Festivals and events in Auvergne
Summer in Auvergne is a succession of festivals you probably wouldn't expect. One of Europe's biggest street arts gatherings happens here, in Aurillac. Europavox brings bands from all over Europe to Clermont-Ferrand. Not to mention the country festivals that send the cows up to the summer pastures with bandas (brass bands), cheese and a dance in the evening.
We've sorted through it all. Here is the calendar for the season, from May to September, month by month and then département by département, with transport advice and the festivals that are really worth planning your holiday around.
One thing to say straight away: the dates move from one year to the next. The ones we give here place each event within the season. When we give a specific day, it carries its year.
Overview: the season's big events
- Aurillac Festival (street theatre): four days in August, Wednesday to Saturday (19 to 22 August in 2026), mostly free, one of Europe's biggest street arts events.
- Moulins Organ Festival: five days in late July, Notre-Dame cathedral in Moulins, Allier.
- La Chaise-Dieu Festival (music): a fortnight in late August, medieval abbey church and surrounding towns, Haute-Loire.
- Journée de la Vache et du Fromage in Salers (Cantal) (Cow and Cheese Day): one day in early August, parades of Salers cows through the streets of a Plus Beau Village (one of France's Most Beautiful Villages).
- Fêtes Renaissance du Roi de l'Oiseau (Le Puy-en-Velay): five days in mid-September, Wednesday to Sunday, the upper town of Le Puy in Renaissance costume.
May-June: season opener and transhumances
May in Auvergne is the mountain waking up. The mountain pass roads reopen, the cows go up to the summer pastures, the festivals start again.
Volvic Volcanic Experience (VVX) · Ascension weekend. Volvic, Puy-de-Dôme. The emblematic trail run of the Chaîne des Puys, with events ranging from a short format to ultra (224 km for the longest in 2026), but above all festivities in the town of Volvic: concerts, cultural activities, stands and, for the 2027 edition, free sports taster sessions open to all. You don't have to run to enjoy it.
Fête de l'Estive d'Allanche (the summer pastures festival) · A weekend in late May. Allanche, Cantal. 23 and 24 May in 2026. Saturday: parade of Salers herds through the historic town to the rhythm of bandas and folk groups, big country and local produce market, cheese-making demonstrations, exhibitions on the Cézallier, traditional meal and a dance in the evening. Sunday: the climb to the summer pastures with the farmers and their herds, about 22 km across the Cézallier, open to all and free.
Aubrac Transhumance · Around Saint-Urbain's day (25 May), the traditional date for going up to the summer pastures: Sunday 24 May in 2026. The village of Aubrac, in Aveyron, on the plateau that touches the Cantal and the Lozère. In 2026, six herds, decorated for the occasion, passed through the village of Aubrac between 10:00 and 15:00 on the Sunday, and entry to the festival cost €8 (free for under-18s).
Europavox Festival · Three days in late June, Friday to Sunday. Place du 1er Mai, Clermont-Ferrand. It's the festival that puts musical Europe in the spotlight: French headliners and bands from all over Europe. In 2026, it ran from 26 to 28 June.
Bourbonnais Music Festival · Pencil it in from spring: the five or six concerts of the summer are spread from early July to mid-August. Chamber music in the Romanesque churches of the Bourbonnais bocage (hedged farmland): the church at Châteloy in Hérisson, where the festival was born in 1966, then Maillet, Nassigny and Louroux-Hodement. A lovely acoustic atmosphere. In 2026, a seat cost €28 at full price.
July: the heart of the season
Moulins Organ Festival · Five days in late July. 22 to 26 July in 2026, at Notre-Dame cathedral in Moulins, Allier, with an extra concert that year at Sainte-Croix church in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule. Organ concerts in one of the finest Gothic cathedrals in central France, organised by the association Amis des Orgues de l'agglomération de Moulins.
Touring classical music festivals · La Chaise-Dieu in Haute-Loire (late August, see below) and the Festival Baroque d'Auvergne, which takes its concerts from church to church: in 2026, for its dates in Auvergne, from 20 July at Charroux, in the Allier, to 12 August at Saint-Menoux, via Sermentizon in the Puy-de-Dôme and Salers in the Cantal.
Summer fairs in the villages. Saint-Flour, Murat, Saugues, Brioude, Ambert, Issoire: every big Auvergne town has its annual fair or local produce market in July-August. The weekly markets, for their part, don't move: Wednesday morning in Salers, Friday morning in Murat, Saturday morning in Saint-Flour. The evening markets change day from one town to the next. Bistro atmosphere, local produce, musical entertainment. Free.
Patron saint festivals and village dances. Pretty much every village in Auvergne has its festival over a weekend in July or August. Country-style meal, dance in the evening, sometimes fireworks. It's exactly the kind of event that gives you the atmosphere of an Auvergne village on a summer evening.
August: Aurillac and the cheese festivals
August in Auvergne is dominated by one event that far outshines all the others in fame.
Aurillac International Street Theatre Festival · Four days in August, Wednesday to Saturday (19 to 22 August in 2026). Aurillac, Cantal. One of Europe's biggest street arts events: in 2026, about twenty companies in the official programme, and some 600 visiting companies performing in nearly 150 places across the town. The performances given in public space by the visiting companies are all free.
Before the festival: Champ Libre, the street theatre programme that tours the communes of the Cantal for a fortnight, from late July to early August. In 2026, from 28 July to 9 August, nearly 25 local authorities hosted the shows, which were performed free of charge.
