The major international science fiction festival, in Nantes: four days of literature, cinema, science and comics under one roof.
Source: utopiales.org, checked on 11 September 2026.
Updated: September 2026
Les Utopiales is not only a book fair. It is a multidisciplinary festival where SF novelists meet astrophysicists, illustrators, researchers and directors, with science lectures taken as seriously as the literary panels.
Each edition turns on a theme that shapes the programme. There is a very complete bookshop, exhibitions, screenings, a games area, and an audience that comes to listen as much as to buy.
It is the reference event for French-language science fiction, and one of the most important in Europe.
Log what you buy, your progress and the quotes you underline. Free, no account needed to start.
Start for freeThe festival is ticketed and the box office opens on the official website ahead of the event. Multi-day passes are available.
These are often the most in-demand rooms. Arrive early for the ones you really want.
Ten minutes on foot from Nantes station. The whole festival fits in one building, which is a relief after fairs scattered across a city.
Les Utopiales 2026 runs 29 Oct – 1 Nov 2026 at La Cité des Congrès de Nantes, Nantes.
At La Cité des Congrès de Nantes, Nantes.
No, it is ticketed: check prices and sales on the official website.
Yes. Tickets are sold online on the official website, with day tickets and multi-day passes.
No. The science programme, the exhibitions and the cinema draw a much wider audience than SF readers alone.