France Month by Month - Discover France: Experience the Best of France - page 81

March
The tail end of the ski season stays busy thanks to ongoing school holidays and
milder temperatures. Down south, the first buds of spring herald the start of the bull-
fighting season and, depending on the year, Pâques (Easter).
Féria Pascale
No fest sets passions in France's hot south blazing more than this, held each
Easter in Arles to open the bullfighting season ( www.feriaarles.com , in French).
April
Dedicated ski fiends can carve glaciers in the highest French ski resorts until mid-
April. Otherwise, it's off with the ski boots and on with the hiking gear.
Counting Sheep
During the centuries-old Fête de la Transhumance in late April or May, shepherds
all over France walk their flocks up to lush green summer pastures; St-Rémy de
Provence's is among the best known.
May
As the first melons ripen in Provence and outdoor markets burst forth with new-
found colour, there is no lovelier month to travel.
May Day
May 1 is a national holiday that incites a real summer buzz with its muguets (lilies of
the valley) sold at roadside stalls and given to friends as good-luck charms. In
Arles, Camargue cowboys show off their bull-herding and equestrian skills at the
Fête des Gardians.