Les ÉquidaysFive free days devoted to the horse, during the autumn half-term
In mid-October, the Calvados department moves its equestrian village from town to town: more than a hundred free activities, parades through town centres, displays, first pony rides and open days at the studs.
The Calvados is one of the leading equestrian departments in France, and Les Équidays are its showcase: five days in mid-October, during the autumn half-term, with a travelling village that sets up in one town after another, parades, shows, meetings with breeders and activities for children. All of it is free. Camping La Capricieuse stays open until the autumn half-term: a chance for a late-season break by the sea, with a horse outing twenty minutes away.
The dates
Every year- Mid-Octoberfive days
- 5 townsa travelling village
- 100 activitiesacross the department
Les Équidays are organised by the Calvados department during the autumn half-term. The detailed programme, town by town, is published at the end of the summer.
Getting there
From the campsite- 6 to 30 kmdepending on the venue
- 20 minto Caen
- Carrecommended
The event travels: some stops are a few kilometres from Luc-sur-Mer, others require half an hour’s drive towards the Pays d’Auge or the Bessin. The annual programme lists the towns chosen.
Useful to know
Before you go- Freeall activities
- With childrenfirst pony rides
- Half-termright in the middle of the holidays
Admission is free at every site. Some very popular activities, such as first pony rides or stud visits, are run in time slots allocated on the day.
Les Équidays, seen from the campsite
An equestrian village that changes town
The whole point of Les Équidays is that they move: rather than one large fixed show, the department sets up an equestrian village in several towns in turn, with displays, shows, town-centre parades and meetings with professionals from the sector.
Dozens of local initiatives are added — breeding farms open days, guided rides, stud visits, exhibitions — spread across the whole of the Calvados during the five days.
A department of horses
Between the studs of the Pays d’Auge, the racecourses of Caen, Cabourg and Deauville and the riding centres along the coast, the horse is part of the Normandy landscape all year round. Les Équidays are the moment when the doors are opened.
From the campsite the day fills itself easily: one stop of Les Équidays in the morning, the beach or Bayeux in the afternoon. By the autumn half-term the Côte de Nacre has grown quiet again and the spring tides uncover kilometres of foreshore.
Open until the autumn half-term
The campsite stays open until the autumn half-term, with its heated water park: the period is quiet, rates are the lowest of the year and cottages are easier to book than in summer.
It is the week when Les Équidays and the campsite’s Halloween activities overlap: enough to fill an autumn family holiday without getting back in the car every day.
Frequently asked questions about Les Équidays
When do Les Équidays take place?+
Are Les Équidays free?+
Where do the activities take place?+
Is the campsite open during Les Équidays?+
Illustrative photograph: Jonathan Hutchins — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).
The other events
Le Sentier des Arts
Jardifoliz
D-Day Festival Normandy
Les Grandes Mêlées d’Ornavik
The Whale Rafts
The Tribute Fest
Festival Beauregard
Bayeux Medieval Festival
The XSMOZ Festival
The Acadian Week
The Sea Festival
The Langrune float parade
The Sâoticot festival
Rétro Festival in Caen
The Baronnie Festival
The Normandy Beach Race
Halloween at the campsite
All the events
Your base camp in Normandy
Five-star cottages, a heated water park and the beach fifty metres away, in Luc-sur-Mer.
Check availability