Las Fallas Festival in Valencia – guide to Spain's most spectacular festival

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: August 2026 | Las Fallas is Valencia's most famous festival and one of Spain's biggest folk festivals. Every March, the city is filled with enormous Fallas figures, flower parades, fireworks and the spectacular finale, La Cremà, when almost the entire city is transformed into one big bonfire. We visited the festival and share our best tips and experiences.

What is Las Fallas?

The Las Fallas festival is celebrated every year from March 15-19 in Valencia, but usually the festivities start as early as March 1. And preparations continue for most of the year.

As it approaches, the streets fill with stalls serving beer and food and revelers of all ages. When we were here we had the great fortune of being shown around by local guides, as our friends Eva and Peter live in Valencia and are devoted Las Fallas celebrants.

READ MORE: 15 things to see and do in Valencia

Festival with a long history

Las Fallas has a long history and was originally a way of celebrating the arrival of spring. Later, the tradition came to be associated with the patron saint of carpenters, Saint Joseph (San José). In the Middle Ages, carpenters had to work by the light of oil lamps hanging from simple wooden stands, known as parots, during the dark season.

When the bright season arrived, the carpenters performed a ceremony of burning the wooden figures. Over time, the figures became more and more human-like, eventually resulting in enormous and absolutely fantastic sculptures, ”fallas”, which are still burned at the end of the festival!

Mascletà – the festival's powerful sound show

Every day at 14:00, from 1 March to 19 March, it is mascleta at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento in Valencia. Along with masses of people, you can crowd the square to experience the ”fireworks”, which can be described as an escalating sound experience, more than a visual experience. While the sound rises to a crescendo and the ground vibrates, the air is filled with dense fog.

Fallas – gigantic works of art throughout Valencia

The first thing people associate with the Las Fallas festival are all the enormous and absolutely fantastic statues that are erected all over the city. The statues are erected on March 15th and by dusk on March 16th they should all be finished.

Each statue has some kind of theme, and often it is celebrities or politicians who are shown in various satirical or humorous situations. The statues are built of Styrofoam on top of wooden scaffolding and are burned in festive ways at the end of the festival.

In total, there are approximately 500 statues from as many different local associations, which then compete against each other in different price categories. Each association also puts up two statues – an ”adult statue” and a ”child statue”, and a lot of money is invested in building these works of art.

Ofrenda de Flores – the great flower parade

Another part of Las Fallas is the flower parade, where people from all regional associations participate with members in traditional clothing, flag bearers and their own musical ensemble.

For two days, the Virgin Mary statue is covered in hundreds of thousands of flowers, which together form an enormous floral dress.

Las Lallas in the evening

The festivities of Las Fallas in Valencia don't end just because it's evening and night. Quite the contrary! People are everywhere and the small stalls in the streets serve everything from beer, fruit drinks and mojitos to candy bars, churros and anything that can be deep-fried. The huge statues are lit up and look even more impressive, if possible.

You can also experience impressive ”light shows” and fireworks. Two different light shows competed against each other when we were here. In both cases, huge stands were built, and when it was time, the streets became crowded, crowded with all the people who wanted to see the light shows, which were accompanied by music.

Nit del Foc – the festival's biggest fireworks display

At midnight it's time for fireworks, and they don't skimp on the gunpowder either. The biggest fireworks display is the one called "Nit del Foc" (Night of Fire) which is held on the last night. We loaded up on sangria and grilled hamburgers at our friends' houses and then went out to experience the evening and the night.

At night, crowds gather at Paseo de la Alameda to watch the final and most powerful fireworks display of Las Fallas. Over 2.5 tons of gunpowder are used and the fireworks are one of the most powerful we have seen.

La Cremà – a fiery finale

After several days of festival, it is time for the ”Cabalgata del Fuego” (fire parade) and ”La Crema”, the burning of all the fantastic statues. This means that 500 statues, sometimes 20-25 meters high and made of wood and Styrofoam, are burned in narrow alleys in the middle of the city while all the people of the city crowd to watch.

More to do in the neighbourhood

Starting in Valencia, you can travel to many other exciting and beautiful places in Spain, such as:

• Peniscola on the coast
• Things to do in Benidorm
• Things to do in Tarragona 
• Things to do in Barcelona