By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Where
- Streets and squares citywide
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- June
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
Fixed to the summer solstice and held on the same date every year across France and in a great many other countries. Individual programmes are published in the fortnight beforehand rather than months ahead.
There is no main stage, no wristband and no programme worth studying in advance, and trying to plan it like a festival is the mistake. The way it works is that you pick a neighbourhood and walk. The big institutional stages on the Champs-Élysées and at Radio France are the least interesting part of the night and some of them need a reservation; the good version is a brass band in a square in the eleventh and a choir on a church step in the fifth, found by wandering into them.
What the Fête de la Musique actually is
A free open-air music festival held on the summer solstice across the whole country and now in a great many others. It began when a survey found that millions of French people played an instrument and almost never performed in public, and the response was not to build another festival but to open the street. Anyone can play. Bars put a band outside, conservatoires empty into squares, neighbourhood groups take over a corner, and the institutions run their own stages in parallel. It runs from the early evening until very late, and the longest day of the year means it is still light well past ten.
Where to watch the Fête de la Musique
- Butte-aux-Cailles in the thirteenth, and this is the pick. A village-scaled grid of low houses and bars that is made for the night: a stage on almost every corner, rock and reggae and brass, and a crowd that is overwhelmingly local. Small enough to walk end to end in twenty minutes and dense enough that you never leave the music.
- Oberkampf and the eleventh, for volume and variety. The highest concentration of bar stages in the city and the youngest crowd. It gets very busy after about ten and the side streets are better than the main drag.
- The Quai Saint-Bernard and the Seine banks, for dancing rather than watching. The riverside arenas host DJ sets and social dancing, and the embankment tradition of tango and salsa on the stone terraces carries straight through the night. Bring shoes you can move in.
- The Marais and the fifth, for choirs and churches. Institutional and classical programmes take over church steps and courtyards, and it is much calmer than the bar neighbourhoods. This is the version to pick with children or if the crush is not appealing.
- The Palais-Royal gardens and the national museum courtyards. Formal programmes in beautiful enclosed spaces, free, and considerably more civilised than the street. Some of the largest of these require a free reservation released in the fortnight beforehand.
Tickets and what it costs
Nothing on the street costs anything, which is the founding idea of the whole thing. The exceptions are a handful of the biggest stages, including the Champs-Élysées event, the auditorium at Radio France and the orchestral concert in the Louvre courtyard, which release free reservations shortly beforehand and fill fast. Everything else is walk-up. What you will spend money on is drinks, and bars along the busy stretches raise prices and often move to plastic and a queue system for the night. Buying from a shop and drinking on a step is entirely normal and is what most of the crowd does.
Official information and booking: parisjetaime.com/eng/article/fete-de-la-musique-a989
Getting there
Walk. The whole point is moving between neighbourhoods and most of the good ones are within a couple of kilometres of each other. The RATP runs certain Métro and RER lines all night for the occasion and usually offers a flat-rate late pass, which is the single most useful thing to know, because the last normal train is long gone by the time the music stops. Vélib’ is the other sensible option and the stations near the busy areas empty early. Taxis are unobtainable and the streets are closed in the dense neighbourhoods anyway.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Trying to plan it like a festival
There is no line-up worth optimising and the published programme covers a fraction of what actually happens. Pick one neighbourhood, walk it slowly, and let the second one be a decision you make at eleven. People who try to cross the city between listed acts spend the night on the Métro.
Going to the Champs-Élysées
The big commercial stage is the least characterful thing happening and it draws the crowd that does not know where else to go. Every neighbourhood in the city has something better and quieter within walking distance.
Not checking how you are getting home
The music runs long past the last normal service. The RATP extends certain lines and sells a flat late-night pass for the night, and knowing which lines run is the difference between a good evening and a very long walk.
Arriving at eight expecting it to have started
It builds slowly and the good stretch is from about ten until well after midnight, helped by the solstice keeping it light. Eating first, unhurried, is the right shape for the evening.
Other Paris events
Frequently asked questions
What is the Fête de la Musique?
A free open-air music festival held on the summer solstice, when anyone is allowed to play in public anywhere. It started in France after a survey found millions of people played an instrument and never performed, and it now runs in many countries. In Paris it means bar stages, brass bands, choirs, DJ sets on the Seine and formal concerts in museum courtyards, all on the same night and all free.
Do you need tickets?
Not for anything on the street, which is almost all of it. A small number of the biggest stages, including the Champs-Élysées and the auditorium at Radio France, release free reservations shortly beforehand and fill quickly. Everything else is walk-up.
Which neighbourhood should I go to?
Butte-aux-Cailles in the thirteenth if you want the best version: village-scaled, a stage on every corner and an almost entirely local crowd. Oberkampf and the eleventh for the loudest and youngest. The Seine banks for dancing. The Marais and the fifth for choirs and churches, which is the calmer option and the better one with children.
How do you get home afterwards?
The RATP runs certain Métro and RER lines through the night for the occasion and usually offers a flat-rate late pass. Check which lines before you go out, because the music runs long past normal service and taxis are effectively unavailable. Walking between neighbourhoods is part of the night anyway.
What time does it start and finish?
It builds through the evening and the good stretch runs from about ten until well past midnight, with the solstice keeping it light until late. Some bar stages carry on until two or later. Arriving early means watching soundchecks.
Is it suitable for children?
In the right neighbourhood, yes. The church and courtyard programmes in the Marais and the fifth are calm and start earlier, and the museum courtyards are civilised. The bar districts after ten are not, being dense, loud and increasingly drunk.
Sources
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.