13 to 22 November in the Aisne: Tata is peeling you off the sofa two weekends running, whether you like it or not!

The practical recap

For those in a hurry, the skim-readers (yes, I can see you), here is my table:

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The weekend of 13 to 15 November, area by area

First weekend: Friday evening for shows, Saturday for tours and workshops, Sunday for rummaging. Here is where to go, depending on your corner of the Aisne.

Laon and around

Are you the sort who sets an alarm on a Sunday to hunt for a hidden treasure? Then this one is for you. The big date for bargain hunters is Sunday 15 November: the flea market run by the Poker Club Laonnois association fills the Halles in Laon, in the lower town, from 06:00 to 18:00. The tourist office announces 100 to 200 stallholders, a refreshment stand and food; the entry price is to be confirmed. If you enjoyed the autumn street sale on rue Eugène-Leduc, you already know you have to come early.

The same weekend, an indoor flea market takes place in Pinon, in the village hall, on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15, from 09:30 to 17:00 (€7 a table per day for sellers).

On Friday 13 at 18:00, the departmental archives in Laon host a history talk on Tavernier de Jonquières, who drew Laon's monuments (free). The same evening at 20:00, the Les Feuillets d'Hermione media library in Anizy-le-Grand stages a hip-hop "Puss in Boots" ("Chat botté") by the BVZK company, free, booking advised.

For exhibitions, it is the last weekend of "Maîtres et élèves à Laon" (masters and pupils) in the chapel of the Saint-Just cemetery (Saturday and Sunday from 14:00 to 18:00, free). For the rest of the programme, the page This weekend in Laon is updated as events are announced.

Saint-Quentin and around

My favourite idea this weekend? Touring a basilica by torchlight. Saint-Quentin is full of guided tours, all requiring booking with the tourist office:

• Friday 13 at 18:00: the Basilica by torchlight (1 hour, €6, concession €3, free under 18);
• Saturday 14 at 09:00: Nordic walking and heritage, 7 km, starting from the station buffet on place Baudez (€6, €3, free under 18);
• Saturday 14 at 10:30: the Art Deco station buffet (same prices);
• Sunday 15 at 14:00: the heights of the Basilica, 200 steps to climb, comfortable shoes recommended (€6, €3, free).

At the parc d'Isle, two free nature outings, booking on 03 23 05 06 50: a photo workshop on Saturday 14 from 14:30 to 16:30, and an animal-tracks walk on Sunday 15 from 10:30 to 11:30.

At the Antoine Lécuyer museum, the "From clay to object" workshop runs on Saturday 14 from 14:00 to 17:30 (€10, age 16 and over). On Sunday 15 at 15:00, the Butterfly Museum (musée des Papillons) offers a discovery tour (€4, from age 8, booking on 03 23 62 36 77).

Soissons and Villers-Cotterêts

In Soissons, on Friday 13 at 20:00, the Mail Comedy Club presents a stand-up line-up with the LE GRAM collective, 7 rue Jean de Dormans (€3 to €6).

At the Cité internationale de la langue française in Villers-Cotterêts, Saturday 14 is busy:

• 11:00: "Les langues de l'ailleurs" tour, on languages from elsewhere (€7.50 plus the admission ticket);
• 16:00: "L'heure des p'tiots", a session for little ones from age 3, free;
• 16:00: open rehearsal of "Tum Teav", a Cambodian Romeo and Juliet, salle Chêne, 1 hour, free with booking.

On Sunday 15 at 11:00, the guided tour "L'aventure du français" (the story of French) goes round the château (€7.50 plus the ticket, concession €6).

On Saturday 14 from 14:00 to 17:00, a health walk in the forêt de Retz leaves from the car park of Villers-Cotterêts station: free, with the association's annual membership.

Chauny, Tergnier and La Fère

On Friday 13, two venues have shows at 20:30:

• in Tergnier, "Panique tous courts" by the Temps Calme company, at the centre culturel François Mitterrand, 7 rue Marceau: from age 6, 45 minutes, €10, concession €5, free under 12;
• in Chauny, the Forum hosts a seated concert, "Jazz à la carte" (€12 to €18, child under 12 €6).

On Saturday 14 at 20:00, the La Mascara company performs "Postes à pouvoir" at the espace Drouot in La Fère.

