Top cultural events in Paris this autumn
As autumn gets underway, Paris has a full and varied programme of cultural events! Theatre, exhibitions, concerts, festivals, ballets, operas ... there is something for everyone.
Although summer is over the weather is looking mild and sunny for a few more weeks. An ideal time to enjoy the city indoors and outdoors, and discover the new events programmes. From September onwards, museums, theatres and leisure venues resume full service and there is a huge offering of festivals, trade fairs, plays, and exhibitions throughout the capital.
Annual cultural events in Paris at the start of the autumn season
In October, the Nuit Blanche, on the first Saturday of October - the night of 1 to 2 October 2022 - attracts night owls for a cultural all-nighter as ephemeral art installations across the city offer a different, offbeat and intriguing view of the city. In 2022, the event celebrates its 21st anniversary on the theme the garden of delights, the party and the relationship between art and sport!
More info on the Nuit Blanche
NB: from 2023, the Nuit Blanche event takes place at the beginning of June. Next edition: June 2023.
On 17 and 18 September 2022, the traditional European Heritage Days return for a 39th edition across the capital.
Must-see exhibitions in Paris
With the start of the autumn season, new exhibitions are opening in the French capital. From 7 September to 2 January 2023, Gérard Garouste, a leading contemporary French painter, is the focus of an exhibition at the Centre Pompidou. The Fondation Louis Vuitton opens the season with an exhibition of masterpieces from Claude Monet and Joan Mitchell, revealing an unprecedented visual and artistic dialogue. The Claude Monet - Joan Mitchell exhibition runs from 5 October 2022 to 27 February 2023. The musée Jacquemart-André presents, from 16 Septembre 2022 to 23 January 2023, an exhibition devoted to one of the greatest British painters of the late 19th century: Johann Heinrich Füssli. And still showing, until 30 September 2022, the exhibition Temptations, artists and designers X Baccarat at the splendid Galerie-Musée Baccarat, situated in the 16th arrondissement, between Avenue des Champs-Elysées and the Esplanade du Trocadéro.
Concerts and shows in Paris
Plays, musicals, operas, ballets and concerts – the cultural calendar opens in full swing in Paris’s best-known theatres and concert halls!
Theater in Paris
For some comic relief, head to the Théâtre de Paris to see Chers Parents (Dear Parents), the new comedy by Emmanuel and Armelle Patron (from 14 Septembre to 31 December 2022). Humour is also on the programme at the Théâtre Bo Saint-Martin with Julie Collas’s irresistible 100% British stand-up performance Oh my God, she’s Parisian! (Fridays and Saturdays at 8.15pm). And Olivier Giraud’s one-man show How to become a Parisien in one hour, at the Théâtre des Nouveautés, is still playing to a full house after having been seen by 800,000 spectators.
Book your ticket for Oh my God, she's Parisian!
Book your ticket for How to become a Parisian in one hour!
Musicals in Paris
Africa takes pride of place at the Théâtre Mogador with the return of one of the best-loved musicals: The Lion King (from 8 September 2022 to 31 December 2022). At Bobino, Black Legends takes the audience on an exploration of the story of Afro-American music, from Cab Calloway to Beyonce, including Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and Withney Houston (from 29 September 2022). Another eagerly awaited event is the return of the famous musical by Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon, Starmania (at the Seine Musicale from 4 Novembre 2022 to 29 January 2023). Voted best musical show in 2022 at the Molières awards ceremony, Les Producteurs, by Alexis Michalik, continues to delight audiences at the Théâtre de Paris, from 15 September 2022).
Book your tickets for the musical The Lion King
Operas in Paris
It’s a new season at the opera as well! At Opéra Bastille, The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is presented in a modern and minimalist setting by Robert Carsen (from 17 September to 19 November 2022). Also at the Bastille, Guillaume Gallienne offers his interpretation of Cinderella in his staging of Gioacchino Rossini’s Cenerentola, from 10 September to 9 October 2022.
Ballets in Paris
The Norwegian choreographer Alan Lucien Øyen has been invited, for the first time, to create a highly visual theatrical ballet for the Palais Garnier. At the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Akram Khan offers an enthralling and original re-telling of the famous romantic ballet Giselle. Benjamin Millepied will captivate the Seine Musicale with a world premiere that revisits the mythic story of Romeo and Juliet. And for its Christmas special, from 27 December 2022 to 7 January 2023, the Palais des Congrès de Paris offers audiences a magical evening with Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece The Nutcracker.
Concerts in Paris
The concert of the iconic American rapper Snoop Dogg, scheduled for 7 September 2022 at the Accor Arena, as part of his ‘I Wanna Thank me’ tour, has been postponed. A few weeks later, on 11 October 2022, the stage of the Accor Arena welcomes the famous singer Sting. Finally, Bob Dylan, the great American cultural icon, is to perform on 11, 12 and 13 October at the Grand Rex.
Festivals in Paris
The new cultural season is also the time for all kinds of festivals. As every year, The 'Fête de l’Humanité' returns with concerts, shows, talks, debates and exhibitions on the second weekend of September. This 87th edition is to be held at Base 217 du Plessis-Pâté, close to Paris. The Autumn Festival is one of the most eclectic of the season. A wide variety of events will be hosted in 66 venues across the Paris region (from 11 September 2022).
Trade shows and exceptional cultural events in Paris
More than 1,600 events are organized each year in Paris, including more than 400 international trade shows open to the general public. The fashion capital, Paris parades the finest designer creations at Fashion Week (from 26 September to 4 October 2022 for women’s fashion).
More information on What to do in Paris in September ?
More information on What to do in Paris in October ?
More information on What to do in Paris in November ?
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