From truffle weekends in January and winegrowers’ tastings in spring to summer street food festivals, harvest celebrations and the festive markets of November and December, this month-by-month guide brings together the standout food and drink events across the country, with dates and locations to help you map out a delicious year in France. Tip: Why not add these dates to your FRANCE calendar?

January 2026

5–8th January 2026: Week of the Winegrowers, Les Menuires, Savoie: A ski resort “wine week” where winemakers host tastings, pairing dinners and après-ski events, giving you a fun way to sample French regions without leaving the mountains.

6th January: La Fête des Rois: Epiphany in France, celebrated by sharing galette des rois (almond puff pastry cake, with the person who finds the hidden fève crowned king or queen for the day.

16–18th January 2026: Truffle Festival (Fête de la Truffe), Uzès, Occitanie: A weekend devoted to the black truffle with markets, tastings and chef demonstrations, plus the chance to buy truffles and truffle products directly from producers.

17–18th January 2026: Fête de la Truffe (Périgord truffle weekend), Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne: A Périgord truffle celebration centred on Sarlat, usually featuring truffle markets, local specialities, cooking demos and plenty of chances to taste and purchase truffles.

18–21st January 2026: Sirha Bake & Snack Janvier 2026, Porte de Versailles, Paris: A major professional trade show for bakery, pastry and snacking trends, where you can see new products, equipment and demonstrations from big-name chefs and brands.

23–25th January 2026: Salon des vins des Vignerons Indépendants, Rennes: A large public tasting fair where independent winemakers from across France pour their wines and sell directly to visitors, often with good value “cellar top-up” deals.

24–25th January 2026: Saint‑Vincent Tournante – Maranges villages, Burgundy: Burgundy’s famous travelling wine festival honouring Saint Vincent, where a host village decorates its streets, opens cellar tastings, and stages parades and celebrations around the new vintage.

30–31st January 2026: La Percée du Vin Jaune dans le Jura: Jura’s headline wine weekend celebrating the release of Vin Jaune is back for 2026 after being cancelled in 2025, with tastings across the region, special events, and a festive atmosphere built around this distinctive oxidative white wine.

February 2026

2nd February 2026: La Chandeleur: France’s crêpe day, when families (and plenty of cafés) make and eat crêpes, often with sweet and boozy toppings, as a mid-winter tradition.

6–8th February 2026: Mer & Vigne, Hippodrome de Paris-Vincennes, Paris: A public wine-and-gourmet fair combining regional food stalls with wine tastings, where you can buy directly from producers and enjoy on-site pairing food.

11–13th February 2026: World Rum Expo (Mondial du Rhum), Le Carreau du Temple, Paris: A rum-focused festival and tasting event bringing together distilleries, brands and masterclasses, aimed at enthusiasts as well as professionals.

13–16th February 2026: Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants, Strasbourg: A large tasting fair where independent winemakers pour and sell directly to visitors, making it a great chance to discover smaller producers across France.

14th February–1st March 2026: Fête du Citron, Menton, Provence: Menton’s famous lemon festival, with giant citrus sculptures, parades and a festive food-and-drink atmosphere on the Côte d’Azur.

17th February 2026: Mardi Gras: The peak of Carnival season and the day associated with rich treats before Lent, expect beignets, waffles and special pastries in many bakeries, especially in places with strong carnival traditions.

21st February–1st March 2026: Salon International de l’Agriculture, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Paris: France’s biggest celebration of farming and regional produce, packed with tastings, food stands and regional specialities from across the country.

March 2026

6–8th March 2026: Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants, Lyon Eurexpo (Chassieu, Lyon area): A large public wine fair where independent winemakers pour tastings and sell directly, ideal for discovering smaller domaines and stocking up.

13–15th March 2026: Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants, Bordeaux Lac (Parc des Expositions): Bordeaux’s big independent-winemaker tasting weekend, with hundreds of producers and the chance to buy bottles straight from the people who made them.