Thiérache and Guise

The real treat in Guise: a free concert, in a theatre, without even booking. On Saturday 14 at 20:00, the Art musical de Guise, the town's wind band, gives its annual gala concert in the theatre of the Familistère. Entry is free and there is no booking. The programme mixes wind band works with film and cartoon music. For the day, the Familistère is open from 10:00 to 17:30 (closed on Mondays), with guided tours at 11:30 and 15:00; allow about 3 hours on site.

Château-Thierry and the south of the Aisne

On Sunday 15 at 16:00, the Palais des Rencontres hosts "Bestiaire, la faune musicale de Janequin à Ravel", a musical bestiary from Janequin to Ravel (€7 to €12, free under 12). The day before, from 15:00 to 17:00, a batucada drum band livens up the Grande Rue for the Samedis du commerce shopping Saturdays. And all weekend, the 63rd autumn show of the école du Val de Marne exhibits some fifty artists at the Silo U1, 53 rue Paul Doucet (Saturday and Sunday from 14:00 to 18:00, free).

Midweek, 16 to 20 November

On Monday you put away your flea market finds and wonder why you bought that third vase. But the week does not stop there: one outing an evening is possible, without driving miles.

• Monday 16, 15:00: "Le Tourbillon de la Fête", a musical show somewhere between guinguette, dance hall and Breton fest-noz, at the Forum in Chauny (€36).
• Tuesday 17, 17:30: Livr'zik in Tergnier, from age 3, free.
• Tuesday 17, 18:00: talk on "The world of Clovis", maison des associations, 30 boulevard Gambetta, Chauny (free).
• Tuesday 17, 20:30: "Les Grandes Absentes / Neiges Éternelles #2" in Laon, venue to be confirmed with the Maison des Arts et Loisirs on +33 3 23 22 86 86. An imagined meeting between Céline Dion and Mylène Farmer, built from fans' stories (1 hour, €12, concessions to be confirmed). The City of Laon and Department list different venues; please check with the Maison des Arts et Loisirs.
• Wednesday 18, 14:30: children's workshop at the Butterfly Museum in Saint-Quentin (€4).
• Wednesday 18, 15:00: origami workshop at the Laon media library, part of the Japan festival, ages 6 to 11, free with registration.
• Thursday 19, 20:00: Solann and Lauva at La Manufacture in Saint-Quentin (€20, €15 under 25, €10 members).
• Friday 20, 18:00: escape box inside the Basilica of Saint-Quentin, "Can you crack the secret of the Basilica?" (about 1 h 30, €10 per person, from age 8, 2 to 6 people, booking required with the tourist office).
• Friday 20, 20:30: two options. Renan Luce at the Tergnier cultural centre (€26, concession €12, free under 12, support act Baskets Paillettes), or the play "Le goût du bonheur" at the Forum in Chauny (€23 to €30, child €15).

And here is the small detail that will save you a wasted trip, you are welcome: the Pays de Laon tourist office is closed all day on Wednesday 18 November for stocktaking. No tours of the underground passages that day.

The weekend of 21 and 22 November

Second weekend, and a change of scale: six companies from three continents in Villers-Cotterêts, and a nine-day fair in Hirson.

French-speaking amateur theatre in Villers-Cotterêts

On Saturday 21 and Sunday 22, the international French-speaking amateur theatre festival (FITAF) brings six companies to the Cité internationale de la langue française, with three performances a day, at 11:00, 14:30 and 17:00:

• Saturday: "Les toilettes de l'entreprise" by Les Tricoteuses (Hem), "À la bonne heure du bonheur" (Quebec), "Les grandes marées" (Luxembourg);
• Sunday: "État sauvage" (Franco-Swiss company), "Après nous" (Charleroi), "Par amour" (Senegal).

A show costs €5, the six-show pass €15. On Sunday, meet the companies at 18:00, then the audience prize is awarded at 19:00 in the auditorium. On Sunday 22 at 11:00, the "L'aventure du français" tour runs again. And on Saturday 21 at 11:00, the "Rire aux larmes" tour (laughing till you cry) costs €16.50 including admission (€6 for ages 7 to 18).

On budget: €5 a show. Five euros. For a tour of the French-speaking world in one weekend. Put that purse away, you will barely need it.

