Comic Con France is the biggest pop culture convention in Paris. The 2026 edition filled Paris Expo at Porte de Versailles with around 50,000 visitors over the weekend. I paid 25 euros for my ticket, went in alone, and spent four hours walking every corner of it.

The first thing you notice are the cosplays. Not the density of them, which is actually less impressive than conventions in Japan or the US, but the quality. The people who come to Comic Con France take their costumes seriously. I spoke to someone who had spent three months building a full metal armor from scratch, working nights to finish it in time. Another person had made a My Little Pony costume with functional wings that actually moved. These are not store-bought outfits.

The Artist Alley is the part I spent the most time in. Independent illustrators selling original prints for around 30 euros, tattoo artists working in real-time on willing fans, K-pop merchandise stands with cards from BTS, Stray Kids, and Blackpink. The energy in this section is genuinely warm and community-driven.

I also tried a Japanese Ramune soda at one of the food stands. Ramune is a Japanese carbonated drink in a glass bottle sealed with a marble. You push the marble down into the bottle to open it, and then drink around it, which means the marble keeps rolling back to block the flow. It is entertaining and slightly maddening in equal measure.

My honest verdict: Comic Con France is a family-friendly, welcoming event with genuine passion behind it. It is not on the scale of San Diego or Tokyo. The exhibition floor could be denser, and some areas felt empty by comparison to what the venue could hold. But the people who come here love what they love with real enthusiasm, and that makes it worth a visit.

If you are in Paris and this event is on, go. Buy your ticket in advance, the cosplayer discount brings it to 21 euros, and allocate a full afternoon.