You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
Home
Create Your Trip

Spain & Portugal Travel Tips

Traditions and Celebrations

Spain & Portugal's traditions and celebrations reflect the region's diverse history and cultural heritage. From lively festivals to time-honored customs, below are some of the most notable Iberian traditions and celebrations.

Spain

Flamenco is an integral part of Andalusian culture, characterized by its passionate music, intricate dance, and soulful singing. Experience the electrifying energy of a flamenco performance in cities like Seville, Granada, and Cordoba, where local artists captivate audiences with their mesmerizing performances.


La Tomatina is an iconic festival held annually in the town of Buñol, where participants engage in a massive tomato fight. This lively event attracts thousands of visitors from around the world who gather to hurl ripe tomatoes at each other in a spirited and playful celebration of camaraderie and fun.


Ferias are colorful and lively celebrations that take place in towns and cities throughout Andalusia, typically during the summer months. Experience the vibrant atmosphere of ferias as locals don traditional flamenco attire, ride ornately decorated horse-drawn carriages, and dance the night away in festive casetas (tents) filled with music, food, and drink.

Horse cart

People riding a horse cart carriage at a fair festival

Portugal

Fado is a melancholic and soul-stirring genre of music that originated in the streets and taverns of Lisbon. Experience the haunting beauty of fado performances in intimate venues known as fado houses (casas de fado), where talented singers (fadistas) convey tales of love, longing, and loss through their heartfelt melodies.


São João is a lively and exuberant festival celebrated in Porto, on the night of June 23rd. Join locals as they take to the streets to participate in age-old customs such as hitting each other with garlic flowers (alho-porro) and releasing illuminated paper lanterns into the night sky, all in honor of Saint John the Baptist.


Festas de Lisboa is an annual celebration in Lisbon, honoring the city's patron saint, Santo António. The festival features lively street parties, concerts, and parades, as well as traditional sardine grilling, creating a vibrant atmosphere of joy and camaraderie throughout the city.

 Festas de Lisboa

Sardine and sweet basil figures during  Festas de Lisboa

Shared Celebrations

Semana Santa is a solemn and deeply religious celebration that takes place in cities and towns across Spain and Portugal during the week leading up to Easter Sunday. Witness elaborate processions featuring ornately decorated floats, religious statues, and hooded penitents as they wind their way through the streets, accompanied by the haunting sound of drums and trumpets.


The International Festival of the Iberian Mask is a cultural celebration that highlights the diverse traditions and artistic expressions of mask-making across the Iberian Peninsula. Held annually since 2006, this festival brings together artisans, performers, and enthusiasts from Spain and Portugal to share their craftsmanship, stories, and rituals associated with traditional masks.

Semana Santa

Holy Week procession in Seville, Brotherhood of Carmen Doloroso, Andalusia, Spain