The Sainte-Catherine Fair in Hirson

The 261st Sainte-Catherine Fair runs in Hirson from Saturday 21 to Sunday 29 November, with free entry. According to the official poster, the funfair opens on Saturday 21 at 16:00, with the Paw Patrol (Pat'Patrouille). Wednesday 25 is a reduced-price day. On Saturday 28, the trade show opens at 11:00, and the 31st "Vitrine du cheval de trait", a draught horse showcase, starts at 15:30. Information on 03 23 58 81 33.

Guise, Saint-Quentin, Gauchy

In Guise, on Saturday 21 at 19:00, the Sabicla company performs "Pandore" at the Familistère: two actors improvise on themes suggested by the audience (1 h 20, from age 7, €15 or €12, members €10, booking on 06 15 62 18 72).

In Saint-Quentin:

• Saturday 21 at 10:30: "Hidden treasures of the Basilica", from the crypt to the Saint-Michel chapel (1 h 30, €6, €3, free under 18, booking needed);
• Saturday 21 at 20:00: Bang Club #17 rock night at La Manufacture, with the Lemon Rose (€15, €12 or €10);
• Sunday 22 at 15:00: the "Art in music" tour at the Antoine Lécuyer museum, for Saint Cecilia's day (€6, €3, free under 18, booking required with the tourist office);
• Sunday 22 at 16:00: afternoon tea at the station buffet with a qualified guide (1 hour, €7, €3.50, booking required).

In Gauchy, rue Gabriel Péri, the children's show "La Moufle" (The Mitten) plays on Saturday 21 at 10:30 (€5, child €3.50).

Laon, Soissons, Tergnier, Château-Thierry

• Laon, Saturday 21, 20:30: 1980s concert at the Maison des Arts et Loisirs, place Aubry (€39).
• Soissons, Saturday 21, 20:00: pianist and composer Jérémy Hababou, between jazz, classical music and Eastern influences, 9 allée Claude Debussy (€5 to €20).
• Soissons, Sunday 22, 16:00: at the Cité de la Musique et de la Danse, parc Gouraud, Le Concert Spirituel, conducted by Hervé Niquet, plays "Mozart in Salzburg": early Missae breves, with pages by Joseph and Michael Haydn (€10 to €30).
• Tergnier, Saturday 21: the Union musicale's Saint Cecilia concert at 17:00, 7 rue Marceau (free, booking on 03 23 40 24 40). At 18:00, a philosophy café at the centre Jacques Desallangre (free).
• Château-Thierry, Saturday 21 at 10:00: start of the 24-hour rowing machine challenge at the Palais des Sports (€100 per team of 10). Sunday 22 is the last day of the autumn show at the Silo U1.

Free or nearly free

End of the month looming? Tata has obviously thought of your wallet: you can fill both weekends without opening it. Here is what costs nothing:

• the Sainte-Catherine Fair in Hirson from the 21st to the 29th;
• the gala concert of the Art musical de Guise on the 14th at the Familistère;
• the open rehearsal of "Tum Teav" and "L'heure des p'tiots" on the 14th at the Cité de la langue française;
• the two nature outings at the parc d'Isle (14th and 15th, booking needed);
• the autumn show in Château-Thierry, until the 22nd;
• the "Chat botté" in Anizy-le-Grand on the 13th, the Laon archives talk on the 13th, Livr'zik and the Clovis talk on the 17th, the Laon origami workshop on the 18th, the Saint Cecilia concert and the philosophy café in Tergnier on the 21st.

For next to nothing: €4 at the Butterfly Museum, €5 a FITAF show, €3 to €6 at the Mail Comedy Club.

My checklist so you miss nothing

• Book the Saint-Quentin tours before you set off: the tourist office lists them all as "booking required", and the Basilica escape box only takes 2 to 6 people per slot.
• On 18 November, the Pays de Laon tourist office is closed, and the underground passages cannot be visited.
• The Familistère is closed on Mondays. Guided tours leave at 11:30 and 15:00.
• For evening shows, as for nature outings, check the organiser's page the day before: announcements sometimes change.

One more note in the margin

This article focuses on what has a date and a time. And for the following weekend, the This weekend page takes over, as do those for Saint-Quentin, Soissons and Château-Thierry. For ideas without a date, there is Things to do and see.

Right. Leave the sofa to the cat. It will not hold it against you. Pick your event, book what needs booking, and go out. Hat, gloves, and no arguments.

The questions I am already getting

Tata Nadège, the famous know-it-all aunt, for NLocale. Updated on 2 November 2026.