A programme built on dialogue and freedom returns to the hilltop village, July 20–29

Saint-Paul-de-Vence, French Riviera — Ticketing Now Open

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For its 15th year, the Festival de Saint-Paul de Vence returns to the medieval village perched above the Côte d’Azur, unveiling an anniversary programme that gathers many of the artists who have defined the festival’s identity over a decade and a half. Booking opened this spring, and the ten-day run from July 20 to 29, 2026, positions the festival once again as one of the season’s essential dates for classical music and jazz on the Riviera.

Staged between Place de la Courtine, at the heart of the village, and the emblematic grounds of the Fondation Maeght and Fondation CAB, the festival has long distinguished itself by treating its setting as part of the performance. Concerts under the stars, framed by stone ramparts and Mediterranean pine, turn each evening into something closer to an occasion than a ticketed event.

An Anniversary Built on Dialogue

Festival director Julien Kieffer has framed this milestone edition as a conversation across eras, styles, and generations of performers — an intentionally open programme reflecting the breadth of musical sensibilities on stage today, rather than a fixed curatorial line.

The lineup traces a deliberate arc from baroque to contemporary repertoire: countertenor Philippe Jaroussky anchors the early-music thread, while violinist Christian Tetzlaff and the Quatuor Modigliani carry the chamber tradition. Cellist Edgar Moreau and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor bring virtuoso solo voices to the programme, and jazz saxophonist Emile Parisien contributes the festival’s improvisational counterpoint — including a tribute performance by vocalist Marion Rampal honoring Abbey Lincoln.

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Anniversary Lineup

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Why It Matters for the Riviera Calendar

Fifteen years in, the festival has become a fixture that runs in parallel to the Riviera’s better-known summer season markers — a reminder that Saint-Paul-de-Vence’s cultural weight extends well beyond its galleries and cobbled lanes. For visitors already tracing the region’s art circuit through the Fondation Maeght’s permanent collection, the festival offers a natural evening counterpart to a day spent among the village’s ateliers and terraces.

— At A Glance —