There is one Sunday a year when Arles becomes fully itself again. It's the first Sunday of July: the Fête du Costume. Arlesian women bring out their traditional dress, coiffe, fichu, skirt and caraco, and parade through the streets under the moved gaze of families, tourists and photographers. A tradition of over one hundred and twenty years, established by Frédéric Mistral in 1903, that has lost none of its power.
2026 Programme
The Fête du Costume 2026 takes place on Sunday 5 July. The day is built around the grand parade through the historic centre of Arles:
- 10am: solemn service at the church of Saint-Trophime (free entry, costumes welcome)
- 11am: gathering of folk groups and Arlesian women on place de la République
- 3pm: official parade, boulevard des Lices, rue Jean Jaurès, place du Forum, ancient theatre, around 400 participants in costume, accompanied by mounted gardians and bandas
- 5pm: presentation of the coiffe to the new Queen of Arles in the ancient theatre (quadrennial ceremony, next full edition in 2026)
- Evening: folk dances on the squares, traditional restaurants open late
Why this festival matters
The Arlesian costume is not fancy dress, it's a codified garment, handed down from generation to generation, in which every element (the lace coiffe, the muslin fichu, the ribbon) has a precise meaning. Attending is witnessing a living tradition that could have disappeared. The young women in costume represent the continuity of a Provençal identity built against Parisian centralisation, that's why Mistral created it.
Visually, it's one of the finest spectacles in Provence: July light on Roman stone, the vivid colours of the fichus, the white coiffes like birds. For photographers, it's the event of the summer.
Getting to Arles on 5 July
Traffic and parking information is communicated by the organisers and the town hall before the event: check it before you set off. MR Taxi drops you as close as possible and picks you up at the exit, from all towns in the region, at the guaranteed maximum price announced at booking. If the place is hard to reach, I will give you an easily accessible meeting point.
It is advisable to book at least 24 hours ahead, but even at the last minute I adapt and find a solution. Estimate your trip on the Private transport page or contact us.
