In November the Andres Segovia International Classical Guitar Competition takes place in La Heredura's beautiful San José Church. This annual event attracts leading classical guitarists under 35 years of age from around the world and its objective is to promote the diffusion and study of the guitar.
In 2026, Dreambeach will celebrate its 12th edition at a new location - Velez-Malaga. It has been renamed Dreambeach Costa del Sol and shortened from three to two music days.
Sanlúcar is also noted for its horse racing which dates back to 1845 and takes place along a 2,000 stretch of beach at the mouth of the Río Guadalquivir during the month of August, daily from 6.00 pm, on the 2nd and 4th weekends of the month (Thursday to Saturday). This is a thrilling spectacle where real racehorses thunder across the sand watched by a large noisy crowd of spectators.
Every year on July 16th Virgin del Carmen Day is celebrated in Nerja in honour of the town’s maritime tradition. Whereas some towns hold a draw to choose the boat that will carry the image of the Virgen del Carmen out to sea, in Nerja the town actually has a special boat that has been designed just for Virgen del Carmen Day. The man who designed this boat was Jose Calvente, also known as Pepe el Califate
If the Virgen del Carmen is safe anywhere on the Costa del Sol it would have to be Marbella. There the image of the Virgin is kept 12 metres underground in a vault. Thankfully, she sees the light of day every July 16 on her own very special day, one that is celebrated up and down the Coasts of Andalucia.
Like many large cities, Málaga has absorbed what once were nearby villages. Therefore, some of Málaga’s seaside neighbourhoods continue to carry on the customs handed down to them by the fishermen and their families who established them.
Every year, Estepona celebrates its long fishing tradition with its own Virgen del Carmen festival on July 16. The event comprises several days of magnificent Catholic display and civic festivities.
Religious icons are hugely popular in Andalucia; they are normally handcrafted from wood and porcelain and spend 99.9 per cent of the year in glass-covered alcoves at the local church. Most are dusted down and placed on flower-decked thrones at Easter-time when they are lovingly and solemnly borne through the streets. The Virgen del Carmen, however, has her own special day.
The El Rocío pilgrimage is the most famous in the region, attracting nearly a million people from across Andalucia and the entire country, and beyond. Every Andalucian city, town and village has its own pilgrimages, for its patron saint, virgin or other much-loved local figure, but the El Rocio has cult status, and is the most important and most colourful.
Ronda is an ancient mountain town of scenic vistas, romantic plazas, and historic treasures. Once a year, the town also sees a return to tradition with its annual Feria Goyesca. A fairly recent festival, at least in Andalucian terms, this event has captured the imagination of Spain with its traditional dress, important bullfights and ageless glamour.
In Andalucia, there's a party every day - whether it's to celebrate a harvest (mostly in the autumn - grapes, olives, chestnuts, mushrooms) - a saint's day, or the town's own annual feria, when every town and village puts on a show, with casetas, sherry and dancing. Over 3,000 fiestas are celebrated every year in Andalucia, including fairs, pilgrimages, carnivals, mock battles between Moors and Christians.
Every year the beaches of Sanlucar de Barrameda in the province of Cádiz come alive with the pounding of hooves as the famous horse races take over the coast. Traditionally, the races take place the second and fourth weeks of August from Friday to Sunday. The schedule also depends on the tide times so they might come foward a week.
In most wine-growing districts of Andalucia and Spain, the vintage or grape harves begins on the feast of St Matthew (21st September). In Jerez it starts officially on 8th September, the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. The first grapes may be picked a week or two early, especially if the weather has been very dry and sunny. The harvest lasts about a month.
Every town and village in Andalucia has its own feria or fair, and it would be possible, if one had superhuman powers of endurance, to spend the whole summer following them about the region. The summer annual feria originated in the middle ages, and was the principal means of interchange of local products within the kingdom.
Certain festivals seem to summarise life in Spain, with its love of having a good time in the company of friends and loved ones. The Night of San Juan is definitely one of these events. It is a celebration that is usually held on the beach with roaring bonfires, drink, food, and friends. It is a memorable, almost surreal scene and one that needs to be experienced.
Andalucia is famous for its pilgrimages or "romerías" - so called because pilgrims traditionally walked to Rome, and therefore became known as "romeros" - to popular shrines, around which fiestas are held.
Each town has one or two patron saints. There will be a local bank holiday and celebrations on the day of the patron saint of the town according to the catholic calendar. Check for dates in the town's pages in our regional section.
Theatre Festivals. Sevilla, Málaga, Cadiz, Jerez and other cities offer theatre and opera festivals and programmes.
This festival is more popular in the east of Andalucia in the mainly provinces of Granada and Almeria, It takes place on different many days through out the year depending on the locality.
The annual Malaga city fair from Sat 15th to Sat 22nd Aug 2026 is an exuberant week-long street party with plenty of flamenco and 'fino' (sherry). The fair commemorates the re-conquest of the city by Isabella and Ferdinand in 1487 and traditionally runs for a week from Saturday to Sunday (inclusive) over the third week in August.
