Fallas Festival in Valencia

Begin Spring with a bang, and, well, burn down the winter ! The Fallas street festival  is very loud and very outrageous, and you have no chance of sleeping at all...it is the experience of a lifetime. Get to the heart of this superlative early spring festival and follow our guide through firecrackers and bonfires!  

With a history that dates from the pre-Christian age, Fallas has become one of the major Spanish festivals. Valencia turns into a big theme park where impressive monuments are erected everywhere.  The Fallas are massive colourful charicatures that defy the laws of gravity, effigies of politicians, princes, popes, pops stars and punks...set up in the plazas all over the city and all set to go up in a great pagan blaze on the mad, wild nit de foc  (that's night of fire!).

In classic Spanish style, all of these pyrotechnics are also held to venerate a saint (San José - don't let him play with matches...). Each falla is a large architectural undertaking, some take more than a year to construct, with teams of designers competing for the awards for the best fallas before seeing their work go up in blazes. Valencia attracts some of the most unstable elements at this time of year: including the world's most dastardly firework display designers. The noise they make will make you glad you are not sober.  Driven by the euphoria, the whole city takes up the offer of a few days out, with sleep cancelled for a week or so (there will be enough days off to recover afterwards). It's a bit like 7 Hogmanays one after the other, but with decent weather, and cheap beer !

Starting beginning of March, Valencia fallas includes a series of events, all quite extravagant, from the mascleta  (thousands of bangers going off at midday in the main square, reminiscent of a full scale coup d'etat  in a medium-sized Banana Republic), to the world's most stae-of-the-art firework displays. Add to this visits to the sites and main monuments in Valencia (including the beach!), the competition for the best street lighting, la ofrenda (huge statue of Virgin Mary statue covered with flowers ceremonially offered by falleros), open air concerts, bullfights, vast open air paella-eating ceermonies and much more...There is so much to see that a good guide will be necesary. Come to our fallas tour which will culminate after midnight the 19th of March with the cremà: the burning of all the fallas.

 

Valencia Fallas Festival - What is included:

• The tours will be depending on your arrival dates. Several quotes will be offered to you and you can pick and choose.
• Our fallas tour is also a bar crawl: it is not only a cultural visit but a way to be part of a whole city party.
• A guide who knows very well this festival and who can explain all its symbolism, advise you on the main events to attend and take you to various bonfires to make the most of this fantastic night.

Valencia Bonfire Festival - What else do I need to know?

• The first mascletà will take place the 27th of February but the first monuments will be on the streets the 15th of March.
• Bonfires are attended by firemen. Because it is necesary to wait for them, the cremàs don't all happen at the same time that is why you can attend several ones. apart from the town hall falla at 1am, it is not possible to time the others.
• Spanish law is more relaxed than in other countries regarding the sale of firecrackers etc. However be careful because every year many people end up in the hospital: have fun but don't take unecesary risks.