Spain's Fiestas Patronales & Semana Grande Calendar 2026

Spain's 2026 fiesta calendar at a glance

Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande) — Bilbao's nine-day party

Bilbao's Aste Nagusia ("Great Week" in Basque; Semana Grande in Spanish) runs nine consecutive days of free open-air concerts, Basque folk dance, giant-figure parades and a nightly fireworks competition over the Nervión river, opened by the txupinazo rocket and the appearance of Marijaia — the festival's straw-and-papier-mâché mascot — on the balcony of the Arriaga Theatre. It closes with Marijaia's ceremonial burning in the same square.

The 2026 edition is the 46th, running Saturday 22 to Sunday 30 August — dates independently confirmed by Basque Country's official tourism board, Spain's national tourism site and Aste Nagusia's own festival directory, and matching exactly what Wanderistan's own event page already states.

• Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande) 2026 — event page

San Fermín — Pamplona's Running of the Bulls

San Fermín is Spain's most internationally recognised fiesta, immortalised by Hemingway: eight days of daily bull runs (encierros) through Pamplona's old town at 8am, alongside concerts, giant-figure parades and round-the-clock street celebration. It opens at noon on 6 July with the chupinazo rocket from Pamplona's city hall balcony and closes at midnight on 14 July with the candlelit "Pobre de Mí" farewell song.

The dates never move: San Fermín runs 6-14 July every single year, a genuinely fixed civic and religious calendar fixture, not a rule that needs projecting.

Las Fallas — Valencia burns its winter away

Las Fallas is Valencia's spring fire festival: hundreds of neighbourhood associations spend the year building fallas — giant satirical sculptures of wood, papier-mâché and polystyrene, some several storeys tall — then burn nearly all of them on the closing night, 19 March (St Joseph's Day), in the citywide Cremà. Daily mascletà firecracker displays in Plaça de l'Ajuntament and continuous street food and paella are the rest of the daily rhythm.

Preparatory events run from 1 March, but Fallas Week proper — when nearly every visitor-facing event happens — is 15-19 March 2026, closing with La Cremà on the 19th, the fixed date this festival always ends on.

Feria de Abril — Sevilla's spring fair

Feria de Abril is a week-long city of casetas (private and public striped tents) on Sevilla's Real de la Feria fairground — flamenco dancing, horse-drawn carriages, fino sherry and, since it's an Andalusian spring fair, a much lighter, more social register than San Fermín or Las Fallas. It begins with the alumbrado (lighting) of the fairground gate at midnight and runs a full week, closing with fireworks over the Guadalquivir.

The 2026 edition lights up on Monday 20 April and runs Tuesday 21 to Sunday 26 April — following the standing rule of starting roughly two weeks after Easter Sunday each year, so the exact April dates shift annually with the church calendar.

La Mercè — Barcelona's patron-saint week

La Mercè is Barcelona's biggest annual festival, built around the city's patron saint, Mare de Déu de la Mercè, whose feast day is always 24 September. The 2026 programme runs a full week either side of that date (23-28 September) with human towers (castells), fire-runs (correfocs), giant-figure parades, free concerts and a closing Piromusical fireworks-and-music show at the Font Màgica on Montjuïc.

Barcelona already has two dedicated Wanderistan city guides (Barcelona and Madrid — see below) plus separate guides for the city's modern festivals (Primavera Sound, Sónar-adjacent coverage); this page cross-links rather than repeats those.

• Things to do in Barcelona

La Tomatina — the world's biggest food fight

La Tomatina is a single one-hour tomato-throwing battle in the small town of Buñol (Valencia region), now marking its 80th anniversary in 2026. Roughly 22,000 official participant places sell out for a municipal entry fee, and the fight itself runs strictly 12:00-13:00 before fire trucks hose down the town square.

The rule has held for decades: always the last Wednesday of August, which lands on 26 August in 2026.

Plan your trip

• Bilbao
• Pamplona
• Valencia
• Sevilla
• Barcelona
• Madrid

FAQ

When is Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande) 2026 in Bilbao?

Saturday 22 to Sunday 30 August 2026 — nine days, the 46th edition, opening with the txupinazo and Marijaia's appearance and closing with her ceremonial burning.

What are the San Fermín 2026 dates in Pamplona?

6-14 July 2026, opening at noon on the 6th with the chupinazo and running daily bull runs (encierros) at 8am from the 7th through the 14th. These dates are fixed every year — San Fermín never moves.

When does Las Fallas 2026 end in Valencia?

Fallas Week runs 15-19 March 2026, with La Cremà — when nearly every falla sculpture in the city is burned — on the night of 19 March, St Joseph's Day. This closing date is fixed every year.

When is Feria de Abril 2026 in Sevilla?

The alumbrado (lighting) is the night of 20 April, with the fair itself running 21-26 April 2026. The rule is two weeks after Easter Sunday, so the exact dates shift with Easter each year.

When is La Mercè 2026 in Barcelona?

Barcelona's patron-saint day is always 24 September; the 2026 festival programme runs the week of 23-28 September around it.

When is La Tomatina 2026 in Buñol?

Wednesday 26 August 2026, 12:00-13:00 — following the standing rule of the last Wednesday of August every year. It's the festival's 80th anniversary edition.