Note to readers: Paris currently has an 11 pm curfew. Shops, restaurants, cafés and bars are open, as are art galleries, museums, cinemas and theaters. Book in advance, since numbers are restricted. See below for both online and live events.
July & August
Free outdoor films and concerts
This year’s Festival Paradiso will take place in the Louvre’s Cour Carrée, at La Seine Musicale and at the Hôtel Paradiso.
Various venues, Paris
June 22-October 3
Street art
Portuguese street artist Vhils presents Trace, a new retrospective exhibition including art from throughout his career. Above: Scratching the Surface, an engraving project by Vhils in Paris’s 10th arrondissement. Photo: José Pando Lucas.
Fluctuart, Paris
Through June 30
From Bangui to Paris
In partnership with the Espace Linga Téré in Bangui, Central African Republic, the Theatre de la Ville will celebrate the African diaspora for QG Paris Champs-Elysées’s Saison Africa 2020. Two outdoor stages will showcae cabaret, theater and concerts.
Theatre de la Ville, Paris
June 19 & 20
Bilingual immersive theater
Cinemorphe presents Battre le Pavé, a performance piece about the history of the famous Rue Bichat in the 10th arrondissement.
Rue Bichat, Paris
June 23
Olympic and Paralympic day
June 23 each year marks Olympic and Paralympic Day: browse a range of events and activities taking place this year, on the day which also marks the beginning of Tokyo 2020.
Various locations and Online
Through November 7
New views of Paris
The Saint-Jacques Tower in Paris’s 4th arrondissement has recently reopened. Climb the towerto see panoramic views of the city.
Square de la Tour Saint-Jacques, Paris
June 19 & 20
Festival of augmented reality
For Paris’s first such festival, Palais Augmenté, artists have been invited to explore the limits of reality in the just-opened temporary Grand Palais.
Grand Palais Éphémère, Paris
Through June 20
Hiroshi Shimizu retrospective
The largest-ever retrospective outside Japan on the celebrated Japanese filmmaker.
La Cinémathèque Française, Paris
Through July 17
Olympic Preparation
Le Carreau du Temple presents Festival Jogging 2021, which will host sports festivals each July to prepare Parisians for the 2024 Olympics. This year’s edition includes sessions on inclusive sports, demonstrations of unique sports from around the world and a roller-dance party for Bastille Day.
Le Carreau du Temple, Paris
Through August 20
Focus on Simone Veil
The life and work of French politician Simone Veil is explored in a new exhibition, Nous Vous Aimons, Madame.
Hôtel de Ville, Paris
Through October 13
Natural history
Artists’ covers for an imagined Paris magazine modeled on The New Yorker chart the history of Paris’s Jardin des Plantes museum for the exhibition The Parisianer, Chroniques du Muséum.
Jardin des Plantes, Paris
Through July 10
Napoleon’s Paris
Métamorphoses d’une Ville is an exhibition on the fence around the Madeleine Church on the transformations the city underwent under Napoleon’s reign, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his death.
Madeleine, Paris
Through July 26
Iranian film
Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami is celebrated in a retrospective of his work.
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Through June 18
Abstract art
Painter Charles Giai-Gischia presents a group of recent works in the exhibition Pentimento: l’Espace Raccommodé.
Au Quize, 15 avenue Parmentier, Paris
June 20
French movies with English subtitles
Lost in Frenchlation presents a double bill of swimming films: Le Grand Bain (Sink or Swim), directed by Gilles Lellouche, and Swimming with Men (Regarde les Hommes Nager), directed by Oliver Parker.
Online
Ongoing
A poet’s life
The Musée Paul Valéry presents a series of 15 videos, posting daily, celebrating the life of the poet, author and writer Paul Valéry.
Online
Through June 27
Online exhibition
Les Beaux-Arts de Paris presents Le Dessin Romantique, a selection of drawings from the collection of Jean Bonna. Free to view online.
Online
Ongoing
Stroll through Baudelaire’s Paris
Follow this guided walk through the Paris locations that shaped the life of famed poet and Parisian Charles Baudelaire on the occasion of his 200th birthday.
Various locations, Paris
Ongoing
Napoleon takes center stage
Exhibitions, reenactments, academic conferences, art – there’s something for everyone in the Chateau de Fontainebleau’s rich program of events commemorating the death of Napoleon on the island of Saint Helena 200 years ago.
Chateau de Fontainebleau, Île-de-France
Through September 2021
Lockdown life
Artist Jeanne Susplugas presents work reflecting on how our relationships with our homes have changed in the past year for Where My House Lives. The viewer is invited to peer through 12 windows, each showing an illustrated and narrated piece about a different person’s life and space.
Online
Ongoing
Save the Musée de l’Éventail
A crowdfunding campaign is underway to help save the Musée de l’Éventail, Paris’s museum of fans and fan-making.
Online
Ongoing
Live performance
The Théatre de la Ville presents a series of dance, theater and music shows, broadcast live on YouTube.
Online
Ongoing
Art of Migration
Streaming of works by migrant artists in France from the postponed Festival Visions d’Exil.
Online
Ongoing
Women migrants’ history in pictures
The National Museum of Immigration presents online images of women migrants from the exhibition “Les Femmes en Mouvements.”
Online
Ongoing
Free classes on French topics
Pandemonium U presents free Zoom classes in English on such topics as the role of small French villages in helping refugees and the death of Resistance hero Jean Moulin.
Online
Through June 2021
Discovering art history
Learn how to appreciate and analyze art in its historical context in a range of masterclasses offered by Les Paris de l’Art 2020/21.