Major events

2017

Le Havre celebrates its 500th anniversary

From 27 May to 5 November, the UNESCO-listed City will celebrate its 500th anniversary in style. During the entire summer season, the whole of the city and its port will come alive with art installations, street parades, concerts and exhibitions. The highlights of the summer will be the return of the Royal De Luxe Company’s impressive giant mechanical marionettes for a unique show and the homecoming of Claude Monet’s masterpiece Impression, Sunrise which will return to the city where it was originally painted during a one-month exhibition at the MuMa (Modern Art Museum).

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Rendez-vous en France

Save the date! For the very first time, Normandy will host Atout France’s annual Trade Fair on 28 and 29 March. Over 1000 tour-operators from around the world will meet in Rouen, the region’s capital, to see everything Normandy has to offer and meet French tourism professionals. 23 “fam trips” will take place in Normandy before the trade show, helping professionals get to know the region better.

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All things Picasso in Rouen

In 1930, a fifty year-old Pablo Picasso bought the Château de Boisgeloup near the Norman town of Gisors and built his first sculpture studio there. From 1 April to 11 September, in an unprecedented move, three museums in Rouen will host exhibitions focusing on Picasso’s works completed during his time in Normandy. The Fine Arts and Ceramics Museums will collectively exhibit more than 200 drawings, paintings, photographs, engravings and sculptures, while the Le Secq des Tournelles Museum will explore Picasso's friendship with the Catalan sculptor Julio González in a third exhibition called Picasso and González: An iron friendship.

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2019

75^th anniversary of D-Day

The memory lives on… In 2019, all eyes will be on the D-Day Landing Beaches and the sites of the Battle of Normandy. The 75th Anniversary will be commemorated with numerous events and festivities such as parades, firework displays, airdrops and military camp re-enactments. A major date for your diaries.

Set sail for the Armada!

Celebrating its 30^th birthday, Rouen Armada promises to be bigger and better than ever when it returns to the banks of the river Seine in 2019. During this ten-day festival, the world’s largest and finest tall ships will line the quaysides, bringing together sailors and visitors from around the world. An event not to be missed.

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• And many more events in 2017 in Normandy