Barcelona is a year-round fest for fabulous, wacky, memorable and truly unique festivals, fiestas and events. If you’re planning a trip to the colourful Catalan capital, you might want to plan your visit around these three unmissable summer events.
If you’ve yet to visit Andalucía’s ‘big three’ cities, you’re certainly in for a treat when you do. By ‘big three’ we mean Granada, Cordoba and Seville, three remarkable Spanish cities, laden in extraordinary Moorish architecture, brimming with zest, traditionalism and vivacity and paradisal for culture vultures, foodies, musicians, shopaholics, historians and more.
The traditional and distinct southern region of Andalucía is brimming in wacky, wonderful and thoroughly unique fairs and fiestas all year round. In fact, you don’t have to travel too far or for too long to come across a memorable festival in Andalucía and party amongst the locals.
If you thought Halloween was a big event in Britain, you may be surprised to learn that it’s an even bigger celebration in Spain. Mind you the Spanish don’t need any excuse to host a festival!
Easter in Andalucía is a heady mix of faith, pageantry and raw emotion. The dates for Holy Week 2016, known in Spain as Semana Santa, will be March 20th until March 27th. Easter is the deepest rooted and heartfelt celebration of the year right across Spain. Centuries of tradition encompass the passion involved with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This fervour plays out in all the major cities, such as Seville, Malaga, Granada, Cordoba and Huelva, and also numerous smaller towns and villages. Millions gather and cram the streets in order to see the magical and very moving processions.
Epiphany is celebrated around the world, but in Spain it takes on somewhat more importance. Although Santa Claus has made recent inroads, the ‘Three Kings Day’ has been a part of Spanish culture, celebrated since the end of the 2nd century, in one form or another. On January 6th the Spanish celebrate the visit of the Kings to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem, as well as Jesus being baptised by St John the Baptist, in the River Jordan.
The culture of any country comes in many forms and often the best practitioners of enlightening everyone to the nuances of a people and place are the artists that come from that country. The fiesta de Teatro, is a three month long extravaganza of theatre, music, dance and experimental productions that enliven the Catalan cultural scene during October, November and December each year.
The province of Cadiz in Southern Spain is brimming with traditional and characterful towns. From charming coastal towns dotted along the shore to picturesque villages perched upon hillsides that boast incredible views of the stunning Andalucía countryside, Cadiz has something to offer for everyone.
With elegant fishing vessels, sophisticated boutiques and great bay side restaurants renowned for serving only the highest quality of fresh cuisine, the upmarket fishing village of Callela de Palafrugell is a popular spot for both Spanish and international holidaymakers.
We have to admit that in the UK, 6 January is widely considered one of the most depressing days of the year. Christmas and the New Year celebrations have been and gone and all that is left is a rather unhealthy bank account and a post-festive season headache.
As Britain battles with the reality of going back to work and school, in Spain, the 6 January is a different story.
