France

France’s food events in this guide are spread from May to early March. In June, Lyon holds its Street Food Festival, and every two years in summer, Bordeaux Fête le Vin fills the quays of the Garonne: from 7 to 11 July in 2027. In Paris, the Salon du Chocolat fills a hall of the Paris Expo exhibition centre at Porte de Versailles. In November, the village of Beaujeu, in the Beaujolais hills north of Lyon, celebrates the new vintage at Les Sarmentelles, and the town of Beaune, in Burgundy, holds the weekend of the Hospices de Beaune wine auction. At the end of January, the Saint-Vincent Tournante, a winegrowers’ festival, moves to a different Burgundy village each year: Volnay in 2027. In the Périgord, the village of Sorges holds its truffle festival, Truffes en Folie, at the turn of January and February: from 28 January to 1 February in 2026. In February, Menton, on the Riviera, celebrates its lemons at the Fête du Citron, from 13 to 28 February in 2027, and Paris Expo Porte de Versailles hosts the Salon International de l’Agriculture, the great farm fair, from 27 February to 7 March 2027.

In spring, Paris hosts the Fête du Pain around 16 May. In summer, the Fêtes de Bayonne (14 to 18 July 2027). In October, the chestnut Sundays of Collobrières in the Var.

In August, Castelnaudary, in Occitanie, gives five days to cassoulet (19 to 23 August in 2026, 2027 dates not yet published), with free concerts in 2026 and cassoulet dinners.

Around Bordeaux, the guide also compares tastings and guided tours at several châteaux and at the Cité du Vin.

Getting around

High-speed TGV trains link Paris with Lyon, Bordeaux and Dijon. Beaune and Volnay are a few kilometres apart on the Côte de Beaune, south of Dijon. Beaujeu is off the main railway lines, so a car is the practical way in. In Paris, the exhibition centre at Porte de Versailles is on metro line 12 and the T2 and T3a tram lines.