Still unsure which region?
A few questions, under three minutes, and a French destination that matches what appeals to you.
In 2027, the big sports events in France are the Six Nations rugby in February, the table tennis World Cup in Montpellier in spring, Roland-Garros from late May, the Monaco Grand Prix on the Riviera and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, the Tour de France in July, and the cycling World Championships in the Alps at the turn of September, with Ligue 1 football all season long.
If you love sport and want to see the country too, build the trip around the dates. In this article I give you the calendar, how to plan a trip around each event, and how to get official tickets.
Table Of Contents
- Sports events in France: dates at a glance
- Six Nations rugby in Paris
- Table tennis in Montpellier
- Roland-Garros (French Open) in Paris
- Monaco Grand Prix (Formula 1)
- 24 Hours of Le Mans
- Tour de France: where to watch a stage
- UCI Cycling World Championships in the Alps
- Football in France: Ligue 1 and the Champions League
- Can you combine Roland-Garros, Monaco and Le Mans in one trip?
- How to buy official tickets (and avoid fake ones)
- Already have a ticket? Plan the trip around it
- Sports travel package or tailor-made trip?
- Watch a match in a bar, like the locals
- Travelling with someone who doesn’t like sport?
- Other sports events worth planning around
- Big sports events in France from 2028 to 2031
Sports events in France: dates at a glance
| Event | 2027 dates | City | Ticket sale opens | Price from | Official site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Six Nations rugby (France home matches) | 6 Feb (v Wales), 21 Feb (v Scotland) | Saint-Denis, next to Paris | Not yet (sign up for an alert) | Not announced yet | billetterie.ffr.fr |
| ITTF Singles World Cup (table tennis) | 29 Mar to 4 Apr | Montpellier | Not yet (sign up on the federation’s site) | Not announced yet | fftt.com |
| Roland-Garros | 17 May to 6 Jun (finals 5 and 6 Jun) | Paris | Free draw: register 3 to 17 Dec 2026 | Not announced yet | tickets.rolandgarros.com |
| Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix | 3 to 6 Jun (race 6 Jun) | Monaco | Open | €200 on race day (standing) | monaco-grandprix.com |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | 9 to 13 Jun (race 12 and 13 Jun) | Le Mans | Open | €20 (test and practice days), €56 (race) | 24h-lemans.com |
| Tour de France | 2 to 25 Jul (in France from 6 Jul) | All over France, finish in Paris | No ticket | Free (roadside) | letour.fr |
| UCI Cycling World Championships | 24 Aug to 5 Sep (road races 29 Aug and 5 Sep) | Annecy and Mont-Blanc (track near Paris) | Not yet (newsletter on the official site) | Free for most events | hautesavoie2027.com |
| WTT Champions (table tennis) | 2 to 7 Nov | France, city not announced yet (Montpellier since 2024) | Not yet | Not announced yet | ittf.com calendar |
| Football: Ligue 1 and Champions League | Aug 2026 to end of May 2027 | Paris, Marseille, Lyon and more | Match by match, on the club’s site | From €19 at Marseille, depends on the match | PSG, OM, OL |
Six Nations rugby in Paris
When? The Six Nations is Europe’s big rugby tournament, played every winter between six countries. In 2027, France has two home matches: Wales on Saturday 6 February, the opening weekend, and Scotland on Sunday 21 February.
Where? At the Stade de France, the national stadium in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, less than ten minutes by RER, the suburban train, from Gare du Nord or Châtelet, in the city centre.
How to plan around it and what to do? I see three ways to do it:
- A long weekend in Paris. Arrive on Friday, watch the match on Saturday, and keep Sunday for a museum or a day trip. Stay near Châtelet or Gare du Nord, on the train line to the stadium: after the final whistle, it is a short ride back once the crowds at the station thin out.
- Both matches, with a trip in between. The two weeks between Wales and Scotland leave time for the Riviera or the Alps. They fall in the French winter school holidays, the busiest time of the year in the ski resorts, so book early if you want to ski.
