Music, culture and sport across the French Riviera
If you are staying with us this July, you have picked the liveliest month on the coast. The whole Riviera comes out after dark, with jazz on open-air stages, fireworks over the bay, classical concerts in old town squares and beach sport on the sand. To help you make the most of your stay, we have gathered our favourite events of the month, grouped into music, culture and sport. Choose one for every few days, or build a whole evening around the ones closest to your door. So, where to begin?
Music on the French Riviera, | July 2026
La Kermesse, Nice | 3rd to 5th July
La Kermesse brings three days of nineties and noughties nostalgia to Nice from 3 to 5 July. The line-up gathers names from the era, including Billy Crawford, Kenza Farah, O-Zone and Lou Bega, and the crowd is part of the show, so dress for the decade. It is one of three editions held across France, alongside La Seyne-sur-Mer and Toulouse.
Jazz à Juan, Juan-les-Pins | 9th to 19th July
The Juan-les-Pins jazz festival, known as Jazz à Juan, turns 65 this year, a remarkable run for a gathering that has welcomed Ella Fitzgerald, Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton over the decades. The 2026 edition runs from 9 to 19 July, with Seal, José James and Mica Millar among the featured artists. If you only see one concert this summer, this is a strong place to start.
Nice Jazz Festival | 23rd to 25th July
Jazz returns further along the coast later in the month. The Nice Jazz Festival takes over Place Masséna and the Théâtre de Verdure from 23 to 25 July, with 18 concerts across two stages. The 2026 programme is headlined by Sting, alongside Busta Rhymes, Noga Erez, Lola Young and Obongjayar.
MIDI Festival, Hyères | 24th to 26th July
For something more independent, the MIDI Festival takes place in Hyères from 24 to 26 July. Concerts are held in genuinely unusual settings, from the Villa Noailles and a pine forest under the stars to the windsurfing beach at l’Almanarre and the Hyères racecourse. It is a favourite with music lovers looking beyond the mainstream.
Festival de Musique de Menton | 25th July to 7th August
Classical music closes the month at the 77th Festival de Musique de Menton, which runs from 25 July to 7 August. Performances take place at the open-air Parvis and the Palais, and the 2026 line-up includes cellist Gautier Capuçon, pianists Fazil Say and Alexandre Kantorow, violinist Leonidas Kavakos and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Free concerts run alongside the main ticketed programme.
LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSIC EVENTS IN MAINLAND PROVENCE THIS JULY
Culture
Cannes night markets | Early July to the end of August
On selected evenings from early July to the end of August, artisan stalls line the Croisette for Cannes’ night markets, known locally as the marchés nocturnes. It is a relaxed way to browse local craft and design after dark, and a good option for an evening stroll once the daytime heat has eased
Festival d’Art Pyrotechnique, Cannes | 4th, 14th and 22nd July
Cannes has staged its international fireworks competition over the bay since 1967. Each country presents a show of around 25 minutes set to music, with a professional jury awarding the Vestale d’Argent and the audience voting for its favourite. Three of the six summer dates fall in July, on the 4th, 14th and 22nd, and La Croisette offers one of the best free views. Where else can you watch more than 700,000 people fall silent for a firework display?
Les Nocturnes, Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat | 13th July to 25th August
From 13th July, the gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild open every Monday and Tuesday evening, from 8pm until midnight, for a season of live performance by candlelight. The programme moves between ballet, jazz and song across 16 evenings, with artists including Lynda Lemay, Jeanne Cherhal and Luz Casal. You can settle on the lawns with your own picnic, or reserve a hamper in advance. Tickets are 40 euros for adults and 20 euros for children aged seven to 17.
Bastille Day | 14 July
France marks its national day on 14 July in honour of the Revolution, and the coast puts on some of the best fireworks of the year. The grandest is at Cannes, where one of the international competition nights falls on the 14th, lighting up the whole bay from the Croisette late in the evening. Nice fires its display over the Baie des Anges, Antibes along the seafront between La Siesta and the Fort Carré, and Menton over the Baie du Soleil, with concerts beforehand. For a quieter view, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Juan-les-Pins each hold their own displays over the water. Most begin around 10pm, though Cannes runs later, so it is worth checking the exact time with your host. In Nice, the evening will also mark ten years since the attack of 14 July 2016, a moment the city will hold with quiet remembrance.
Sport on the Riviera in July 2026
Beach Sport Festival, Saint-Laurent-du-Var | 30th June to 26th July
The Beach Sport Festival runs on the sand at Saint-Laurent-du-Var from 30 June to 26 July, with almost a month of sport and live music. The schedule moves from footvolley and beach tennis to the French Beach Volleyball Championship, from 17 to 19 July, and the France 3x3 Basketball Open, from 23 to 26 July. Evening concerts are part of the programme too, with Amir opening the festival and Patrick Bruel performing on 21 July.
Tour de France | 4th to 26th July
The 113th Tour de France runs from 4 to 26 July, starting in Barcelona and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris over 21 stages. This year the route keeps to the west and north of the country, through the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Alps, so it does not pass along the Riviera or through Provence. It remains one of the great spectacles of the French summer, and the easiest way to follow it from the coast is on screen, ideally from a shaded terrace with a cold drink in hand. The nearest the race comes to the south-east is its closing week in the Alps, a long day trip inland for the most dedicated fans.
Wherever the month takes you, every event here is within easy reach of a Provence Holidays home. If you would like help planning your stay around any of them, our team is always happy to share local advice.
À bientôt,