15–17th March 2026: Sirha Méditerranée, Marseille (Parc Chanot): A major food-and-hospitality trade show for the Mediterranean scene, with chef-led programming and a strong focus on ingredients, restaurants and foodservice trends.

15–16th March 2026: Bocuse d’Or Europe (during Sirha Méditerranée), Marseille: The European selection of the famous culinary competition, bringing high-level live cooking and serious chef-watching to Marseille.

19–22nd March 2026: Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants, Paris (Espace Champerret): Paris’s spring independent wine fair, a reliable place to taste across multiple regions in one go and buy direct at producer prices.

April 2026

5th April 2026: Easter Sunday (Pâques): A big food moment in France, with chocolate eggs and bells in pâtisseries, plus family lunches that often lean into spring produce like lamb, asparagus and early strawberries.

6th April 2026: Easter Monday (Lundi de Pâques): A public holiday in many places, so it is a popular day for long lunches, day trips and seasonal chocolate shopping.

10–12th April 2026: Salon Saveurs des Plaisirs Gourmands (Spring edition), Espace Champerret, Paris: A gourmet fair packed with regional specialities, deli treats, chocolates, wines and spirits, ideal for browsing and tasting in one place.

10–19th April 2026: Foire Internationale de Toulouse, MEETT (Parc des Expositions), Toulouse: A huge general fair with a strong gastronomy angle, where you can eat your way through food stands alongside shopping and entertainment.

11–13th April 2026: Le Paris Café Festival, Carreau du Temple, Paris: A three-day celebration of speciality coffee with tastings, workshops and a lively atmosphere for both enthusiasts and industry people.

18–20th April 2026: Rhum Fest Paris, Parc Floral de Paris (Bois de Vincennes), Paris: The headline rum event of the year in France, combining tasting stands and masterclasses, with the Monday typically more trade-focused.

23–26th April 2026: Foire au Jambon, Bayonne (Basque Country): A famous city-centre ham fair celebrating Bayonne’s signature jambon, with tastings, market stalls and a proper festival buzz.

25–26th April 2026: Fête de l’Asperge du Blayais, Braud-et-Saint-Louis (Gironde): A spring food festival dedicated to local asparagus, usually with a big produce market, cooking demos and family-friendly entertainment.

25–26th April 2026: Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques, Erquy (Côtes-d’Armor, Brittany): A coastal weekend celebrating scallops with seafood stalls, tastings and a lively port setting.

25th April–9th May 2026: Printemps de la Sardine, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (Vendée): A multi-day programme welcoming the return of sardine season, typically with grilled sardine events, foodie trails, visits and themed activities.

30th April–11th May 2026: Foire de Paris, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Paris (runs into May): Held annually in Paris since 1904 this fair has a major gastronomy section where you can snack, browse regional products and shop foodie gifts.

May 2026

2–3 May 2026: La Balade qui Pétille, Grauves, Champagne: A Champagne weekend mixing tastings with local food, artisan stalls and a festive village feel, centred on producers from the area.

1 May 2026: Fête du Travail (Labour Day): A public holiday, so expect closures and long lunches, with bakeries and markets leaning into picnic friendly treats if you are travelling.

14 May 2026: Ascension Day: Another public holiday that often creates a long weekend, a popular time for vineyard open days, market visits and food focused breaks.

14–24 May 2026: Fête de la Bretagne (Gouel Breizh), across Brittany: Ten days of Breton culture that is very food-forward, think crêpes, galettes, seafood, kouign-amann and plenty of cider at local events.

16–17 May 2026: Spring open-cellar weekend (Portes Ouvertes de Printemps), Alsace wine villages: Many Alsace domaines run spring open days around this period, usually combining tastings with a small gourmet market atmosphere.

21–24 May 2026: Taste of Paris, Grand Palais, Paris: A flagship “restaurant festival” where top chefs serve signature dishes in small portions, with a gourmet market and lots of tastings and demos.