- The women’s matches, in spring. France’s women play at home in Auxerre, in Burgundy, on 24 April, and in Metz, in eastern France, on 8 May.
Official site: billetterie.ffr.fr, the French Rugby Federation’s ticket office; the Stade de France sells tickets too.
When to book: Tickets first, on the official site, as soon as the sale opens. It had not opened in early November 2026, but both sites let you sign up for an alert. Once you have your tickets, we book the hotel and plan the days around the match.
Price: Not announced yet: prices come out when the sale opens.
Table tennis in Montpellier
When? The big one is the ITTF Singles World Cup, run by the sport’s world federation, from 29 March to 4 April 2027. It is one of the three biggest titles in the sport, and for the first time in France the men’s and women’s tournaments are played together.
France also hosts a WTT Champions tournament, part of the professional world tour, from 2 to 7 November 2027, in a city not announced yet (Montpellier every year since 2024).
Where? At the Sud de France Arena in Pérols, on the edge of Montpellier, two minutes from the airport; tram line 3 runs there from the city centre. Montpellier is the home town of Félix Lebrun, one of France’s two table tennis star brothers, so expect a loud crowd.
How to plan around it and what to do? Two ways to build the trip:
- A few days in Montpellier. The old town is walkable, full of squares and café terraces. Stay near a stop on tram line 3, and you can go back to rest between sessions.
- A week in the south of France. Add the Pont du Gard, the Roman aqueduct, Nîmes and its Roman arena, or the Camargue, the wetlands of white horses and flamingos. The World Cup starts on Easter Monday, at the end of a long weekend when many French families travel, so book the hotel early.
Official site: the French Table Tennis Federation’s World Cup page, the organiser.
When to book: Tickets first, on the official site, as soon as the sale opens. It had not opened in early November 2026, but the federation has a form to warn you. Once your seats are booked, leave the hotel and the days around the matches to us.
Price: Not announced yet: prices come out when the sale opens.
Roland-Garros (French Open) in Paris
When? From 17 May to 6 June 2027. After a week of qualifying, the main tournament starts on Sunday 23 May, and the men’s final is on Sunday 6 June.
Where? At the Stade Roland-Garros, on the western edge of Paris, by the Bois de Boulogne park, a few minutes’ walk from metro lines 9 and 10.
How to plan around it and what to do? It depends on what you want to see:
- Opening Week, the qualifying. Players fighting for a place in the main tournament, and the stars practising a few metres from you. A good choice if the main tournament is sold out for your dates.
- The first week of the main tournament. The most matches on the most courts: with a ticket for the outside courts, the smaller courts around the stadium, you walk from one match to the next all day. Keep a free day or two for Paris, then carry on to Monaco (see the itineraries below).
- The final weekend. The hardest tickets to get, and the men’s final falls on the same day as the Monaco race, so you will have to choose.
Hotels around the stadium, in west Paris and neighbouring Boulogne-Billancourt, fill early; anywhere along metro lines 9 or 10 works just as well.
Official site: tickets.rolandgarros.com, the only official ticket office for single tickets.
When to book: Tickets first, on the official site only. Single tickets go through a free draw: register between 3 and 17 December 2026, and if you are drawn, you get an email inviting you to buy. Tickets for Opening Week and the outside courts of the second week then go on open sale on 30 March 2027. Book your hotel the day you get your tickets; that part, and the rest of your week in France, we take care of.
Price: Not announced yet for 2027. In 2025, a quarter of all tickets cost less than €30.
Monaco Grand Prix (Formula 1)
When? From 3 to 6 June 2027, with the race on Sunday 6 June. The Formula 1 cars first go out on the Friday (Thursday is for the junior categories), and 2027 is a sprint weekend, with a short extra race on the Saturday.
Where? In the streets of Monaco, its own small country on the French Riviera. Most visitors come from Nice: direct trains run along the coast all day and take about 25 minutes.
