01Late May
Le Sentier des Arts
In late May, Douvres-la-Délivrande hands over its gardens, squares and courtyards to artists: an open-air trail, free and unticketed, followed on foot from one work to the next. Six kilometres from the campsite.
All season longfrom April to early November
Côte de Nacre · Calvados
DiscoverThe eventsWhat brings the Côte de Nacre to life, minutes from the campsite
Free concerts on the seafront, a raft race at the foot of the pier, parades on 15 August, pre-war machines on the sand and Halloween evenings: the Normandy season is livelier than you might think.
From the village fair to the big summer stage, the Côte de Nacre lives to the rhythm of its events all season long — and nearly all of them are less than a quarter of an hour from the campsite, often within walking or cycling distance. This page brings together those that come back every year, month by month, with their distance from Luc-sur-Mer. The three we cover on their own page are the ones people book a stay for: the Tribute Fest in late June, the Normandy Beach Race in September and Halloween week during the autumn half-term. For the rest of the region, everything starts at the campsite: our Normandy, fifty metres from Sword Beach.
On the map
The events around the campsite
Click a name to locate it: almost everything happens less than a quarter of an hour from Luc-sur-Mer, and a good part of it can be reached on foot or by bike. The markers show the town or the site of the event; the exact location is announced each year by the organisers.
The calendar
The events of the season
The events that come back every year on the Côte de Nacre and across the Calvados, in the order of the season, with their distance from the campsite. Exact dates are published by the organisers during the year: the periods given here are those observed from one edition to the next.
| Event | When | Distance | What you will see |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Sentier des Arts | Late May | 6 km | An open-air art trail through the gardens and squares of Douvres-la-Délivrande. |
| Jardifoliz | Late May | 8 km | More than twenty-five private gardens open to the public in Courseulles-sur-Mer, for one weekend. |
| D-Day Festival Normandy | Early June | 0 to 40 km | D-Day commemorations, parades of military vehicles, dances and concerts, from Ouistreham to Bayeux. |
| Les Grandes Mêlées d’Ornavik | Mid-June | 15 km | Medieval battles and Viking encampments at the Ornavik historical park, in Hérouville-Saint-Clair. |
| The whale rafts | Mid-June | On site | A fancy-dress parade and a race of home-made rafts, at the foot of the fishermen’s pier in Luc-sur-Mer. |
| Fête de la Musique | 21 June | On site | Concerts in the streets and along the seafront of Luc-sur-Mer, as everywhere in France. |
| The Tribute Fest | Last weekend in June | On foot | Two days of free open-air concerts on the seafront of Luc-sur-Mer. |
| Festival Beauregard | Early July | 15 km | The major contemporary music festival of the Calvados, in the grounds of the Château de Beauregard. |
| Bayeux Medieval Festival | Early July | 35 km | The town of the famous Tapestry travels back in time: medieval market, encampments, parades and street performances. |
| The Bernières-sur-Mer village festival | Around 14 July | 7 km | Four days of village festivities by the water: entertainment, workshops, concerts and fireworks. |
| Aubin Festival | Late July | 4 km | An evening of open-air music in the Parc Pillier, in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, with food trucks and a DJ set. |
| XSMOZ Festival | Early August | 4 km | A free day of festivities in Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, between the music stage and the beach entertainment. |
| The Acadian Week | Mid-August | 4 km | A week of concerts, commemorations and gatherings in tribute to the Acadian soldiers of Juno Beach. |
| The Sea Festival | 15 and 16 August | On site and 8 km | Procession, blessing of the sea, flower-decked boats and sea shanties in five towns of the Côte de Nacre. |
| The float parade | 15 August | 2 km | Decorated floats, costumes and a marching band in the streets of Langrune-sur-Mer, the neighbouring town. |
| The Sâoticot festival | Late August | 2 km | Street theatre, circus and dance in Langrune-sur-Mer, with pride of place given to local artists. |
| The Rétro Festival | Late August | 18 km | More than seven hundred classic cars and motorbikes at the Caen racecourse, and parades through the city. |
| La fête de la Baronnie | Mid-September | 6 km | Local produce market, costumed parade and evening show in the medieval grounds of Douvres-la-Délivrande. |
| The Normandy Beach Race | September | 10 km | Pre-1947 motorbikes and cars racing along the sand at Riva-Bella, in a 1940s atmosphere. |
| Les Équidays | Mid-October | 6 to 30 km | Five days devoted to horses across the Calvados: competitions, open days and first pony rides. |
| Halloween at the campsite | Autumn half-term holidays | On site | Pumpkins, trick-or-treating and a big fancy-dress evening to close the season. |
The highlights
Twenty events to experience
02Late May
Jardifoliz
In late May, for one weekend, more than twenty-five private gardens in Courseulles-sur-Mer open their gates to the public. Gardeners’ advice, cuttings to swap and improvised little tea rooms, eight kilometres away.
