A festive break in Nîmes life, the bullfights at Pentecost attract nearly a million visitors. For five days, the bull is king.

It is by far the most important of the two Nimes ferias. Started in 1952, it lasts five days, (from the Thursday to the Monday of Pentecost). After the fashion of the Munich Oktoberfest, it is one of the most popular festivals in Europe. But people don't come to Nîmes just for the bullfights. They come for the party atmosphere, the pastis and Fino sherry, and the music. They stay for the street entertainment, the extravagance, the bodegas. And they come back for the ambiance and the encounters they have made.