What to do this summer in France: The Île-de-France region opens its cultural doors !

Because the City of Light is constantly on the move, culture continues to develop even in summer. From historic and emblematic monuments to little Parisian nooks and crannies hidden from the general public, the Ile-de-France region is bursting with activities during the hot summer months. Accessible to all ages and all audiences, the capital region has plenty to surprise you.

Starting with an Egyptian inspiration... With a majestic pyramid as a foretaste, an imposing building surrounding this edifice... we are of course talking about the Louvre Museum. This summer, this museum, nicknamed La maison des artistes, is hosting a number of temporary exhibitions. If you want to travel to distant lands, "The Met at the Louvre - Dialogues of Oriental Antiquity" is the exhibition for you. Closed for renovations, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) has transferred its works to the legendary halls of the Louvre. From Central Asia to Syria and Iran, this temporary exhibition is the perfect way to admire these works from another angle. Mixing histories, this exhibition brings these two museums together for the enjoyment of visitors. Available until 28 September 2025.

Because the Louvre is too vast to host just one painting, the exhibition "Une passion chinoise - la collection d'Adolphe Thiers" opens its doors until 25 August 2025. Featuring more than 170 works, the exhibition honours Chinese art, which was greatly appreciated by Adolphe Thiers (a major political figure of the 19ᵉ century), who had a personal collection of it. Divided into two parts, the exhibition will take you on a journey through China, offering treasures that are still little known to the general public. From scrolls and prints to porcelain, the exhibition covers every medium of art between the 18ᵉ and 19ᵉ centuries.

A little extra: For fans of Shawn Leva's famous Night at the Museum, the Louvre, Orsay, the Bourse du Commerce and the Palais de Tokyo open their doors at night... A spellbinding and mysterious way to discover these places ....

Louis XIV honoured

What would the Île-de-France region be without its majestic châteaux, estates and parks? To admire the richness and testimony of a place steeped in history, the Château de Versailles is offering you an exhibition dedicated to "Bernini's bust of Louis XIV - The genius of majesty", available until 28 September 2025. With 8.2 million visitors in 2023 according to a Statista survey, the Château de Versailles is one of the most visited monuments in France. This unique exhibition is the perfect way to discover Versailles and its masterpieces in a whole new way. Held in the flat of the Dauphine, this exhibition will also be the perfect opportunity to admire the restoration work under way in the Salon de Diane. The exhibition is open to the general public, but must be booked in advance. Access is via entrance A to the château.

It's on !

A diversion to the Musée Carnavalet for the exhibition ‘Le Paris d'Agnès Varda, de-ci, de-là’. This famous Belgian photographer and film-maker's exhibition shows Agnès Varda in a different light. With 130 prints, many of them previously unpublished, and extracts from films made entirely or partly in Paris, discover the City of Light and Agnès Varda's close ties with the capital. With a quirky, humorous angle and a certain singularity, the artist's photographs and films reveal a changing vision of the streets and inhabitants of the capital. Divided into two parts, the exhibition begins in the courtyard-atelier, where Varda had set up a photo studio. The immersion continues in the second part, which focuses on a series of photographs. Located in the heart of the 4ᵉ arrondissement, it is a brief space of time that opens up to you, tracing a Paris frozen under Varda's lens.

Not your region ? Don't panic, you can find all our articles on the various cultural events on offer throughout France on our online platform !