A month page is evergreen: it describes what every August looks like on the international calendar, then lists the dated events of the next August with their status.
01Where the season is concentrated
August is the month the season stops moving and simply stays. The Mediterranean coasts and islands — Saint-Tropez, Capri, the Amalfi Coast, the Costa Smeralda, Ibiza, Mallorca, Mykonos — are as full as they will be all year, and almost nothing on the calendar is the reason: the season itself is. The same is true of the Hamptons, Newport and Saratoga in the United States and of the Alpine summer towns, where the Salzburg, Lucerne and Gstaad festivals give the month its music. Europe's cities empty; Paris and Milan are quiet.
The exceptions are worth knowing. Monterey Car Week and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in the middle of the month are the collector-car world's single most important week. The Hampton Classic Horse Show closes the Hamptons summer; Cowes Week fills the Solent in the first half; Siena runs its second Palio on the 16th; the Hublot Polo Gold Cup is played in Gstaad; the Edinburgh festivals fill Scotland's capital all month. The US Open begins in the last days, and the Venice Film Festival opens on the Lido at the very end, the first fixtures of autumn.
02Major events
Week by week: the events that open each week of the month, the most important first.
Aug 1, 2027Week 1
Aug 2–8, 2027Week 2
Aug 9–15, 2027Week 3
Aug 16–22, 2027Week 4
Aug 23–29, 2027Week 5
03The ten defining events · August 2027
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16 Jul → Aug 29, 2027Salzburg · Austria · Cultural Festivals Salzburg FestivalSignificant
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31 Jul → Aug 7, 2027Cowes to Cherbourg · United Kingdom · Yachting Rolex Fastnet RaceNotable
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31 Jul → Aug 6, 2027Cowes · United Kingdom · Yachting Cowes WeekNotable
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6 Aug → Aug 15, 2027Monterey Peninsula · United States · Automotive Monterey Car WeekMajor
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13 AugCarmel Valley · United States · Automotive The Quail, A Motorsports GatheringSignificant
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15 AugPebble Beach · United States · Automotive Pebble Beach Concours d'EleganceMajor
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16 AugSiena · Italy · Cultural Festivals Palio di SienaNotable
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19 Aug → Aug 22, 2027Gstaad · Switzerland · Polo Hublot Polo Gold Cup GstaadRegional
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29 Aug → Sep 12, 2027New York · United States · Tennis US OpenSignificant
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29 Aug → Sep 5, 2027Bridgehampton · United States · Equestrian Hampton Classic Horse ShowNotable
04Important destinations
The Mediterranean as a whole: Saint-Tropez, Capri, Amalfi, Costa Smeralda, Ibiza, Mallorca, Mykonos. The Hamptons, Newport and Saratoga. Salzburg, Gstaad, Lucerne and St. Moritz for the Alpine summer. Monterey for one week; Edinburgh for the month.
05Geographic movement
Almost none, which is the point. People arrive at the coast or the mountains in late July and leave at the end of August. The single exception is the pull of Monterey Car Week in mid-August, which draws collectors from both continents to California for a week. In the last days of the month the movement resumes: to New York for the US Open and to Venice for the Lido.
06Weather
Peak heat on the Mediterranean, with sea temperatures at their highest and the mistral and meltemi as the summer's two named winds. The Hamptons and Newport are warm and humid with the hurricane season beginning. Monterey is cool and foggy in the mornings, which is part of its appeal. Alpine towns are the refuge from the heat.
07The most important weekends
Pebble Beach weekend in the middle of the month is the only globally significant fixture; the weekend of the second Palio and the Salzburg high season coincides with it. The last weekend, with the US Open under way and Venice opening, is the turn of the season.
08Where the season moves next
September restarts the calendar at speed: the US Open finals, Venice's Lido, the fashion weeks from New York to Paris, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Cannes Yachting Festival and the Monaco Yacht Show, Goodwood Revival, the Italian and Singapore Grands Prix, Frieze Seoul, the Armory Show, and Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez at its close.