Les Fallas de Valencia

What: Offi­cial­ly cel­e­brat­ing St Joseph’s day, Valencia’s fes­ti­val of fire – the Les Fal­las de Valen­cia – is a 19 day cel­e­bra­tion which fea­tures pro­gres­sive­ly loud­er dai­ly fire­work dis­plays which top the 120 dec­i­mal bar­ri­er, parades, fire­crack­ers, a morn­ing wake up call from a brass band, gun pow­der explo­sions, music, the burn­ing of 30ft high plan­tas – and more pael­la than you can eat!.

The pin­na­cle of the fes­ti­val comes in the final four days of the fes­ti­val, when the plan­tas, build by the dif­fer­ing neigh­bour­hoods in Valen­cia through­out the year and which depict polit­i­cal or world events, are first­ly cer­e­mo­ni­ous­ly parad­ed through­out the city, then judged by a com­mit­tee and final­ly lined up in the cen­tre of Valen­cia where amidst the back­drop of thou­sands of fire­works, they are set ablaze in a thun­der­ous late night cer­e­mo­ny.

When:  The fes­ti­val offi­cial­ly lasts for 19 days begin­ning with the dai­ly fire shows at 2pm from the 1^st of March and slow­ly build­ing up with loud­er shows, cel­e­bra­tions, pael­la feasts up till the final four days of the fes­ti­val  — the 15^th to the 19^th – when the parad­ing, cel­e­brat­ing and burn­ing of the plan­tas take place, with the fes­ti­val con­clud­ing on the 19^th with not just the burn­ing of the platas, but a series of bon­fires and a ground shak­ing fire­work show which lasts until the ear­ly hours.

Where: The fes­ti­val takes place in Valen­cia, Spain with the dai­ly fire­work dis­palys tak­ing place in the in the Plaza del Ayun­tamien­to at 2pm and the flower pro­ces­sions on the 17^th and 18th tak­ing place at the Plaza de la Vir­gen – for the final burn­ing of the platas and the cre­ma the best place to be is again in the Plaza del Ayun­tamien­to, but be sure to arrive ear­ly to grab a good view­ing spot.

Dura­tion: The fes­ti­val offi­cial­ly lasts for 19 days, with the days from the 1^st – 15^th March fea­tur­ing dai­ly fire­work shows in the Plaza del Ayun­tamien­to, which being at 2pm and last for eight min­utes with each dis­play get­ting big­ger and loud­er as the days progress in build up to the last four days of the fes­ti­val.

On the 15^th, the fes­ti­val kicks up a gear and the fol­low­ing four days begin with an 8am morn­ing wake up call by a brass band, who parade the streets of Valen­cia with not just their instru­ments but also a series of fire­crak­ers, to make sure every­one is in the mood for the fall­es. On the morn­ing of the 15^th the Fal­las will be offi­cial­ly unveiled and parad­ed through the streets, before the dai­ly fire­work show is amped up a few deci­bels.

The 17^th and the 18^th fea­ture not only the above but also the parad­ing of mem­bers of the local com­mu­ni­ties, dressed in tra­di­tion­al reli­gious cloth­ing, through the streets of Valen­cia, before the fes­ti­val con­cludes on the 19th, with not only an earth-shak­ing, ground rock­ing fire­work dis­play that ignites the sky of Valen­cia, but the brun­ing of the fal­las in a cer­e­mo­ny known as the cre­ma – with the burn­ing tak­ing place in the Plaça de l’Ajuntament begin­ning at 10pm and last­ing well into the ear­ly hours as the Fal­las de Valen­cia is ful­ly cel­e­brat­ed.

Tick­ets: Entrance is free for the fire­work dis­plays and to watch both the parad­ing and burn­ing of the fal­las — although it’s rec­om­mend­ed to arrive ear­ly in the final few days of the fes­ti­val and espe­cial­ly on the last night of the fes­ti­val to secure a good spot.

Need to Know:  The fire­works dis­play can be loud, very loud, so con­sid­er ear pro­tec­tion and be pre­pared to wrap up warm as the fes­ti­val still takes place in the last days of win­ter.

More Infor­ma­tion: For more infor­ma­tion on Les Fal­las de Valen­cia, includ­ing the plan­tas on dis­play and the parade route vis­it: [https://www.visitvalencia.com/en/events-valencia/festivities/the-fallas]