WOW. Everything I had read about the Las Fallas Festival in Valencia made it seem like this would be a wild and crazy time, and it was! Plus, it was loud – really loud!!
Some would say the traditions for the festival started back in the Middle Ages when farmers would burn things they had kept through the winter, like wood pieces, to celebrate that spring was here. It has also become a celebration of Saint Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters.
The festival runs from March 1st to March 19th, with March 15 being the day all the statues have to be completed to be judged. March 19th is the crema night when all the statues are burned. For this reason, we booked our stay from March 16th – March 20th and planned to visit as part of our 3-month backpacking trip around Europe.
Table of Contents
Figuring Out What Is Going On
We arrived during the festival and had to walk about 45 minutes from the train station to our vacation rental. It happened to be right at 2 pm when the big fireworks display was happening. The streets were packed, and it was SOOOOO loud!!
Welcome to the Fallas Festival!!
We got settled into our place and asked our hostess – who did meet us there – what recommendations he had for things to do during the festival. I highly recommend doing this. Even if you don’t meet your host in person, send them a message and ask. If you are at a hotel, ask at the front desk. The locals know how to do the festival!
Even with the guidance from our host, it was still overwhelming to know what was going on and when. For that reason, I also recommend following a local Facebook page where they share up-to-date updates.
We used this one a lot: Las Fallas Valencia Information Page for English Speaking Visitors
You will also want to check out the festival website and calendar – but note it wasn’t always 100% accurate.
In the end, we got the hang of the Facebook page and the website and had a pretty good idea of what was going on. We also learned (and what our host recommended) that you just need to go walk around, and you will come across things!
The festival is not located in just one place. There are 2 main stage areas/plazas where a lot of things happen. There may be a 3rd area, too but we never made it over there, and these were the 2 we visited often:
Plaça de la Mare de Déu is where they do the flower offering towards the end of the festival.
Plaça de l’Ajuntament (Town Hall) is where a lot of things go on. This is also where they did the 2 pm fireworks display, which was LOUD.
We had also heard there were things going on at Plaza Del Ayuntamiento, but we never made it over there, so we can’t confirm.
But the statues are located all over areas of the city. Each neighborhood (or casal faller) gets together to create their own statue and a kid’s version/size statue, also called a falla infantil. They have been working all year on fundraising and designing their falla (the statue).
There are also random food trucks spread out around the city and pop-up shops outside of restaurants.
You will see a lot of tents set up around town. Don’t worry, you aren’t missing out, well you are, but you aren’t invited :). These are the local neighborhoods’ places to hang out.
We walked everywhere we went. The town is super busy and packed with people, so I would not plan on driving anywhere.
Above all else, know that you are not going to get a lot of sleep during the festival. There are fireworks going off ALL NIGHT LONG. Seriously. Bring earplugs, or just be prepared for it.
Kids Fireworks
We saw many kids walking around the neighborhoods carrying these wooden boxes that hung around a string on their necks. We also noticed kids lighting off fireworks all over the place – and yes, this is 100% acceptable and even encouraged!
Our host had told us about buying the fireworks, but we could not figure out how to find a store where we could buy them. Eventually, we figured out the stores were called Petardos. A Google Maps search showed us where one was. Their website is www.pirofoc.com.
Off we went to buy the kids some fireworks!
We ended up buying the mega pack of fireworks and an extra rope. We had no idea what most fireworks were, but the sample pack seemed like a good idea. The rope was for the parents to light, and then the kids used it to set off the fireworks – basically, anywhere they wanted to around town!
Yes, it is as crazy as it seems and so much fun!
It was funny to light them and run and see what happened since we didn’t really know how most of them worked. There were spinning ones, popping ones, bottle rockets, and Harry Potter wands that sent sparks flying out. It was fun!
Statues – Fallas
The Fallas statues – these statues were unbelievable. They take a year to make and are made of combustible materials like cardboard, pieces of wood, paper, clothing, expanded polystyrene, etc.; some are humongous! Walking around and seeing all of these and the detail that goes into them was quite a site.
