Avignon Festival 2026: my local perspective on the city in July

I grew up in Avignon, so the Festival has never been for me an event that you discover on a program. It’s more of an annual moment that arrives with its posters, its crowded streets, its terraces, and that sensation that the city suddenly doubles in size.

The first signs of July

The Festival is already being felt even before its opening. The first posters appear at the end of June, the terraces fill up earlier and you start to see groups rehearsing or distributing their programs. A few days later, Avignon no longer resembles the town of the rest of the year.

Nightlife is my favorite thing. It’s still warm, the streets stay lively well into the night, and scenes form right on the streets. You can catch a show while buying a baguette, which pretty well sums up July here.

A city where people look more at their surroundings

The Festival also transforms the city into a backdrop. The walls of the Palais des Papes are covered with posters, a courtyard becomes a stage, and a street that is crossed all year round suddenly attracts all the attention. Since I work with image and photography, I inevitably observe these changes. Everything seeks to be seen, sometimes with great elegance, sometimes with much less — that is also what makes the whole thing alive.

Over the years of publication, I have also encountered faces I didn’t expect to see in the streets of Avignon: Hugh Grant, Denzel Washington, François Cluzet, Jamel Debbouze, Ewan McGregor and Jean Paul Gaultier. These are brief encounters with passers-by, but they contribute to the impression that anyone can appear at the corner of a street.

What we sometimes forget when we live here

The residents have a rather contradictory relationship with the Festival. They complain about the crowds, the traffic, and the posters everywhere. Then, when it ends, the silence seems almost brutal. I love this contrast because it reminds me that the city is not just about its habits or its monuments.

It is also a period that attracts curious people who are sensitive to images and places. Conversations easily begin, people take more time to listen, and sometimes you discover Avignon through the eyes of someone who has just arrived there.

My landmarks during the Festival

To choose a hotel, have lunch or simply find a terrace, I gathered My addresses in Avignon during the Festival. There are, in particular, Le Change, where I like to stop and of which I have also written the new identity and the site.

The dates, the differences between the IN and the OFF, and the official links are grouped together in my guide to the Avignon Festival 2026.

Also read

• Where to sleep, eat and have fun during the Festival
• The backstage of the new identity of the Change

Have you already discovered Avignon in July? I would be curious to know what most struck you: a show, a street, a terrace, or simply the atmosphere.