How to plan around it and what to do? Three ways to do it:
- The race weekend. Friday to Sunday, with the train to the circuit every morning. Hotels in Monaco fill first and cost the most, so Nice, or a smaller town on the same line such as Menton or Villefranche-sur-Mer, is the easier base: see where to stay on the Riviera without a car.
- A week on the Riviera. Add a few days of day trips from Nice: the old town, Èze, a village perched above the sea, Antibes on the coast or Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a walled hill village, then watch the race at the end of the week.
- Monaco, then Le Mans. Le Mans race week starts three days later: carry on north through the Loire Valley (see the itineraries below).
Official site: monaco-grandprix.com, the ticket office of the Automobile Club de Monaco, which organises the race.
When to book: Now. The sale is open, and in early November 2026 the weekend passes were already sold out, so buy single days on the official site without waiting. Then the hotel, because the Riviera fills up for race weekend; we take care of that, and of the days before and after.
Price: On race day, a standing place on the Rocher, the slope below Monaco’s old town, costs €200, and a grandstand seat starts at €800. Friday starts at €50 on the Rocher.
24 Hours of Le Mans
When? Race week runs from 9 to 13 June 2027, with practice and qualifying in the first days. The race itself starts on Saturday 12 June at 4 pm and finishes 24 hours later, on the Sunday afternoon.
Where? At the Circuit des 24 Heures, on the southern edge of Le Mans, in western France, under an hour from Paris by high-speed train.
How to plan around it and what to do? Two ways to do it:
- Just the race. Arrive on Saturday, watch the start, stay as late into the night as you like, and see the finish on Sunday. A hotel in Le Mans is easiest but fills very early; the other classic is the organiser’s own campsites at the circuit, where the night is part of the legend.
- The race and the Loire Valley. Stay around Tours, a city on the Loire a little over an hour away by road, and spend the days before the race on the châteaux and vineyards. On race day, a private driver takes you to the circuit and back whenever you want. Coming from the Monaco Grand Prix? See the itineraries below.
Official site: 24h-lemans.com, run by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which organises the race.
When to book: Now. The general sale opened on 6 November 2026, so buy your tickets on the official site straight away. Then the hotel, the same day if you can, because rooms in and around Le Mans go fast for race week. The hotel, the driver and the rest of your week in France: that is our job.
Price: A ticket for the test day or a practice day starts at €20, and a race ticket at €56; the general admission pass for the whole race week costs €126. Grandstand seats, campsites and car parks come on top.
Tour de France: where to watch a stage
When? From 2 to 25 July 2027. The first three stages are in Britain, starting in Edinburgh, and the race arrives in France on 6 July.
Where? All around the country: Normandy and Brittany first, then the Loire Valley, the Massif Central and the Jura, the Alps, the south and the Pyrenees, before the finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
How to plan around it and what to do? Pick one or two stages and build the trip around them. The ones I would choose:
- The time trial in the Loire Valley, on 9 July. From Blois, a château town on the Loire, to the château of Chambord, the riders set off one by one, so you see each of them go past, in the middle of the châteaux.
- The Alps, on 13 and 14 July. Two mountain stages around Annecy and Mont-Blanc, the second on Bastille Day, France’s national holiday. The climbs are the best place to watch: the riders go slower, and you see them for longer.
- The Pyrenees, on 22 July. The finish at the top of the Col du Portet, a mountain pass and the highest point of the 2027 race.
- The finish in Paris, on 25 July. The last stage ends on the Champs-Élysées.
For a roadside stage, sleep in or near the stage town the night before and find your spot early. July is high season, in the Alps and by the lakes especially, so the hotel is what you book first; our guide to France in July covers the weather and where to go that month.
Official site: letour.fr, with the full route and every stage.
When to book: There is no ticket for the roadside, so the hotel comes first: the route is out, so you can choose your stage and book now. We take care of the hotel near the stage and the rest of your trip around it.
Price: Free. Watching from the roadside costs nothing.
UCI Cycling World Championships in the Alps
When? From 24 August to 5 September 2027. For the first time in France, all the cycling world championships are held together: road, mountain bike, BMX, gravel, track and more. The highlights are the elite road races, the men’s on Sunday 29 August and the women’s on the closing day.