03Early June
D-Day Festival Normandy
In early June, the whole coast commemorates 6 June 1944: parades of period jeeps and trucks, 1940s dances, concerts, parachute drops and ceremonies, from Sword Beach to Utah Beach. The campsite is fifty metres from the first of these gatherings.
Discover
04Mid-June
Les Grandes Mêlées d’Ornavik
In mid-June, the Ornavik historical park in Hérouville-Saint-Clair replays the year 1000: Viking and Frankish encampments, craftsmen in costume and large-scale battles re-enacted in front of the public. A quarter of an hour’s drive away.
05Mid-June
The whale rafts
In mid-June, Luc-sur-Mer brings out its finest tradition: a fancy-dress parade, then a race of home-built craft launched from the beach at the foot of the fishermen’s pier. It is a ten-minute walk away, and it is free.
0621 June
Fête de la Musique
On 21 June, Luc-sur-Mer celebrates music as the whole of France does: impromptu stages in the streets, concerts on the seafront and lively terraces until late. A ten-minute walk from the campsite.
07Last weekend in June
The Tribute Fest
On the last weekend in June, two days of free concerts on the seafront: tribute bands play Nirvana, The Doors, AC/DC or Indochine, facing the Channel. The village’s own festival, a ten-minute walk from the campsite.
Discover
08Early July
Festival Beauregard
In early July, the grounds of the Château de Beauregard, in Hérouville-Saint-Clair, host the major contemporary music festival of the Calvados: four days, several stages and international headliners, a quarter of an hour from the campsite.
Discover
09Early July
The Bayeux Medieval Festival
In early July, the town of the famous Tapestry travels eight centuries back in time: a medieval market at the foot of the cathedral, encampments, jousting, costumed parades and street performances throughout the historic centre.
Discover
10Around 14 July
The Bernières-sur-Mer village festival
Around 14 July, the neighbouring town treats itself to four days of festivities by the water: children’s entertainment, workshops, concerts and fireworks above the beach. Seven kilometres away.
11Late July and early August
The Saint-Aubin festivals
Four kilometres away, the neighbouring resort holds two music events in a row: the Aubin Festival in the Parc Pillier in late July, then the XSMOZ Festival in the heart of the summer. Open-air stage, food trucks, free entry.
12Mid-August
The Acadian Week
In mid-August, some fifty events — concerts, evening gatherings, themed days and commemorations — honour the Acadian soldiers who landed on Juno Beach on 6 June 1944. The great closing tintamarre is worth the trip.
1315 and 16 August
The Sea Festival
Around 15 August, five towns of the Côte de Nacre celebrate their seafaring traditions: procession, open-air mass, trip out to sea and tribute to those lost at sea, flower-decked boats, sea shanties and a concert.
1415 August
The Langrune float parade
On 15 August, the neighbouring town — two kilometres, a stroll along the sea wall — brings out its decorated floats, its costumes and its marching band for a day of festivities that ends on the beach.
