Christmas 2026: practical information
Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption church (the lower church), Banon. Free admission.
- Opening ceremony
- Sunday 13 December 2026 at 11:00, during Mass. Reopens for visits from 14:00 to 17:00.
- Christmas holidays
- Daily from 19 to 24 December 2026, then from 26 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, 14:00–17:00.
- 25 December
- Special opening hours: 15:00–18:00.
- Evening openings
- Tuesdays 22 and 29 December 2026, 17:00–19:00.
- In January
- Saturdays and Sundays from 9 to 31 January 2027, 14:00–17:00.
Source: Alpes de Haute Provence Tourisme — Haute Provence Pays de Banon tourist office, listing updated on 20 October 2026. See also the Banon town council website.
Information checked on 30 October 2026. The photographs and report below show previous editions.
The Christmas nativity scene in Banon is one of the most beautiful in Provence and also one of the most popular, attracting well over ten thousand visitors each year. Television crews regularly come to film the santons in their impressive setting, assembled by a group of enthusiastic villagers. Covering 80 m² and rising to four metres, the square display allows visitors to walk all the way around it.
Many local buildings are recognisable: the medieval gateway, the shops and, at the top, the Église Haute crowning the hilltop village. More than 300 clothed santons bring the scene to life in colourful, cheerful depictions of old Provence: pétanque players, a greengrocer, workshops practising long-lost trades and, of course, the lavender distillery so characteristic of Haute Provence and the Banon area.
Banon is also a delightful hilltop village to explore, renowned for its goat's cheese wrapped in a chestnut leaf and for Le Bleuet, France's largest rural bookshop. Visit the village of Banon.
Photographs of Banon's Christmas nativity scene (2019): slideshow
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Provençal Christmas nativity scene in Banon, Haute Provence
Photographs of Banon's Christmas nativity scene in 2005
Getting to Banon in Haute Provence
GPS coordinates: N 44°02’17’’ – E 5°37’46’’
Continue exploring with my travel articles on the Guest Houses in Provence Portal: The Christmas nativity scene in Banon.