Nuit de la Lecture 2026 : When Literary Hotels Become Stages for Live Readings

In 2026, the Literary Hotels fully embrace the spirit of the Nuit de la Lecture by opening their lounges, libraries and resonant spaces to live reading, voice, performance and music.

In Paris as well as in Rouen, these places devoted to writers become, for a few evenings, true houses of literature — where one listens, feels a shiver, and rediscovers texts in a different way.

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Parisian Literary Hotels at the Heart of the Nuit de la Lecture

Hôtel Littéraire Le Swann : A dialogue between poetry and music

Tuesday, January 20, 2026 — 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

As part of the 2026 Nuit de la Lecture, Hôtel Littéraire Le Swann partners with the Liszt Institute Paris – Hungarian Cultural Centre for an evening paying tribute to composer Béla Bartók and poet Endre Ady.

A sensitive encounter between music and poetry, conceived as a dialogue between the arts. Dedicated to Marcel Proust, Hôtel Littéraire Le Swann extends its vocation: bringing literature into conversation with other forms of expression, in an intimate and elegant atmosphere.

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Hôtel Littéraire Marcel Aymé : Theatre at a human scale

Thursday, January 22, 2026 — 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm

In Montmartre, Hôtel Littéraire Marcel Aymé hosts a solo theatre performance based on La Cruche by Georges Courteline.

One performer, one play, one hour.
A sharp, witty and biting text, enhanced by the closeness of the setting. In this hotel dedicated to the author of The Man Who Walked Through Walls, theatre returns to its original essence: a living, direct, almost confidential art form, where the audience becomes a willing accomplice.

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Hôtel Littéraire Arthur Rimbaud : Voices, cities and countryside

Saturday, January 24, 2026 — 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

With La Petite Nuit Rimbaud, Hôtel Littéraire Arthur Rimbaud celebrates the poet’s work through a reading presented by the Friends of Rimbaud association.

Organised around the national theme of the 2026 Nuit de la Lecture — cities and countryside — the event features:

• a first part devoted to readings from Rimbaud’s work,

• a second part highlighting the contemporary literary scene.

A moment of transmission and creation, true to Rimbaud’s spirit: free, in motion and resolutely modern.

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A Literary Stopover in Rouen: Shivers and the Fantastic

Hôtel Littéraire Gustave Flaubert : Fear with the masters of the fantastic

Friday, January 23, 2026 — 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Although located in Rouen, this evening fully belongs to the constellation of Literary Hotels.

Proposed by the Friends of Flaubert and Maupassant, this public reading explores the realms of the fantastic with excerpts from:

• Le Horla and La Peur by Guy de Maupassant,

• La Cafetière by Théophile Gautier.

A freely adapted literary fantasy tinged with the uncanny, perfect for a winter evening when literature sends a shiver down the spine.

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When Hotels Become Places for Reading

Through these events, the Literary Hotels affirm a strong conviction:
literature is not confined to books, it is meant to be lived.

Reading aloud, listening to a text, attending a performance or a staged reading in a hotel setting gives works back their sensory and embodied dimension. It also offers travellers, the curious and culture lovers a different way to experience the 2026 Nuit de la Lecture.

Whether staying overnight or simply joining for the evening, these events remind us that hotels can be places of passage... but also places of memory, emotion and creation.

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Discover the Literary Hotels Beyond Paris

Explore the Literary Hotels in the regions as well : in Clermont-Ferrand, Nancy, and soon Bordeaux.

 

Written by Léa Geoffray

05/01/2026