15Late August
The Sâoticot festival
In late August, Langrune-sur-Mer hands its streets and sea wall over to street theatre, circus and dance companies, with pride of place given to local artists. Two kilometres: you walk there along the promenade.
16Late August
The Rétro Festival in Caen
In late August, more than seven hundred classic cars and motorbikes gather at the La Prairie racecourse: concours d’élégance, auctions, parades through the city and a re-creation of the historic Caen circuit.
Discover
17Mid-September
La fête de la Baronnie
In mid-September, the Baronnie grounds in Douvres-la-Délivrande plunge back into the Middle Ages: local produce market, costumed parade, family entertainment all afternoon and a show after dark.
18September
The Normandy Beach Race
In September, the beach at Riva-Bella takes on the look of 1940s American racing: pre-1947 motorbikes and cars launched along two hundred metres of sand, vintage stalls and rock’n’roll concerts.
Discover
19Mid-October
Les Équidays
In mid-October, the whole Calvados turns to horses for five days: open days at the stud farms, competitions, shows and first pony rides. Several events less than half an hour from the campsite.
20Autumn half-term holidays
Halloween at the campsite
During the autumn half-term holidays, the village fills with pumpkins and lanterns: workshops, a contest for the most terrifying pumpkin, trick-or-treating along the lanes and a big fancy-dress evening.
DiscoverIllustration photographs: Pascal Radigue, Marie de Gouville, Gzen92, Gérald Garitan, Daniel Villafruela, Thomas Bresson, Laurent Nembrini / Ville de Bar-le-Duc, Marzio Candusso, Lothar Spurzem, Guywelch2000, Ellywa, Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis, Marc Roussel, Jonathan Hutchins, Nezdek — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY / CC BY-SA); Congrès mondial acadien, Government of New Brunswick (public domain).
Without leaving the village
At the campsite too, the party goes on
All season long
Evenings, shows and children’s clubs
The entertainment team keeps the village alive from April to early November: morning workouts, tournaments, workshops for children, clubs for teenagers, mini-disco, karaoke and evening shows. Nothing costs extra.
The bar and the restaurant keep the evenings going, and the beach is fifty metres away: many families end up staying in the village in the evening, even when a festival is on next door.
Choosing the right week
Event weekends book up early
A festival or a race on the coast fills the area’s accommodation several months ahead: that is true in late June for the Tribute Fest, around 15 August for the village fairs, in September for the Normandy Beach Race, and during the autumn half-term for Halloween week.
The campsite is open from 3 April to 1 November in 2026, and from 2 April to 31 October in 2027.
Frequently asked questions
The events, in practice
What are the main events near the La Capricieuse campsite?+
In Luc-sur-Mer itself: the whale rafts and the Fête de la Musique in June, the Tribute Fest on the last weekend in June, the sea festival in mid-August. Nearby: the D-Day Festival in early June, the Festival Beauregard and the Bayeux Medieval Festival in early July, the Saint-Aubin festivals in summer, the Rétro Festival in Caen in late August, the Normandy Beach Race in Ouistreham in September. And at the campsite, Halloween week during the autumn half-term.
Are there events within walking distance of the campsite?+
Yes, and that is one of the advantages of Luc-sur-Mer: the Tribute Fest, the whale rafts, the Fête de la Musique and the sea festival all take place in the village, about ten minutes’ walk away. The Langrune-sur-Mer float parade is two kilometres along the sea wall.
Do you need to book well in advance for a festival weekend?+
Yes. Accommodation on the Côte de Nacre fills up several months before the big events, particularly in late June, around 15 August and during the Normandy Beach Race weekend. Booking in winter or spring remains the safest option.
Does the campsite run its own entertainment?+
Yes, throughout the season and at no extra cost: clubs for children and teenagers, tournaments, morning workouts, workshops, mini-disco and evening shows, plus Halloween week during the autumn half-term.
Your base camp in Normandy
Five-star cottages, a heated water park and the beach fifty metres away, in Luc-sur-Mer.
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