Two ferias a year
The first Nîmes feria took place in 1952. It is held at Whitsun, and a second one, the Grape Harvest Feria (Féria des Vendanges), takes place in September. They are among the largest ferias in France: the Whitsun Feria drew almost 1.2 million visitors over six days in 2025. In 2026, it was held from 21 to 25 May, and the Grape Harvest Feria from 17 to 20 September.
The festival across the city
The whole city takes part. Bodegas and bars play music, and bandas perform in the streets. For Whitsun 2026, the City set up a craft market on the esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle, a Seville village on avenue Jean-Jaurès, a Gypsy village at La Placette and equestrian shows in the Jardins de la Fontaine. A paella competition was on the programme. The Grape Harvest Feria highlights Camargue traditions, equestrian culture and the grape harvest, with the ban des Vendanges, the proclamation of the harvest, on the Sunday.
The abrivados
Every day of the feria, abrivados take place in the streets: bulls, surrounded by riders, are driven through the city according to a Camargue tradition. The manades, the bull-breeding ranches, take turns from one day to the next.
Corrida and course camarguaise
Each year the Arènes host around twenty corridas and courses camarguaises. The corrida, of Spanish origin, also takes the form of novilladas, with young bullfighters. The course camarguaise is different: raseteurs try to remove, using a hook, the attributes fixed to the head of a Camargue breed bull, the cockade, the tassels and the strings. The animal is not killed. Its federation was recognised in 1975, and it has been listed in the inventory of intangible cultural heritage in France since 2008.
The Museum of Bull Cultures
To understand these traditions, the Museum of Bull Cultures (Musée des Cultures taurines) presents their history. During the 2026 Grape Harvest Feria, it was open free of charge, with virtual reality experiences.
- First feria
- 1952
- Whitsun 2026
- 21 to 25 May
- Grape Harvest 2026
- 17 to 20 September
- Whitsun 2025 attendance
- almost 1.2 million visitors
- Course camarguaise
- intangible heritage since 2008