Spain is renowned for its rich culture and whimsical festivals that are held throughout the year. Every city and region has its own spin on the unique celebrations and you could be lucky enough to experience them for yourself if you time your travels just right.
In 2022, Spain recorded more than 100 million international visitors, making it one of the biggest tourist hotspots in Europe. Join their ranks to watch locals engage in mass food fights, enjoy floating processions and burning bonfires or even take part in the festivities yourself.
Las Fallas
Visiting Valencia during the Fallas season is a real spectacle and is a great way to immerse yourself in the region’s iconic traditions. Every March, the city erupts with artistic statues and giant papier mâché characters (fallas) depicting famous celebrities and traditional figures. The festivities culminate with the burning of each fallas on brilliant bonfires across the city, followed by late-night parties and frivolity.
Valencia is busy this time of year, so after the festivities, why not escape the hustle and bustle of the city? Disappear to the coast of the Costa Blanca after the festival ends and experience the true Spanish lifestyle holidaying in a villa in Spain.
La Tomatina
This is the country’s most unique festival, where crowds gather to engage in a mass food fight, throwing tomatoes at one another. Buñol, a small, quiet Valencian town, is the setting for this one-of-a-kind festival, and it becomes a sea of red every August with La Tomatina. Taking months of preparation every year, La Tomatina has brought Buñol to a standstill for the last 70 years.
Buñol welcomes 15,000 revellers for this dramatic street showdown and workers transport 120 tons of ripe tomatoes to the street. After the fight is over, participants head down to the local rivers and ponds to clean themselves off.
Semana Santa
Tourists flock to Andalucía to take part in the Easter celebrations of Semana Santa. Spain’s ‘Holy Week’ is a seven-day-long religious event that takes place at the end of Lent. Traditions change depending on the region, but typically the festivities include vibrant float processions, marching bands and delicious cuisine.
The processions can last up to 18 hours and are a tradition deeply rooted in Spain’s national history.
San Fermín
Attracting millions of revellers and participants every July is the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona, also known as ‘the running of the bulls’. Onlookers watch as people are chased through the narrow streets by a bull, with locals and tourists alike taking part in the race. For the last 400 years, it has taken place to celebrate the religious missionary, San Fermat.
The story goes that his body was driven around the city by oxen, so now 12 cows are released among the festival-goers who run away in groups.