Where? In Haute-Savoie, in the French Alps between Lake Annecy and Mont-Blanc: road races in Sallanches, facing Mont-Blanc, time trials around Lake Annecy, mountain bike races in the resort of Les Gets. Track cycling is the exception, near Paris, in the velodrome of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
How to plan around it and what to do? Three ways to do it:
- A road race weekend. Pick the men’s or the women’s race, stay in the Mont-Blanc valley and find your spot on the climb early. The next day, take a cable car up to the glaciers above Chamonix.
- A week between the lake and the mountains. Stay in Annecy, swim or take a boat on the lake, and go to the events you like. The first week is the end of the French summer holidays; the Alps get calmer once school starts in September.
- Paris and the track. The elite track races are in the last days of August, near Versailles, easy to combine with a stay in Paris.
The organisers expect two million spectators, so book the hotel first, in Annecy or the Mont-Blanc valley depending on your events.
Official site: hautesavoie2027.com, the organising committee’s site.
When to book: Ticketing details are not out yet: sign up for the official newsletter to know when. The hotel can be booked now, and should be: we find it for you, in the right valley, and plan the rest of the trip around the races.
Price: Free for most events: the organisers have announced free tickets for nine events in ten. The others’ prices are not out yet.
Football in France: Ligue 1 and the Champions League
When? Ligue 1, France’s top football (soccer) league, runs from August to the end of May, with a break over Christmas and New Year; Champions League matches are played midweek on top. The calendar comes out in June, but each match’s day and kick-off are confirmed closer to the date. Two big games are already set for 2027: Marseille against Lyon on Sunday 21 March, and Lyon against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday 9 May.
Where? The three clubs I would pick for a trip: Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, in west Paris; Olympique de Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome, famous for its atmosphere; and Olympique Lyonnais at its stadium on the eastern edge of Lyon.
How to plan around it and what to do? Choose the city first, then the match:
- Paris. The easiest to combine with a first trip to France, but the hardest ticket: most seats go to season-ticket holders and club members, so the public sale is small and goes fast.
- Marseille. A match at the Vélodrome is an experience in itself, even if you do not follow football. Add a few days in Provence or along the coast: the calanques, the rocky inlets east of the city, and the hill villages inland.
- Lyon. A city famous for its food, and a lovely city to walk. Stay in the centre, between the two rivers, and spend the day before the match in the old town and its restaurants.
Evening kick-offs finish late: a private driver back to your hotel saves you the crowd at the station.
Keep a free day on either side of the match
The league confirms each match’s exact day and kick-off closer to the date, and even the big games already set for 2027 are announced subject to change. Keep the day before and the day after the match free in your plans, and choose trains and flights you can still change until the date is final.
Official site: each club sells its own tickets: billetterie.psg.fr, billetterie.om.fr and billetterie.ol.fr.
When to book: Tickets first, on the club’s site, as soon as the sale opens for your match: club members often get first access, then the public. Tell us your dates and we check which matches fall in them; once you have your seats, we book the hotel and plan the rest.
Price: Set by each club, match by match. At Marseille, a league match starts at €19 in the 2026-27 season, and the big games cost far more.
Can you combine Roland-Garros, Monaco and Le Mans in one trip?
Yes. From late May to mid-June 2027, the three follow each other a few days apart, with one catch: the Monaco race and the Roland-Garros men’s final fall on the same day, so you pick one. Here are two trips that work. For the weather and the other events that month, see our guide to France in June.
