🎼 Summertime… and the cycling is easy!
So, summer is here! It’s the season for swanning around at relaxing riverside restaurants (guinguettes) or relishing long summer nights. What a joy! Even after a day devoted to cycling along La Flow Vélo, you may well be tempted to join in some local festivities. You’ll be spoilt for choice. There are many varied festivals put on through the season, dedicated to gastronomy or music or sports or culture. So, on your cycling holidays, come and join in the celebrations!
Festival sœurs jumelles (Rochefort) / 23 to 28 june 2026
Now running for a handful of years, the Festival Sœurs Jumelles proposes an eclectic mix of moving image-related events. Representing a wide spectrum of practices and practitioners in the field, it features film, animation, documentaries, advertising films, series, clips, video games and virtual reality productions, as well as a wide array of musical artists involved in symphonic, electronic, urban, jazz and contemporary music.
Les Jeudis de l’Art (Saint Jean de Côle) / Thursdays in July and August
Going since 2017, this summer event highlights remarkable work by a range of artists and craftspeople during the village market, enabling visitors to discover local skills and traditional know-how.
Festival Son et Lumière (Bourg-Charente) / 09-13 juillet 2026
Plongez au cœur de l’émotion avec le festival Son et Lumière de Bourg-Charente, un rendez-vous incontournable qui illumine chaque été ce charmant village des bords de Charente. Dans un cadre enchanteur, laissez-vous emporter par un spectacle grandiose mêlant projections monumentales, effets spéciaux, musique envoûtante et récit captivant.
Chaque édition met en lumière l’histoire locale, les traditions, et les personnages qui ont marqué la région, le tout orchestré avec poésie et modernité. Une véritable fresque vivante qui transforme le patrimoine en scène féérique, pour le plus grand plaisir des petits comme des grands.
Festival Fait Son Intéressant (St-Amand-de-Coly) / 11-13 July
This festival consists of a wide array of artistic and musical shows. Enjoy the convivial, open atmosphere here, in such an enchanting setting. Through original artistic performances, contemporary art shows and street performances, the participants draw you into their eccentric other worlds!
Le Festival de Saintes / 11-18 juillet 2026
Le Festival de Saintes réunira la fine fleur musicale européenne, pour proposer une édition flamboyante où se conjuguent l’excellence des interprètes et la beauté des répertoires.
Festival des Jeux de Théâtre (Sarlat) / 18 July to 3 August 2026
For over seven decades, now, this theatre festival proposes both shows and debates for the general public. Experienced artists as well as newcomers, writers, directors and actors all participate. All the shows take place in the open air.
Festival Cultures aux Cœurs (Montignac-Lascaux) / 28 July to 2 August 2026
The festival Cultures aux Cœurs provides a whole week of festivities, discoveries, exchanges, meetings and moments to share at the end of July. Every day, there are many free events to enjoy during daylight hours. In addition, every evening shows take place on the main stage, followed by a free concert at the festival bodega.
On top of that, the festival includes exhibitions and sales of arts and crafts from around the world in July/August. A special craft market takes place over the festival weekend. Plus, look out for the programme of talks, debates and film showings.
Fête du Cognac / 23 to 25 July 2026
The Fête du Cognac was launched in 1997 by local producers keen to promote their produce, highlighting Charentais wine, cognac, and pineau des Charentes fortified wine, along with local culinary specialities. What a good idea to combine tastings with artistic events. Nowadays, many musicians come to play, including famous names, a draw for music lovers and those riding through at the right time.
Fête du Couteau (Nontron) / 2-3 August
Birthplace of the oldest folding knife in France, Nontron celebrates all the aspects of its 1,000-year-old craft tradition. Knife-makers, craft designers and sellers from around the globe gather here for what has become a major event in the field.
Festival du Périgord Noir / 3 to 17 August
For this festival, concerts take place in different towns and villages, notably Saint-Amand de Coly, Montignac-Lascaux and Sarlat.
Thanks to the Festival Musique en Périgord, get to hear exceptional concerts in exceptional spots, for example historic churches, château grounds, or even on the banks of the Vézère River. Created back in 1989 as a classical music event, the festival has extended its repertoire to include not just chamber music and Baroque music, but also jazz and world music.
Viva Saintes / 14 to 16 august
For three days of classical-inspired festivities and events in the heart of the New Aquitaine’s Roman capital, featuring a Gallo-Roman village and banquet, street performances and more. With its classical themes in the contemporary world, the Festival Sites en Scène Viva Saintes puts a different spin on celebrations!
Festival Transe Atlantique (Saintes) / 21 to 23 August
This Franco-Quebecois transatlantic musical journey is an ode not just to music, but also to culinary and craft heritage either side of the Atlantic Ocean. These three joyous, lively days take place in Saintes, on the Saint-Louis site which is being brought back to life.
Festival du Film Francophone (Angoulême) / 24 to 29 August 2026
The FFA has been celebrating francophone film since 2008. Not just within venues, but also outside, on public squares, with films, actors and spectators taking over the town! Thanks to the passion and willpower of its creators, Marie-France Brière and Dominique Besnehard, the festival highlights subtle, often working-class films and has become greatly appreciated both by amateur and professional cinema-goers, and by new cinema-goers as well as film buffs. Via its Valois d’Or awards, the festival puts to the fore both contemporary cinema, past films and upcoming talents.