22–24 May 2026: Rencontres Vigneronnes, Monthelon (near Épernay, Champagne): A village open-house weekend where several Champagne producers welcome visitors for cellar tastings, tours and relaxed food options.

23–25 May 2026: Pique-Nique chez le Vigneron Indépendant, Alsace (various domains): A book-ahead picnic weekend hosted by independent winemakers, designed for slow afternoons in the vineyards with tastings and local produce.

25 May 2026: Whit Monday: Public holiday closures are common, so it is another good date to plan around food markets and pre-booked tastings.

25–31 May 2026: Paris Beer Festival, Île-de-France: A week celebrating independent craft beer with tap takeovers and events in bars and bottle shops across the region, building to a bigger tasting weekend.

June 2026

7th June 2026: Fête de la Cerise, Massiac (Cantal, Auvergne): A cherry-themed local fête with a produce market and a friendly, small-town atmosphere that is great if you are in central France in early June.

11–14th June 2026: Lyon Street Food Festival, La Mulatière (Lyon area): One of France’s biggest street-food weekends, mixing pop-up food from chefs and guest regions with music, culture and late-night festival energy.

21st June 2026: Fête de la Musique, nationwide: A country-wide night when concerts spill into streets, squares and café terraces, making it a brilliant evening for apéro-hopping and casual street eating.

21st June 2026: Fête des Pères (Father’s Day): A popular day for restaurant lunches and special menus, so it is worth booking ahead in touristy areas.

27th June 2026: Fête des Cerises, Fougerolles (Haute-Saône, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté): A full-day cherry celebration with food stalls and local products, in a village known for cherry-growing and kirsch traditions.

July 2026

3–4 July 2026: Festival Musiques et Gastronomie du Monde, Saint-Palais-sur-Mer (Charente-Maritime): A seaside festival combining world-music concerts with street-food style stalls and “cuisines of the world”, so you can eat and drink your way around the globe in one evening.

4–5 July 2026: Mmmh! Festival de la Gastronomie en Provence, Châteauneuf-le-Rouge (near Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône): A big, open-air gourmet weekend where the village square turns into an outdoor dining room, with chef-led pop-ups, pâtisserie stands, local wines and tastings.

14 July 2026: Bastille Day (Fête Nationale), nationwide: Not a single festival, but a major food moment, with towns full of terraces, long lunches, barbecues, picnics and fireworks-night snacks.

Date TBC (July 2026): Fête de l’Huître, Port de Talais (Médoc, Gironde): A summer oyster celebration in a small harbour setting, usually built around tastings, local producers and a relaxed coastal atmosphere.

18 July 2026: Fête des Vins des Coteaux-d’Aix-en-Provence, Rognes (Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône): A lively village wine night celebrating the local appellation, with tasting stands, food options and a festive, late-evening feel.

23–25 July 2026: La Fête du Cognac, Cognac (Charente): A headline summer event mixing cognac tastings and cocktails with regional food and big evening concerts, all set in the town that gave the spirit its name.

31 July–2 August 2026: Fête de la Véraison, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Vaucluse, Provence): A medieval-style wine festival celebrating the ripening of the grapes, with costumed parades, street entertainment, and lots of Châteauneuf-du-Pape tastings.

31 July–9 August 2026: Foire aux Vins d’Alsace, Colmar (Haut-Rhin, Alsace): One of France’s biggest summer events, combining an Alsace wine fair and food stands with a major concert programme, all in one place.

August 2026

1–2 August 2026: Route du Champagne en Fête, Vallée de l’Aube (around Bar-sur-Aube, Aube): A brilliant weekend of open-cellar Champagne tastings across a cluster of villages, usually with food stalls and a very sociable “walk and sip” feel.

1–3 August 2026 (Dates TBC, typically early August): Fête de la Bière, Schiltigheim (near Strasbourg, Alsace): A big Alsace beer festival celebrating local brewing culture, with live music, a beer tent atmosphere and plenty of traditional bites alongside the pours.

15 August 2026: Assomption (Assumption Day), nationwide: A public holiday that often means busier restaurants and limited opening hours in some towns, so it is worth booking meals and checking market times if you are travelling.

