As I mentioned in the previous 2 years, staying in Paris during the summer isn’t necessarily a punishment, provided you know how to make the most of it, as there are plenty of free events during this summer season.
With the month of June, various free Parisian festivals have begun to set up in the capital, some running until the beginning of September.
So, I’m picking up my idea of creating a small guide to the free events and festivals that you can discover this summer in the capital.
I will divide this article into 3 parts, focusing this first post on music festivals. The 3rd article will deal with open-air cinema screenings, and the 2nd will bring together all the other remaining festivals, shows, and entertainment.
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The Paris Jazz Festival
The Paris Jazz Festival, now in its 22nd edition, will be held as every year at the Parc Floral of the Botanical Garden of the City of Paris from June 7th to July 26th, 2015.
On the program: concerts in a lush green setting, during the day and in the evening (3 night sessions on June 13th, 27th, and July 26th), every Saturday and Sunday in June and July. For this 2015 edition, thematic weekends focusing on the jazz scenes of London, Rome, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Bamako, Stockholm, and New York will be offered to spectators.
The Tip: The concerts are free; only entry to the park (from €3 to €6) remains paid, which is still a very good deal.
Table of Contents
Paris Jazz Festival / Parc Floral – 75012 Paris
Park opening hours: 9:30 AM – 8:00 PM
June 7th to July 26th, 2015
Concerts at 1:30 PM, 3:30 PM, 5:30 PM and 9:00 PM
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La Plage du Glazart
Like every year, Glazart dumps 50 tons of sand to set up its beach at Porte de la Villette from June 4th to October 3rd, 2015, in a Mediterranean atmosphere.
On the program: deckchairs, food trucks, free concerts from Monday to Friday with a discovery vibe, showcases, techno/house days, afterworks with DJs, foosball & pétanque on the (rare!) days without concerts, Saturday afternoon clubbing from noon to midnight, and family Sundays with a brunch, flea market, and all kinds of entertainment.
A small new feature since last year at LaPlage: part of it is covered to deal with any potential weather caprices…
Le Glazart
June 4th to October 3rd, 2015
7-15 Avenue de la porte de la villette, 75019 Paris
Metro Porte de la Villette
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Bercy Village
From June 10th to August 27th, 2015, Bercy Village will offer about twenty 100% free concerts through the Musiques en Terrasse festival, as well as 3 shows as part of Paris Quartier d’Été, and for the first time, demos and wild world dance classes and crazy “karatoké” sessions.
For its 3rd year of collaboration with the programming team of the Petit Bain concert venue, the Musiques en Terrasse festival takes visitors from the Cour Saint-Emilion to the four corners of the world and treats them to entirely free open-air concerts!
Bercy Village Musiques en Terrasse Festival
every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30 PM from June 10th to August 27th, 2015
Bercy Village Stage, Cour Saint-Emilion, across from FNAC
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The Opéra côté Cour festival, an open-air and entirely free opera festival, returns for its 4th edition to Bercy Village, every Sunday from June 14th to July 5th and every Sunday in September 2015, in the heart of Cour Saint-Emilion.
This year again, the menu will be hearty and full of beautiful musical surprises. And, as a major new feature for this edition, spectators are invited to try their hand at opera singing through a practice workshop and by rehearsing arias with the singers at the end of each show, culminating in the final show on September 27th: an opera specially created for Bercy Village, in which the audience will sing the most famous choruses.
duration of 20 to 40 minutes maximum in small groups, repeated 2 to 3 times during the day
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The OÜI FM Festival
We continue, from June 23rd to 25th, 2015, with the OÜI FM Festival for 3 evenings of free open-air concerts at Place de la République.
On the program are some big names with concerts by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (formerly of Oasis), Temples, Drenge, and Radio Elvis, Les Innocents, Gaz Coombes, Cali, Bikini Machine, Mina Tindle, The Strypes, Talisco, and Fuzeta.
Place de la République 75003 Paris
from June 23rd to 25th, 2015
Concerts from 8:00 PM
Metro République
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The Soirs d’été festival
From Monday, July 6th to Friday, July 10th, 2015, we will find the Soirs d’été festival returning for a new edition!
On the program, 5 days of free open-air concerts, offered by the town hall of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris.
Forecourt of the 3rd Arrondissement Town Hall / 75003 Paris
from July 6th to 10th, 2015
Concerts from 8:00 PM
Metro République
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The FNAC Live festival
The Fnac Live festival returns for its 5th edition on the forecourt of the Paris City Hall for 28 free concerts from Wednesday, July 15th to Saturday, July 18th, 2015.
On the program for this event, a great lineup that illustrates the diversity of musical genres, including Dominique A, Fuzeta, Pierre Lapointe, Jeanne Added, The Shoes, and Baxter Dury.
Forecourt of the Paris City Hall 75004 Paris
from July 15th to 18th, 2015
Metro Hôtel de Ville
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Classique au vert
The Classique au vert festival will take place at the Parc Floral every weekend from August 1st to September 13th, 2015.
On the program is classical music with a very beautiful lineup, as every year.
Parc Floral – Botanical garden of the city of Paris
from August 1st to September 13th, 2015
Free entry after paying the park entrance fee (from €3 to €6)
Metro Château de Vincennes
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L’Estival de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
The new program for the Estival de Saint-Germain-en-Laye which will be held from September 25th to October 10th, 2015.
For over two weeks, the festival will host, among others, Yuri Buenaventura, ZAZ, Alexis HK with his new show “Georges et moi“, Barcella, Daphné, and Clarika in their poetry and song show “Ivresses”, EMJI (winner of Nouvelle Star 2015), and even Fréro Delavega.
Since its creation in 1988, the Estival has given a place of honor to budding young artists. Thus, Josianne Paradis, Lisa Portelli, and even La Demoiselle Inconnue will share the bill with the big names of the French scene.
from September 25th to October 10th, 2015
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
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I wish you all a very beautiful Parisian summer and see you very soon to enjoy my other articles on this same theme.
- Part 2 of the free Paris summer guide: free open-air screenings
- Part 3 of the free Paris summer guide: other events
