven through the programme — and the festival is run by the town’s cultural department with more than 500 participants drawn from theatre companies, musicians and historical associations.
The festival opens on Friday evening: the medieval market opens at 19:00 and at 20:30 the Grande Parade of acrobats, musicians, giants and costumed companies moves down the main street to the steps of the town hall, with the market staying open until midnight. Saturday runs from 10:00 to midnight and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00, with street shows, combat demonstrations, siege engines, games gardens for children, craft demonstrations and concerts on the town hall square (a late-evening concert on Saturday is the traditional highlight). Venues cluster around the cathedral, the Hôtel du Doyen, the town hall and Place de Gaulle.
Everything is free — parade, shows and concerts — and you pay only for food in the taverns and purchases at the market stalls. Bayeux is about two and a quarter hours from Paris Saint-Lazare by direct train, and the festival area is a ten-minute walk from the station. Note that the Bayeux Tapestry museum is closed for rebuilding until 2027, with the tapestry itself scheduled to be on loan to the British Museum from autumn 2026; check before planning a visit around it.