Accommodation tip for Aurillac. This is the most critical point. Book very early, or look at villages within a 30 km radius (Vic-sur-Cère, Polminhac, Arpajon-sur-Cère, Naucelles), or at campsites: l'Ombrade in Aurillac, la Cère in Arpajon-sur-Cère, le Moulin in Jussac, and in 2026 a temporary paid campsite at La Ponétie, in Aurillac. One thing to know if you sleep in a van or motorhome: in 2026, parking them in the town's streets was banned during the festival, on pain of being towed away, and specific areas were provided.
Festi'Vache in Saint-Bonnet-de-Salers · In August, at La Maison de la Salers, at the Domaine du Fau. Presentation of Salers cows and bulls, demonstrations of skills (beekeeping, herbalism, crafts), children's workshops, tastings, storytelling.
Journée de la Vache et du Fromage in Salers · One day in early August, organised by the agricultural show committee of the Pays de Salers (the comice agricole). In the village classified as a Plus Beau Village, the finest Salers cows parade through the streets in late morning, then a second time in the afternoon. Refreshment stall, children's activities, meeting the farmers. Free access, paid food on site. Very high attendance, arrive early for parking.
La Chaise-Dieu Festival · A fortnight in late August. La Chaise-Dieu Abbey, Haute-Loire, and the surrounding towns. Sacred and classical music: for the 60th edition, from 18 to 30 August 2026, no fewer than 35 concerts, with a 14th-century abbey church as the main hall.
Local produce markets · Weekly calendar (see July). They continue until the end of August across the region.
September: Roi de l'Oiseau and the late season
Fêtes Renaissance du Roi de l'Oiseau · Five days in mid-September, Wednesday to Sunday. Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. Each edition has its theme (“Le Nouveau Monde”, the New World, in 2026, from 16 to 20 September). The upper town of Le Puy relives the 16th century, costumes included: parades, encampments, Renaissance dances, an equestrian show, a fire show, a Renaissance market, and the archery competition that ends with the crowning of the Roi de l'Oiseau (the King of the Bird). In 2026, the Renaissance market cost €2 a day and €8 for the 4-day pass, and the paid shows ranged, at full price, from €8 (the dances) to €18 (the fire show). More than 250 free shows were staged in the streets.
Le Puy tip. Accommodation to book 3-4 months ahead in the historic centre. Around it, it's quieter: Brives-Charensac is less than 10 minutes by road, Yssingeaux half an hour, Saugues nearly an hour.
The ban des vendanges (the opening of the grape harvest) in Saint-Pourçain · Early September, in a different commune each year. Allier, Saint-Pourçain vineyard. The confréries (wine brotherhoods) in full regalia taste the grapes on the vine before declaring the harvest open. A relaxed atmosphere, at the end of the tourist season.
Free versus paid festivals
If you're on a tight budget, here is the selection that's 100% free or nearly.
Free or pay-what-you-like. Aurillac Festival (most of the street shows), Fête de l'Estive d'Allanche, local produce markets, village fairs, Champ Libre events in Aurillac (July-August). At the Volvic Volcanic Experience, the sports taster sessions are announced as free for the 2027 edition.
Paid but reasonable. The concerts of the Bourbonnais Music Festival (€28 a seat at full price in 2026), the shows of the Fêtes Renaissance du Roi de l'Oiseau (€8 to €18 at full price in 2026) and its Renaissance market (€2 a day in 2026).
Ticketed. Europavox and the La Chaise-Dieu Festival concerts.
Festivals by département (summary)
Allier (03). Bourbonnais Music Festival (July-August, Romanesque churches), Moulins Organ Festival (late July), ban des vendanges of the Saint-Pourçain area (early September).
Cantal (15). Aurillac Festival (second half of August), Festival des Hautes Terres (late June, Saint-Flour), Fête de l'Estive d'Allanche (late May), Festi'Vache (August, Saint-Bonnet-de-Salers), Journée de la Vache et du Fromage in Salers (early August), local produce markets in July-August.
Haute-Loire (43). Fêtes Renaissance du Roi de l'Oiseau (mid-September), La Chaise-Dieu Festival (late August), events in the Allier gorges (July-August).
Puy-de-Dôme (63). Europavox Clermont-Ferrand (late June), Volvic Volcanic Experience (Ascension weekend), night markets at Chambon-sur-Lac, patron saint festivals across the Chaîne des Puys and the Sancy.
Transport and accommodation tips
For Aurillac. A car is advised for the surrounding villages. To sleep, book early or aim for the neighbouring communes.
For Europavox. Tram and bus in Clermont from the station, easy access. Clermont hotels to book 2-3 months ahead during the festival, otherwise Airbnb in the centre or Riom (15 min by train).
For Le Puy-en-Velay (Roi de l'Oiseau). Train from Lyon via Saint-Étienne, or car. To sleep in the historic centre, book several months ahead.
For the country festivals (Allanche, Salers). A car is essential, public transport is very limited. Accommodation to book 1-2 months ahead within a 30 km radius.
To finish
Auvergne is fortunate to offer a summer season spread over five full months (from May to the Roi de l'Oiseau festivities in September), with real diversity: street theatre, European music, country festivals, classical festivals, Renaissance festivals. If you could only pick one weekend, we recommend either Aurillac (for the culture shock of street arts) or the Fête de l'Estive d'Allanche in late May (for the quiet beauty of a transhumance rooted in the local land).
To go further, see the guide Auvergne with kids if you're travelling with children (the transhumances and the Aurillac festival are particularly accessible to the youngest), the guide Auvergne road trip to combine a festival with discovering the region, and the page Le Puy-en-Velay to plan a stay around the Roi de l'Oiseau. For tight budgets, Auvergne for free lists the free-access events all summer.
