Bastille, Opera Paris
Bastille, Opera Paris

For 10 days this November orchestral music will fill the streets, concert halls and town squares across France. Like most cultural events in this country, the unique, country-wide orchestra festival has Paris as its epicenter. From November 19th to 28th, the city of Paris will host 7 ‘Orchestras in Schools’ events, 8 separate concerts, and 13 ‘Discovering the Orchestra’ gatherings. The festival is deliberately unintimidating, and aims to include orchestral connoisseurs and those of us who have never had the pleasure of listening to a live orchestral composition.

Not only does the orchestra festival provide the opportunity to enjoy world-class musicians, often for free, it also offers the chance to explore the city of Paris through the diverse concert venues hosting festival events. For example, guests can catch a Beethoven concert at the famed Chatelet theatre in the 1st arrondissement on November 21st,  see the Orchestra de Paris perform Mozart in the stunningly renovated Salle Pleyel on the 23rd, and see the National Opera of Paris perform under the gilded dome of the famed Opera de Paris on the 19th. As a reminder, the Opera is located in the lovely 2nd arrondissement of Paris. It is truly a rare occasion when all of the city’s renowned concert halls join in celebrating a genre of music in all of its diverse offerings. The orchestra festival is a wonderful gift to the French public, and luckily visitors to the country are free to attend the internationally performed concerts and performances.

Opera, Garnier Paris
Opera, Garnier Paris
There are still Paris vacation rental accommodations available for the Orchestra Festival in late November. Below are a few choice apartments to feast our eyes on:

Have you been to the Orchestra Festival? Share your story about it below…. what is your favorite venue, act, musician?