They are all over town. Pretty much every street you go down has 1, and every year, there is a contest to see which one will get first place. They have the large sized ones and next to that they also have a kids size one.
The top ones were as tall as the surrounding buildings and had so many unique details to them. Each of them had a theme they picked and followed, yet they also got creative with what fits with their theme.
I can not believe that they burn all of these down at the end of the festival! They are so beautiful it is sad to think they are just gone at the end. But tradition is tradition!
They rank them to determine which ones are the best for the large ones and smaller kid versions. They will have a sign up saying which place the statue got. Make sure to go and see the top 1-3 for the large ones and the kid ones. You will be glad you did!
To see the current year rankings, visit this site. Don’t miss these massive and unreal statues – especially the top 3!
Afternoon Fireworks
Afternoon fireworks or the la mascletà – every day at 2 pm in the main plaza (Plaça de l’Ajuntament (Town Hall)), they did a firework display and a noise display :). If you are there, you will understand. They shoot off fireworks, but the accompanying noise that goes with it builds louder and louder. We heard multiple times from people to have our mouths open during it so our ears didn’t pop!
It was crazy to see babies to toddlers here enjoying this craziness and not a tear in site. I think if you live in Valencia, you bring your kids from a young age so they are used to all of this!
Try to get to at least one of these while you are there.
Nighttime Fireworks – LATE night!!
Night time Fireworks – we actually didn’t make any of these as they were always at midnight or later! We could hear them from our place and saw a bit of the fireworks from afar, and they were quite the show!!
We would have gone if our place had been closer to where the fireworks were going off. But it was over a 30-minute walk, so by that time at night, we were all done and in bed with our pajamas on!
We also heard that each night leading up to the last night, the fireworks get grander and grander, with the last night being the La Nit del Foc (The Night Of Fire).
Neighborhood Parades
We would randomly run into parades all the time. Either while we were walking or we would hear it out our vacation rental window. I think they were all for the Offering Of the Flowers. But to be honest we never really figured it out??? If you are interested in seeing this, I would ask a local if they know the schedule.
Without knowing what was going on, we still caught some of the parades where we were able to see their gorgeous outfits as they walked the streets to bring their offering. The offering ended at Plaça de la Mare de Déu.
We had also read that the Ruzafa neighborhood was worth seeing at night since they did a great job with lights. We never made it there. But if you are in the area, you will want to check it out!
Offering Of The Flowers
Full disclosure: I am still not 100% sure what this was all about. My take was it was a religious offering of flowers?? Don’t quote me on that. We saw that each neighborhood had their set time to do a parade and bring flowers from their neighborhood to Plaça de la Mare de Déu where the flowers were added to a gigantic wire form of Mary.
By the end, the form was completely filled with flowers. It was quite the site to see! It was also very emotional for the locals, as a lot of them were crying through this procession.
Fire Parade
Parade – on the last day, they did a fire parade, and it was just that! During the parade, the Fallera Mayor (queen of the Fallas) walks down the street along with a few other people involved in the festival.
After that, they have techno teams that walk down the streets twirling tubes with sparks shooting out of them. Yes, it is wild. Sparks are flying all over the place, and they have some pretty cool contraptions they made that have the sparks flying around in circles!
We were right in the front row, and one of the tubes flew off and landed at Knox’s feet! It was a bit scary, and it burned a hole in his pants – but luckily, they ran over and put it out right away.
In true style of not really having a clue what was going on. We worked hard to determine where this parade would be by asking locals, asking the policeman, and confirming we were in the right place for the parade.
We thought many people would be there an hour before to hold their spot. Like at the 4th of July parades in the US! That wasn’t the case. We were the first ones there to secure our spot. Part of that ended up being that the parade didn’t start until 7 pm – not 6 pm like we thought.
This also meant a lot of people stopped to ask us if this was where the parade was. It felt good that we weren’t the only ones confused about when things were happening!
Originally, it said the parade started at 6 pm. We secured our spot at 5 pm but the parade didn’t end up starting until after 7 pm! By that time, it was packed, and we were happy to have front-row seats for the parade. Well, until one of the fireworks flew out at Knox. At that point he was happy to move back a bit!
