The temperature is rising as the summer really begins in Valencia, and the city's annual July Festival is well underway. Locals and visitors alike will be enjoying 275 events and activities in 50 locations throughout the Gran Fira, as the festival is known in the Valencian language.
The Great Valencia Fair, to use its English name, is over 240 years old and was known formerly as the July Festival or Fair. It was first created to provide entertainment in the city in the summer, to try to prevent locals leaving for other destinations and to attract visitors from further afield too.
The first festival took place on 21 July 1871, with impressive horseback parades, pavilions, plant exhibitions and markets.
Here are some of the highlights for 2018, you can also download the full programme in English (PDF 1.2Mb) or find more information in Spanish and Valencian on the Gran Fira de Valencia website.
Viveros Concerts
Live, night time concerts in the Viveros Gardens. Read more...
Fireworks Festival
Pyrotechnic displays that the Valencians are famous for, every Saturday at midnight in the old river bed (in front of Torres de Serranos).
Gran Nit de Juliol
The main event of the festival is La Gran Nit de Juliol in Valencian, or La Gran Noche in Spanish. Simply meaning: The Big Night, although many events start in the daytime. Find live music, street theatre and more, all around the city on the second-to-last Saturday of the month.
Battle of Flowers
This fantastically colourful event takes place on the last Sunday of the month in the Paseo de la Alameda in the city centre, and marks the end of the July Festival. Read more...