Paris & the Roland Dyens Competition: a guitarist's travel guide
Concours International de Guitare Roland Dyens · Paris, France
Roland Dyens was one of the most beloved guitarist-composers of his generation, and since his death in 2016 Paris has honoured him with a competition in his name. Tied to the Paris Guitar Festival, it names a classical guitar revelation of the year, and it gives guitar lovers one more reason to spend time in a city that never runs short of them.
Getting there
Paris is as connected as cities get: Eurostar and Thalys trains reach the Gare du Nord from London, Brussels and Amsterdam, and three airports, Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Orly (ORY) and Beauvais (BVA), serve the region. The metro takes you everywhere else.
Compare trains, buses & flights to Paris on Omio →
Where to stay
Almost any central quarter works, from the Latin Quarter to the Marais, with the festival venues reachable by metro. Book ahead, walk a lot, and let the city itself be half the trip.
An interactive map of hotels, apartments and B&Bs across Booking, Expedia, Airbnb and more, centred on Paris.
See stays in Paris →What you'll hear
The competition is unusual in shape: players submit a short recorded programme that must include a piece by Dyens, and a jury picks finalists who play a public final at the festival. The evening ends in a gala tribute to Dyens, often with star guests, so his warm, jazz-tinged music is very much the point. Past winners such as Antoine Boyer and Johan Smith have gone on to international careers.
If you play as well as listen, explore Roland Dyens's own music on Sheet Music Plus →
Where to eat
Eat the Paris classics without apology: steak-frites, onion soup, coq au vin, a jambon-beurre from a good bakery, and pastries from croissants to Paris-Brest. A café table and an hour to watch the street is part of the meal.
While you're there
The palace of Versailles is a short train ride from the centre, and Monet's garden at Giverny makes a lovely day in the countryside. In the city, the museums and the river need no selling. A rental car makes the day trips simple, and GetYourGuide lists guided tours and tickets across the region.
Enter the pieces you play, and GuitarComp shows how your programme maps to this competition's rounds and which other events you qualify for.
See full competition details →Competition dates, deadlines and the current compulsory work change each edition, so always confirm at the official site: parisguitarfestival.com.