I would definitely recommend coming to the parade. It was a very unique experience, and I doubt we will see something like this again any time soon!
2024 Information: 07:00 pm – Fuego Parade starting from Calle de la Paz to Plaza de la Porta la Mar.
Burning Of The Fallas
Burning of the Fallas – on the last day, they burn all these amazing structures down to the ground! Yes, it sounds crazy – but this is part of the tradition, so everyone knows what is coming. A huge crowd of people is there to see them burn. But even from afar, it is a crazy thing to see.
They light fireworks (of course) right before they “blow up” the structure. Note: all of these structures are right in the middle of the street with buildings all around them – so they don’t really blow up as much as light them on fire – but it is a loud process!
They start doing this with the smaller kids’ fallas and move to the larger ones.
We knew we wanted to see one of the top 3 Fallas be burned down since it was so big. As we had learned from the parade, we should get there early. We did and held our spot right up until the firefighters showed up and told us we weren’t in a good spot and we had to move back. Ugh!
Wish they would have been there hours before to set the boundaries so we knew.
Lesson learned with that. Make sure the spot you pick is far enough back that it makes sense to be there. The one we were in was on a corner but the building was really close behind us. In the end, they moved everyone out of that section and only let people go in the areas where the long street was behind them.
I was disappointed we had to watch from so far back. But even watching from there it was quite the site to see! Be aware it is SUPER packed during this time. We got a little scared at one point when everyone was pushing when we had to move sites, and you literally felt like you couldn’t get out of it. That prompted us to make a beeline for the back.
If you plan to be in the area sooner, you may want to check out the la despertà (the awakening), which occurs on March 1st, the festival’s first day. You can learn more about it here.
Las Fallas Activities
If you are looking to do some guided tours or more touristy things in Valencia, there are a few options. I do wish we would have gotten tickets ahead of time for the Fallas Guided Tour. By the time I looked, it was all sold out. You can learn more here: Afternoon Tour: Las Fallas, Much More Than An Experience. They also offer a morning tour.
You can buy a few other tours and tickets for the special section. You can check all those out here.
Where To Eat
During the festival, the hard part will be finding a table to eat at., Especially if you are right in the town center. If you go a little ways out of the center of town, you will be able to find places to eat. Also, note that a lot of places can close down from 2-6 pm or something like that.
Pay attention to restaurants’ opening and closing times so you can plan your day. But never fear, Mcdonald’s is open all day – if you just need to grab something!
Little Pizza 22
We enjoyed pizza and drinks here. And liked that we could sit outside right by the statues! It was also a good in-between place as we were walking between neighborhoods.
Buñuelos and Chocolate
You will see these all over the place. Be sure you get some to try! It is basically fried dough you dip in chocolate. Yum! We went to Horchateria El Collado for ours.
Grocery Store
We had a grocery store right across from our vacation rental, so we stocked up on food. But be aware stores are closed on Sundays, and there was also a holiday off, so the store was closed for 2 dates. We didn’t know that! I recommend asking when you first go in to know when the store is open and closed.
Where To Stay
Piso Visitacion – We stayed at this vacation rental that was a bit outside of the main city part. But it had its own neighborhood Falla right down the street, a fireworks store close by, and was not out of earshot of daily and nightly fireworks :)! It was a 30+ minute walk to the main Town Hall Plaza. Besides that, it was a great place to stay!
We also stayed one night at Soho Valencia, which was a very nice hotel/apartment building right by the train station.
If you want to be right in the action, I would look for a place by the Town Hall or Plaça de l’Ajuntament. But remember, this is RIGHT in the middle of it all. We thought it was loud by us I couldn’t imagine staying here! That being said, if we did it again, we would come for just 2 nights, the 18th and 19th, which are the last 2 days of the festival and stay right in the mix!
I hope you found this article useful! My best advice would be you probably aren’t going to 100% know what is going on – unless you are there with a local. So go in with an open mind, ask questions, and just walk around and enjoy this fun, loud, amazing event!
Enjoy your time at the Las Fallas festival!
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