Paris and the Riviera: Roland-Garros, then Monaco
The trip for tennis and Formula 1 fans: the first week of Roland-Garros in Paris, a week on the Riviera, then the Monaco Grand Prix to finish. About two weeks, from late May to early June 2027.
| Days | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 23 to 26 May | Paris | Two days at Roland-Garros, in the first week of the main draw; the other days for Paris |
| 27 May | Paris to Nice | The train south: plan the whole day (how train travel in France works) |
| 27 May to 2 June | Nice and the Riviera | The old town of Nice, Èze above the sea, Antibes, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and time on the beach |
| 3 to 6 June | Nice and Monaco | The Grand Prix weekend: practice on Friday, the sprint and qualifying on Saturday, the race on Sunday 6 June |
| 7 June | Nice | Flight home from Nice airport |
In Paris, stay along metro line 9 or 10, the lines to the stadium. On the Riviera, keep one hotel in Nice for the whole stay: you unpack once, and on race days the train takes you to Monaco in about 25 minutes. We book the hotels and the train and plan the Riviera days with you; you buy your Roland-Garros and Monaco tickets on the official sites.
A shorter variant: take the second week of Roland-Garros instead, up to the quarter-finals on 1 and 2 June, then the train to Nice and straight into the Grand Prix weekend.
Want the Riviera week already planned?
Start from the Nice-based trip: one hotel in Nice for the whole stay, with Èze, Monaco and Antibes by train or bus, no car needed. We adapt it to your Roland-Garros and Grand Prix dates, around the tickets you buy on the official sites.
Monaco, the Loire Valley and Le Mans
Two of the great motor races of the year, a week apart: the Monaco Grand Prix, then the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the châteaux of the Loire Valley in between. Just under two weeks, in early and mid-June 2027.
| Days | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 6 June | Nice and Monaco | The Grand Prix weekend, with the race on Sunday 6 June |
| 7 June | Nice to Paris | The train north, most of the day, and a night in Paris |
| 8 to 11 June | The Loire Valley, around Tours | Châteaux and vineyards, about an hour from Paris by train, while Le Mans race week begins with practice and qualifying |
| 12 and 13 June | Le Mans | The race: the start on Saturday at 4 pm, the finish on Sunday afternoon |
| 14 June | Paris | The train back to Paris and your flight home |
For the race itself, you have two options:
- Stay in the Loire, with a driver on race day. Keep your hotel near Tours, a little over an hour from the circuit by road. A private driver takes you to the start, brings you back for the night whenever you want, and takes you again for the finish, without the traffic or the parking.
- Move to Le Mans for the race. The train from Tours takes about an hour. A hotel in Le Mans, or a night at the circuit’s own campsites, keeps you close to the track all night; it is the first thing to book, because Le Mans fills before anywhere else.
Either way, we book the hotels, the trains and the driver, and plan the Loire days with you, starting from the Loire Valley châteaux trip in 5 days if you like; you buy your race tickets on the official site.
How to buy official tickets (and avoid fake ones)
My rule is simple: buy your tickets from the organiser, on the official site given for each event in this article, and nowhere else.
Each of these events has one official ticket office, sometimes with a few approved partners that the organiser names on its own site, such as the hospitality agencies of Roland-Garros. Before the official sale opens, nobody can sell you a ticket: in September 2026, Roland-Garros warned that any 2027 ticket already on offer was a scam. Fake sites copy the look of the real ones, so check the web address before you pay.
Some organisers also run an official resale platform, where fans who can no longer go resell their tickets.
You buy yours on the official site, with no risk of a ticket refused at the gate, and we build the trip around it.
Sign up for the official ticket alerts now
Several 2027 sales have not opened yet, but each organiser lets you hear first: an alert on the French Rugby Federation’s ticket office for the Six Nations, a form on the table tennis federation’s site for the World Cup, and the newsletter of the cycling World Championships. For Roland-Garros, registration for the free ticket draw is open from 3 to 17 December 2026 only. Monaco and Le Mans are already on sale.
Already have a ticket? Plan the trip around it
Then we start from it. Tell us the event, your dates and the ticket you hold, and we build everything else around it:
- The rest of the week: what to see before and after the event, at your pace, with the trains between regions booked.
- The hotel: close to the venue when it matters, or a calmer base with an easy way in, booked as soon as you have your ticket.
- Private transfers on event days: a driver to the gate and back whenever you want to leave, even in the middle of the night at Le Mans or after a late kick-off.
