Post by Jenny Bailey

With summer in full swing, there’s still time to make the most of the open-air activities going on throughout the capital. While this may be the month that many Parisians pack up and escape the city, one thing’s for sure – August in Paris is anything but empty.

While you can still catch the likes of Paris Plages and the Parc de la Villette’s open-air cinema in the city this month, here are some more reasons to stay in Paris come Août – that are not to be missed…

1-25 August

(Except 3, 4, 10, 11 August) – Festival Scènes d’été

Culture vultures will enjoy this varied dance festival, which continues this month at Paris’s Parc de la Villette nord. Featuring a range of performances and workshops (many of which are free) across all the different genres and cultures of dance from the Argentinian Tango to Brazil’s Capoeira, there’s plenty to choose from. If you’re not much of a dancer, there’s other activities to keep you entertained from the likes of kite making to papier mâché classes and even cooking lessons! For more details and to view the schedule, check out the site here.

9-11 August – Nuits Des Étioles

The nuits des étoiles, or ‘night of the stars’ en Anglais, is an annual French festival dedicated to telling the ‘story of the skies’ through different events including children’s performances. The Paris celebration is held at the Montparnasse Tower (Tour Montparnasse), the city’s tallest skyscraper and takes place on the 56th floor from 9pm-midnight.

If that’s too late for the little ones, there’s a children’s version on from 2-5pm throughout the three-day event. While the performances and animations are completely gratis, there’s a charge to enter the venue. Adults cost €13.50, students are €10.50 and children are €8. To find out more, have a look on the website.

23-25 August – Festival Rock En Seine

Held every year in Paris’s Domaine National de Saint-Cloud park in the west of the city, Festival Rock En Seine is one of the capital’s largest music festivals and attracts hundreds of thousands of music fans to the grounds each year. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the three-day event with headliners including the likes of Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand, Nine Inch Nails, System of a Down, Alt-J and ASAP Rocky. For more information, you can view the full schedule here.

For a place to stay after these special events, have a look at the offers from Holiday Discount Centre.