Event calendar for Quillan & Nearby (2026–2027)
April 2026
🏃 Trail Quillan – Trail des 3 Quilles
📍 Quillan
📆 25–26 April 2026 (confirmed) — multi-distance trail running event with routes from 11 km up to 44 km and a festive running atmosphere through the wild landscapes of the Pyrénées Audoises. It attracts over a thousand participants annually.
🔁 Annual recurring
May 2026
🚴 La Carach Bike
📍 Quillan
📆 May 2026 (traditional scheduling; date TBC) — a regional cross-country mountain bike competition featuring challenging off-road courses in the hills around Quillan.
🔁 Annual recurring
June 2026
🐄 Pays de Sault Transhumance
📍 Pays de Sault
📆 First weekend of June 2026 (typical recurrence) — celebration of the traditional seasonal movement of livestock from the lowlands to summer pastures, with ceremonies and cultural activities.
🔁 Annual recurring
⛰️ Festival de la Randonnée en Pyrénées Audoises
📍 Pyrénées Audoises
📆 Third weekend of June 2026 (traditional recurrence) — an annual festival of organised hikes exploring scenic local trails.
🔁 Annual recurring
🏁 Course de Côte de Quillan (Hill Climb)
📍 Quillan → Col du Portel
📆 June 2026 (Whitsun/Pentecost weekend; exact date TBC) — classic hill climb motorsport competition starting in Quillan and finishing at Col du Portel, drawing regional drivers and spectators.
🔁 Annual recurring
July 2026
🎸 Festival de Guitar / July Music Festival
📍 Quillan
📆 July 2026 (date TBC) — summer music festival showcasing guitar performances and musical acts in town venues and outdoor spaces.
🔁 Annual recurring
🎆 Lac de Puivert Fireworks & Summer Market
📍 Lac de Puivert
📆 Mid-July 2026 (traditionally the third Wednesday in July) — weekly lakeside market with crafts and food, capped by a fireworks display over the lake at dusk on a summer evening. Past years follow this mid-July pattern (e.g., mid-July 2025), so a similar 15 July 2026 estimate is likely.
(Note: the 2025 fireworks event was cancelled due to local decisions, but the tradition runs annually)
🔁 Annual recurring
August 2026
🚴 Critérium Cycliste International de Quillan
📍 Quillan
📆 15 August 2026 (Assumption Day) — historic one-day road cycling race through town streets, acclaimed as one of France’s oldest criterium races.
🔁 Annual recurring
🎉 Grandes Fêtes de Quillan
📍 Quillan
📆 Mid-August (approx. 13–17 August) — a lively multi-day town festival with music, communal eating, live entertainment, parades and social gatherings each summer.
🔁 Annual recurring
🌲 La Ronde des Sapins (Fir Tree Tour)
📍 Pays de Sault
📆 End of August 2026 (likely final weekend) — trail event through scenic forests and summit routes.
🔁 Annual recurring
September 2026
🥔 Plateau de Sault Potato Festival (La Fête de la Pomme de Terre)
📍 Pays de Sault
📆 Late August / September 2026 (exact date TBC) — harvest festival dedicated to the famed local potato crop, with food, demonstrations and family activities.
🔁 Annual recurring
🍷 Festival des Saveurs Pyrénées Audoises
📍 Quillan
📆 Early September 2026 (estimated weekend around 12–13 Sep) — annual gastronomic celebration with stalls, tastings and showcasing of local produce and cuisine.
🔁 Annual recurring
🚵 Ronde VTT des 3 Quilles
📍 Quillan
📆 Late September / Early October 2026 (2025 edition ran on 28 September) — mountain bike event over varying routes with support activities.
🔁 Annual recurring
December 2026
🎄 Quillan Christmas Market
📍 Quillan
📆 Mid-December 2026 (e.g., weekend of 11–12 Dec) — festive holiday market with artisan stalls, local products, seasonal food and community celebrations.
🔁 Annual recurring
January–March 2027
🎭 Carnaval de Limoux 2027
📍 Limoux (about 40 min from Quillan)
📆 Weekends from mid-January to Mardi Gras / early March 2027 — this is considered one of the longest carnivals in the world, rooted in 16th-century Occitan tradition. Celebrations take place nearly every weekend from January through March with multiple parades per day featuring bands (Fecos), masked figures (Goudils), music and street performances, concluding with the judgment and symbolic burning of Majesté Carnaval. Full 2027 dates are typically confirmed in late autumn/December but, based on 2026
