Title:The Milky Way bar in the context of extragalactic bulges Abstract: The Vista Variables in the Via lactea (VVV) ESO Public Survey, with the VISTA telescope, have yielded a deep, near-infrared, multi-colour (Z,Y,J,H,Ks) photometric coverage of over 320 square degrees. Results based on this impressive dataset are presented, showing the global properties of the bulge in order to investigate its place in the general context of galaxy bulges. In addition, I will present results from our Giraffe Inner Bulge Survey (GIBS) which is now providing spectroscopic metallicities and alpha element abundances for more than 400 stars, and kinematics for more than 2000 stars across the inner Bulge regions. These results provide unique constrains for modern Galaxy formation models.