Must-Visit Spanish Festivals

In Traveler magazine's September issue, Jacqueline Friedrich, author of A Food and Wine Guide to the Loire, picks top tapas bars in Seville. Here, National Geographic photographer David Alan Harvey reveals the best Spanish festivals in Seville and beyond.

Seville: When to go, how to get there, and more >>

September-December, 2002

September 8
Fiesta del Arroz
Sueca, Valencia
Paella is celebrated where it was invented with a juried paella-making contest, horse shows, and flamenco performances. Fee.
+34 96 171 24 16.

September 8-24
Fiesta del Otoño
Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz
Locals in Spain's chief sherry-producing region celebrate the fall crop of grapes with flamenco dancing and singing. Restaurants offer special tapas menus, and church leaders bless the grapes. Fee.
+34 956 33 11 50.

September 24
Fiestas de La Merce
Barcelona
Citywide fireworks, street fairs, and parades honor the Virgin of la Merce. Dance performances and concerts take place in the historical district during the concurrent Barcelona Acción Musical. (Performers are announced two weeks before the festival.) Fee.
+93 238 40 00.

October 12
Día de la Hispanidad
Zaragoza
This national holiday honors the day in 1492 when Christopher Columbus landed in America. The morning offering of flowers to the Virgin of Pilar in the Basilica del Pilar is followed by performances of Aragonese jota, a traditional courtship dance. Fee.
+34 976 72 13 33.

December 1-8
Festival de Música Antigua de Úbeda y Baeza
Jaén
Renaissance, Baroque, and Gregorian music is performed at 16th- and 17th-century churches, in celebration of the cultural diversity of Renaissance Spain. (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions are still practiced in the region.) Fee.
+34 953 74 01 50, ext. 14 (Baeza Town Hall) or +34 953 75 04 40 ext., 313 (Ubeda Town Hall).

February-March, 2003

Carnaval
Cádiz
Cádiz's biggest party, which leads up to the fasting days of Lent, begins with a four-hour parade showcasing traditional costumes and dance. Visitors eat and sing until dawn. Fee.
+34 956 24 10 01.

Festival de Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusía
Performers from San Miguel and Santiago dance and sing every night in the city that festival planners call the "world capital of flamenco." The 2003 lineup will be announced in January. Fee.
+34 956 329 313 (information) or 34 956 329 507 (tickets).

Carnaval
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands
Twelve days of singing, dancing, and fireworks follow the election of the Carnaval Queen. The celebration culminates with a giant street parade on Shrove Tuesday. Fee.
+34 922 23 95 92 or 34 922 34 98 11.

Las Fallas de San José
Valencia
At the start of bullfighting season, Spain's third-largest city fills with hundreds of bonfires, street parties, open-air concerts, parades, and fairs. But the best part is the fallas, larger-than-life papier-mâché effigies that satirize celebrities and politicians.
+34 963 986 422.

May 2003

San Isidro
San Isidro, Madrid
Madrileños honor their patron saint San Isidro with bullfights at the 25,000-seat Las Ventas, and Spanish dances, operas, and ballets. Other offerings include traditional foods, masquerades, fireworks, and street fairs. Fee.
+34 91 588 29 00.

Feria Nacional del Queso
Trujillo, Extremadura
Visitors sample dozens of cheeses from Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal, and sip local wines at the Renaisance-style Plaza Mayor. Fee.
+34 927 32 26 77.

June-August, 2003

San Juan
Ciutadella, Baleanic Islands
Islanders celebrate the longest day of the year (June 21). The main event is Day of the Sheep, when a sheepskin-clad local portraying John the Baptist leads a formal procession on Menorca. Other offerings include bonfires, jaleo music, and flamenco dancing. Fee.
+34 971 38 1050.

Corpus Christi
Toledo
Thousands crowd Toledo as church leaders march with the Eucharist, celebrating the presence of Jesus in the blessed sacrament. Procession begins at the Catedral de Toledo. Fee.
+34 925 25 40 30.

Fiesta de San Fermín
Pamplona, Navarra
Chronicled in Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, this festival is most commonly known as the Running of the Bulls. Runs start at 8 a.m. and cover a half-mile course. Other offerings include bullfights, jai alai matches, dances, and concerts.
+1 212 265 8822 or e-mail oetny@Tourspain.es.

Herri Kilorak
Bilbao, País Vasco
Basque men lift heavy stones and climb greased poles, all in an effort to prove their strength. After the games, spectators can visit the La Semana Grande festival for live music, food, parades, and fireworks. Fee.
+34 94 479 57 60.

Romería do Bo Xantar
El Naseiro, Galicia
There are an estimated 300 culinary events every year in Galicia. This five-day feast, held on the banks of the Landro River, features dancing, singing, and octopus dishes. Fee.
+34 982 56 01 28.

Festival Internacional de Musica y Danza de Granada
Granada
Now in its 51st year, this music and dance celebration is the oldest in Spain. Shows are held throughout the city, but the must-visit site is the fortress-palace of the Alhambra, where performances are given in the Palacio de Carlos V's circular Renaissance patio and the Generalife's fountain-filled gardens. Fee.
+34 958 276 200.

Festival de Córdoba
Córdoba
Jazz and flamenco musicians give concerts in the gardens of Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos, a palace-fortress built in 1328. Other offerings include fine wine and food, flamenco dancing, mimes, and jugglers in Cordoba's historic quarter. Fee.
+34 957 480 237.

Festival del Teatro Clasico
Mérida, Badajoz
Theater companies from all over the world stage Greek and Roman classics in 2,000-year-old stone theaters. The lineup will be announced in May 2003. Fee.
+34 924 31 78 47 (information) or +34 924 38 80 08 (tickets).

Festival d'estiu de Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona's biggest cultural event of the summer showcases contemporary Spanish and international theater, dance, and music groups. Featured performers include Lou Reed, the Chicago Cosmopolitan Choir, and the Manhattan Transfer. Fee.
+34 93 3017775 or e-mail infoicub@mail.bcn.es.

La Tomatina
Buñol
Since 1945 locals have been flinging ripe tomatoes at each other on the last Wednesday of August. No one knows how the tradition began, but in recent years thousands of tourists have come from Valencia to toss more than a hundred tons of the squishy fruit in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
+34 96 398 6422 or +1 212 265 8822.

—Compiled by Eleanor Stables

Eleanor Stables is a former Traveler editorial assistant.