12–16 August 2026: Festival des Filets Bleus, Concarneau (Finistère, Brittany): A classic Breton summer festival with a strong food-and-drink side, where you can pair harbour-side grazing with live music, dancing and local traditions.

Late August 2026 (Dates TBC): Fête de la Mirabelle, Metz (Moselle, Grand Est): A city-wide celebration of the mirabelle plum, usually featuring produce and terroir markets, concerts, parades and plenty of mirabelle-based treats and drinks.

September 2026

5–6 September 2026: Braderie de Lille, Lille (Hauts-de-France): Europe’s best-known flea market weekend, famous for its festive atmosphere and the tradition of eating moules-frites in packed brasseries across the city.

Early September): Vendanges season begins, wine regions nationwide: Many vineyards start harvesting during September, and you will often find open-cellar days, pop-up tastings and harvest menus in wine towns as the month goes on.

10–13 September 2026: Village International de la Gastronomie, Quai Jacques Chirac, Paris (7th): A big, visitor-friendly food village by the Eiffel Tower with tasting stands, cooking demonstrations and cuisines from dozens of countries alongside French regional specialities.

Dates TBC (mid-September): Huîtres en fête, Cancale (Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany): A seaside oyster celebration on the Port de la Houle, typically with tastings, producer stands and activities centred on Cancale’s signature shellfish.

Dates TBC (usually 11–13 September 2026): Foire de Beaucroissant (Autumn Fair), Beaucroissant (Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes): One of France’s biggest agricultural fairs, where the produce and food stands are a major draw alongside livestock, tools, crafts and countryside culture.

18–20 September 2026: Salon de la Gastronomie au Mérévillois, Méréville area (Essonne, Île-de-France): A regional gastronomy weekend focused on local produce and specialities, with tastings and market-style stalls.

25 September–5 October 2026: Foire Internationale de Marseille, Parc Chanot, Marseille (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur): A huge end-of-summer fair with a strong gastronomy and terroir presence, ideal for grazing through regional foods alongside wider exhibitions.

October 2026

7–11 October 2026: Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre, Paris (18th): Paris’s famous “harvest festival” celebrating the Montmartre vineyard with parades, tastings, concerts and a big street-party feel in the neighbourhood.

Dates TBC (mid-October): Semaine du Goût, nationwide: A country-wide “taste week” with workshops, tastings and special menus (often involving schools, markets and restaurants), designed to celebrate French food culture and local produce.

11th October 2026: Fêtes de la Châtaigne et du Terroir, Collobrières (Var, Provence): The first of three chestnut Sundays, when Collobrières turns into a chestnut capital with producers’ stalls, local treats and an autumn market atmosphere.

17–18 October 2026: Foire de la Châtaigne et du Châtaignier, Mourjou (Cantal, Auvergne): A dedicated chestnut weekend with tastings, local products and traditional demonstrations in one of France’s classic chestnut-growing areas.

18th October 2026: Fêtes de la Châtaigne et du Terroir, Collobrières (Var): The second Sunday of Collobrières’ chestnut celebrations, ideal for trying chestnut-based foods and stocking up on autumn produce.

17–21 October 2026: SIAL Paris, Paris Nord Villepinte: One of the world’s biggest food and drink trade shows, showcasing new products and trends.

25th October 2026: Fêtes de la Châtaigne et du Terroir, Collobrières (Var): The third and final chestnut Sunday in Collobrières, with a full village programme built around chestnuts, terroir products and seasonal eating.

Dates TBC (usually the last weekend of October): Fête du Piment d’Espelette, Espelette (Basque Country): A brilliant Basque food weekend celebrating the famous Espelette chilli pepper, with strings of peppers everywhere, tastings, markets and a lively village festival buzz.

28 October–1 November 2026: Salon du Chocolat et de la Pâtisserie, Porte de Versailles, Paris: France’s headline chocolate show, with pâtissiers, chocolatiers, tastings and plenty of edible gifts for serious sweet-tooths.

