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bull fight in arles

Has anyone been to a bullfight in the Arles area in June? I'll be staying in the camargue and I'll have a car. All I see are dates in July and August. thanks sue

Posted by
10344 posts

We saw a Provence-style bull "fight" in Arles in September a few years ago.
If you don't find a bull fight in Arles, you could look in Nimes, which is easy to get to by train from Arles (Nimes is not so good for driving/parking a rental car).
As you probably know, they have 2 options for "bullfights" in the south of France: one is the Spanish style bullfight where the bull is killed, the second is the Provence-style bull "fight" where the bull dies of old happily ever after (they just try to remove a ribbon from the bull's horns).

Posted by
776 posts

One summer I visited, even though fights weren't scheduled there were "practices" in the Arles arena that were free and fun to watch. Yes, the accompanying music was from Bizet. As the bulls escaped from the ring regularly and got into the stands causing delight to those not endangered the whole comic experience was much better than a regular serious bull fight. I don't know now where these events would be posted. Seemed like a "you just have to be there" situation,

Posted by
189 posts

We went to 'bull games' in June, a small town that I don't remember the name of. The TI in the town that we were staying helped us find where and when. A fun experience with the gamers jumping practically into our laps to escape the bulls.

In bull games a ribbon is attached between the horns of the bull and the gamers attempt to grab the ribbon with a hand tool as the bull runs by them. We attended in a small village with a small arena, almost all locals attending. During intermission local snack food was available outside the arena.

Definitely try to attend.

Posted by
752 posts

Here is a link to the Federation of Courses Camarguaises.
Courses Camarguaises calendar

Plenty happening in June, but depends on your dates. Since you have a car, there should be courses in some of the small towns around Arles.