Festival d’Avignon 2026: dates, programme and atmosphere from Avignon

Theatre in Avignon

The Avignon Festival 2026 takes place from 4 to 25 July. Artéphile For its 80th edition, it is themed around doubt, a question mark that bangs its fist on a table, according to the graphic identity created by the Marseille-based agency Perméable. Avignon Festival

Avignon in July is something else. The town transforms completely. The streets become stages, the walls get covered in posters, and the café terraces stay open late. For those who live there, it is both familiar and always a bit disconcerting.

What makes this edition special

The Festival Off is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and for the first time in nearly 25 years, the IN and the OFF are taking place on the same dates. Avignon Off Festival It is a convergence that changes something in the atmosphere of the city, everything happens at the same time, everywhere.

For the first time as well, a majority of women are directing shows presented at the Festival: 27 women, 16 men and 6 collectives. Avignon Festival It is a strong signal for an edition that celebrates doubt as a creative driving force.

The featured discipline this year is South Korean live performance, which is little known in Europe. franceinfo An unusual direction that opens up interesting prospects.

Living in Avignon during the Festival

I grew up here, the Festival has been part of the landscape forever. It's a town that knows how to welcome people who do things.

In July, the whole pace changes. Regulars know it: you either have to fully embrace this hustle and bustle, or adapt to it. No middle ground. The city leaves no one indifferent during these three weeks.

What is interesting is that the Avignon Festival brings back each year a very different demographic from the one that lives here the rest of the year. Curious, open-minded people, often searching for something they cannot yet name. It is a special energy.

The ON and the OFF: two different approaches

The IN Festival is the main stage. The Palais des Papes, the institutional venues, international creations. It is demanding, sometimes baffling, always ambitious.

The OFF, for its part, is another dimension: more than 1,500 shows in around a hundred theatres inside the ramparts. Avignon Festival More accessible, riskier too. That is where a lot of interesting things happen and a lot of less interesting things. You have to sort through them. For those coming from the outside, the advice is always the same: do not plan everything in advance. Leave room for what happens.

Getting a tattoo during the Festival

Avignon in July is also an opportunity for people visiting the city to take the time for a tattoo project. Three weeks on site, no rush, time to discuss a project properly.

I work by appointment at Graphicaderme, 29 rue Thiers. If you are in Avignon for the Festival and you have a project in mind, now is the time. Contact me

Practical information

Dates 4 to 25 July 2026 Festival IN : festival-avignon.com OFF Festival : festivaloffavignon.com

If you like this local address format, I've done the same for my favourite places in London.