31 October–11 November 2026: Foire Internationale et Gastronomique de Dijon, Dijon (Burgundy): A major fair known for its gastronomy halls, where you can taste and buy regional specialities, wines and gourmet products alongside the broader event.

November 2026

11th November 2026: Armistice Day, nationwide: A public holiday, so expect some closures and busy restaurants in tourist areas, with many markets and bakeries leaning into seasonal comfort food.

Dates TBC (mid-November): Les Trois Glorieuses, Beaune and surrounding Burgundy villages: Burgundy’s most famous wine weekend, with tastings, special menus and events around Beaune that draw wine lovers from all over.

15th November 2026: Vente des Vins des Hospices de Beaune, Beaune (Burgundy): The headline charity wine auction at the heart of Les Trois Glorieuses, which traditionally takes place on the third Sunday in November and turns the town into a festival of tastings and celebrations.

19th November 2026: Beaujolais Nouveau Day, nationwide (especially Beaujolais, Lyon, Paris): The release night for Beaujolais Nouveau, celebrated with first-pour parties, tastings and bistro menus across France on the third Thursday of November.

14th – 15th November 2026: Foire aux Harengs et à la Coquille Saint-Jacques, Dieppe (Seine-Maritime, Normandy): A big seaside seafood weekend built around grilled herring and scallops, with stalls, tastings and a lively quayside atmosphere (held each year on the third weekend of November).

From late November onwards: Truffle and foie gras season markets begin, especially in the South West and Provence: As winter produce arrives, many towns run weekly truffle markets and “marchés au gras” (foie gras and festive poultry markets), which are brilliant for tasting, shopping and eating like a local.

December 2026

5th December 2026: Ban des Truffes, Richerenches (Vaucluse, Provence): A ceremonial “opening of the truffle season” in one of France’s most famous truffle villages, usually followed by tastings, a market atmosphere and plenty of truffle themed food.

6th December 2026: Saint Nicolas Day, Alsace and Lorraine (especially Strasbourg, Colmar, Metz, Nancy): A northern and eastern France tradition that brings special biscuits, spiced treats and festive events, often alongside Christmas markets and parades for children.

Dates TBC (likely early December): Fête des Lumières, Lyon: Lyon’s iconic light festival, when the city fills with illuminated installations and crowds, and the food side comes alive with pop-up stalls, mulled wine and late-night eating on packed terraces.

Late November to 24 December, varies by city: Christmas markets with strong regional food and drink, nationwide: The best for foodie browsing are usually in Alsace (Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse), plus big markets in cities like Reims, Amiens, Lille, Lyon and Paris, with mulled wine, regional biscuits, cheeses, charcuterie and edible gifts.

Through December 2026: Marchés au gras, South West France (Dordogne, Gers, Landes): “Fat markets” where you can buy festive poultry and foie gras, often with tastings and cooking chat, making them one of the most local ways to experience Christmas season food culture.

Through December 2026: Truffle markets, especially Provence and the South West: December is peak browsing season for black truffles, and many towns run regular markets that are excellent for sampling, buying and watching serious truffle buyers at work.

24th December 2026: Réveillon de Noël: The big Christmas Eve meal, when restaurants offer set menus and families go all out with oysters, smoked salmon, foie gras, roast meats and festive desserts.

25th December 2026: Christmas Day: A quieter day with many places closed, but where open restaurants often serve special lunch menus, so booking ahead is essential in tourist areas.

31st December 2026: New Year’s Eve (Réveillon du Nouvel An): Another major dining night, with celebratory set menus, Champagne, seafood and late-night partying in cities and ski resorts.

If you are building your 2026 trip around France’s best food and drink events, the FRANCE 2026 Calendar is a handy companion for keeping dates, notes and plans in one place, with French school and public holidays, fêtes and saints’ days, plus space for reminders, all alongside 14 glossy photographs of France.

Lead photo credit : Ville de Bayonne