Europe's largest Asian quarter sits in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, and it keeps calling to mind its vibrant presence every autumn. Until September 26, 2026, the Mairie du 13e is hosting the Moon Festival with a fortnight-long cultural program that is entirely free, imagined in collaboration with local associations and international artists.
Everyone knows the Chinese New Year and its parades in the Choisy triangle. The Moon Festival, the second most important celebration for Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese communities, remains decidedly more low-key. Yet it is the one that gives the neighborhood its warmest atmosphere.
We know this stretch of Paris well, from Place d’Italie to Avenue de Choisy and Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui. Every year at the same time, the mood changes: shop windows fill with mooncakes and the city hall’s banquet hall turns into a stage. Here’s what to expect this year.
The festivities run from September 14 to 26, 2026, a full two weeks. The date is no accident: the Moon Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest of the year.
Everything centers mainly on the 13th arrondissement town hall, on Place d'Italie, between Galerie Athéna and the community hall. One exception, and not the least: the RICE market, which will take over Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui and the Italie Deux shopping center on Saturday, September 19.
Behind the Mid-Autumn Festival, a myth dating back more than a thousand years hides a legend. The archer Hou Yi saves the people from ten suns by making the lands fertile; the celestial empress grants him an elixir of immortality, which his wife Chang'e ends up swallowing before she soars to the moon.
Since then, Chang'e has made that place her home, with only a rabbit for company as it grinds the elixir beneath a cinnamon tree. An inconsolable Hou Yi believes he can glimpse his beloved’s face in the moon and he gazes at it each night. A tale of love stretched across the distance, told to children to this day.
The festival takes on different meanings around the world. In China, it honors family ties and reunions. In Vietnam, it is mostly a celebration for children. In Korea, it marks the harvest. In Japan, people savor Tsukimi dango—small rice balls. Everywhere, mooncakes remain the dessert of the main feast.
This is the event that draws the biggest crowd, and for good reason: the Rice Market will turn a stretch of Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui into a gourmet avenue for eleven consecutive hours on Saturday, September 19, 2026.
This year, the market is growing thanks to an unprecedented partnership with the Italie Deux shopping center, which hosts part of the stalls. A welcome breathing space as the crowd swells in the late afternoon—a tip we’re happy to offer to families with strollers.
We have a soft spot for the September 23 literary evening. Bringing together Grace Ly, Doan Bui, and Tash Aw on a single stage to discuss family lineages and inheritances—this is exactly the kind of encounter you’d expect to pay to attend at a festival, and it’s happening here for free in the town hall’s community hall.
A special nod was also given to the tribute to Dr. Yersin, a revered figure in Vietnam who remains mostly unknown to the French public. The 13th arrondissement has even named one of its squares after him, just a stone's throw from the Salpêtrière. A neighborhood anecdote that takes on real meaning that evening.
The 13th District Town Hall sits at Place d'Italie, accessible via metro lines 5, 6, and 7. For the RICE Market, Corvisart station (line 6) is often the more comfortable choice, since the boulevard entrance on the Place d'Italie side tends to fill up. All events are free, but concerts and performances are subject to available seating: it’s best to arrive about thirty minutes early for the stand‑up on the 25th and the concert on the 26th.
The full details of the schedule are on the dedicated page of the Mairie du 13e, and the official program in PDF can be downloaded with a click. Once the evening winds down, avenue de Choisy and avenue d'Ivry pick up the pace with their late‑opening restaurants vietnamiens, and Butte-aux-Cailles is just a ten‑minute walk from Corvisart for a final drink.
The program works for almost everyone, which is quite rare. Families will find plenty to enjoy at the RICE market by day, music lovers can indulge at the recital on the 21st and the concert on the 26th, and readers can head to the evening on the 23rd. Heritage enthusiasts, for their part, have a date on the 22nd centered around Alexandre Yersin.
Two caveats, though. Saturday the 19th is very busy, and those who are sensitive to crowds would do well to target early afternoon. As for the evening events in the community hall, there are no reservations: access is first-come, first-served until capacity is reached.
If you’re still in the mood to stretch the evening, the Moon Festival 2026 at Jardin Yili offers a Chinese-style nocturnal night in a garden in the Yvelines, in a completely different setting. And to explore the arrondissement beyond the fortnight, our guide Que faire dans le 13e arrondissement rounds up the visits, strolls, and top addresses in the district.
Our guide Moon Festival in Paris: the best tips for the Mid-Autumn Festival brings together the season’s other events in the capital, and all the announcements are gathered on our page Moon Festival in Paris.
Dates and Opening Time
From September 14, 2026 to September 26, 2026
Location
XIII Town Hall
1, place d'Italie
75013 Paris 13
Route planner
Prices
Free
Recommended age
For all
Official website
mairie13.paris.fr