- Restaurants: we choose the tables with you and book them in your name; you pay for the meals on the spot.
- A direct line for your whole stay: if a train is cancelled or a booking needs moving, you call us and we sort it out.
Sports travel package or tailor-made trip?
The organisers sell their own packages, and they are good at what they cover: the event itself.
- What the official offers cover. Roland-Garros Travel, the travel agency set up by the French Tennis Federation, sells a match ticket with at least one hotel night, with options such as transfers between the hotel and the stadium. In Monaco, the Automobile Club sells its own VIP boxes overlooking the track. At Le Mans, the organiser’s VIP packages range from a grandstand seat with a terrace and catering to paddock access and a helicopter flight over the circuit.
- What they leave out. The rest of the week. The Monaco and Le Mans packages include no hotel. Roland-Garros Travel adds a Paris visit or a meal as options, but none plans the rest of your week or takes you from Paris to the Riviera or from Monaco to the Loire. On race day at Le Mans, getting to the circuit and back is up to you.
- What we do. Everything else: the hotels, the trains, a private driver on event days, the restaurant tables and a direct line during your stay. You buy your ticket, or the organiser’s own package, on the official site, and we build the trip around it.
Have an event in mind? Tell us your dates
Tell us the event, your dates and how you like to travel. We book the hotels, the trains and a private driver on event days, and plan the rest of your week in France around the match or the race.
Watch a match in a bar, like the locals
You do not need a ticket to feel the atmosphere. If you are in France on a Six Nations weekend, or on a big football night, watch the match in a bar with the locals: it is often the most memorable evening of the trip. We find the right bar for you when we plan your trip.
Travelling with someone who doesn’t like sport?
Two ways to make it work for both of you:
- Bring them along anyway. A big event in a foreign country is more than the match: the crowd, the city on match day, the atmosphere. Many people who do not follow the sport still enjoy it.
- Plan their own day. While you are at the match or the race, we organise something else for them, so that each of you enjoys the day and discovers the country at your own pace.
Other sports events worth planning around
A few more dates worth knowing, if your trip falls at the right time:
| Event | When | Where | Official site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Marathon | Sunday 4 April 2027 | Paris | asicsmarathondeparis.com |
| MotoGP French Grand Prix | 14 to 16 May 2027 | Le Mans | gpfrancemoto.com |
| Coupe de France final (France’s national football cup) | Saturday 15 May 2027 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, the usual home of the final | fff.fr |
| Top 14 final (France’s top rugby union championship) | Saturday 26 June 2027 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | lnr.fr |
| Marathon du Médoc | Saturday 4 September 2027 | Pauillac, in the Bordeaux vineyards | marathondumedoc.com |
| Rolex Paris Masters (tennis) | Early November 2027 (exact dates to come) | Paris La Défense Arena, in Nanterre, west of Paris | rolexparismasters.com |
Watching both marathons is free, from the roadside. To run them, Paris gives its places by draw: the 2027 draw is closed, but the official resale of race numbers opens on 1 December 2026. The Médoc opens its entries in March 2027, at €110.
Big sports events in France from 2028 to 2031
| Year | Event | Dates | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2028 | Ice Hockey World Championship (men) | 12 to 28 May | Paris and Lyon |
| 2029 | World Handball Championship (men), co-hosted with Germany | Mid-January to early February, dates to be confirmed | Strasbourg, Lyon and Paris, with the final round in Paris; Germany hosts the rest |
| 2030 | Winter Olympic Games, then Paralympic Games | Olympics 1 to 17 February, Paralympics 1 to 10 March | French Alps (Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Hautes-Alpes) and Lyon for the ice sports |
| 2030 | European Handball Championship (women), co-hosted with Belgium | Late November to mid-December, dates to be confirmed | Paris, Nantes and Dunkirk, and Antwerp in Belgium |
| 2031 | Basketball World Cup (men) | 29 August to 14 September | Lille, Lyon, and Paris for the final phase |
