Every July, Mont-de-Marsan hosts one of the great popular festivals of southwest France. For a week around the feast of Saint Madeleine, the streets fill with bandas — brass bands of fifty or more musicians playing loudly and without restraint — while crowds in white and red follow the procession from morning to well past midnight. Bull-running through the streets draws the biggest audiences, but the course landaise contests in the arenas are the real local passion.
The Fêtes run for roughly a week, typically centred on the third weekend of July. The whole town participates: restaurants spill onto pavements, bars stay open through the night, and the riverside fills with food stalls and dancing. Book accommodation many months ahead if you plan to visit during festival week.