All the Fun of the Fair: Foire Saint-Martin 2026

Saturday 24th October – Sunday 22nd November 2026

Roll up, roll up! Perpignan’s annual Foire Saint-Martin is back, bringing a month of flashing lights, questionable amounts of sugar and rides specifically designed to remind you that your stomach isn’t quite as resilient as it was at 18.

Taking over the area around the Parc des Expositions, the Foire Saint-Martin is one of Perpignan’s great autumn traditions and a sure sign that summer is well and truly behind us.

From Saturday 24th October to Sunday 22nd November 2026, the enormous funfair opens every day from 2pm, with rides, games and attractions for everyone from tiny thrill-seekers to considerably bigger ones who should probably know better.

All the fun of the fair

Expect everything you’d hope to find at a proper French fête foraine.

There are rides for younger children, family attractions and fairground games alongside the considerably more alarming machines that spin, drop and fling willing participants around at speeds that don’t seem entirely sensible.

You’ll also find the classics: dodgems, thrill rides, children’s rides, games of skill and chance, fairground stalls and plenty more.

And, of course, food.

Because no trip to a French funfair is complete without consuming something containing enough sugar to keep you awake until approximately February.

Think churros, crêpes, waffles, candyfloss, sweets and other gloriously unhealthy fairground treats.

Nobody comes here for the salad.

A Perpignan tradition

The Foire Saint-Martin has been part of Perpignan life for generations.

Over the years, the fair has occupied different parts of the city, including the Promenade des Platanes, before eventually settling beside the Parc des Expositions.

Today it remains one of the city’s biggest annual family events, arriving just in time for the autumn school holidays and continuing well into November.

And despite all the new rides, flashing LEDs and increasingly elaborate attractions, there’s still something reassuringly old-fashioned about it.

Children desperately trying to win an enormous cuddly toy. Teenagers pretending not to be terrified. Parents wondering how they have somehow spent €40 in twenty minutes.

Some traditions never change.

When should you go?

The fair opens every day from 2pm, so afternoons are a good option for families with younger children.

As darkness falls, however, the Foire Saint-Martin really comes into its own.

Thousands of lights illuminate the fairground, the music gets louder and the atmosphere becomes considerably livelier. If you’ve got older children, teenagers or simply fancy an evening out that’s a little different, this is when you’ll see the fair at its most spectacular.

Opening hours and individual attraction schedules can vary, particularly depending on the day and weather, so it’s worth checking the latest information before setting off.

Foire Saint-Martin 2026

Saturday 24th October – Sunday 22nd November 2026

Where: Parc des Expositions, Perpignan
Opening: Every day from 2pm
Admission: Entry to the fairground is free. Rides and attractions are individually charged.

Whether you’re there for the rides, the atmosphere, the churros or simply to stand safely on the ground holding everybody else’s coats, the Foire Saint-Martin is a proper slice of autumn in Perpignan.

And if somebody suggests going on the biggest ride immediately after you’ve eaten a bag of churros?

Just say no.