Experience the Great July Fair!
With the arrival of July, the city of Valencia fills up with an endless number of leisure and cultural activities for all tastes and ages. The Gran Fira de Juliol or July Fair of Valencia is the most important event of the summer. But where does this big festival come from?
Its origins date back to 1871. During the 19th century, society endured a lot of suffering because of wars and pandemics, so the need to create a festival to cheer up citizens was felt.
In addition, with the arrival of the holidays, the wealthy people left the city to spend summer in their mansions, located in towns around Valencia. For all these reasons, the City Council decided to offer a series of cultural and festive activities with the idea of boosting commerce, promoting tourism and making upper class remain in the city.
From that moment on, Valencia has been offering a variety of activities such as: parties, livestock exhibitions, fair of agricultural products, flower and plant exhibitions, dances, concerts, bullfights, literary competitions and the Battle of Flowers. Many of these events continue to this day.
The Fair has become a sign of identity of the city of Valencia. In this year 2024 there will be more than 200 free activities for all audiences.
Here are the ones you can’t miss:
Concerts in Viveros Park
18 concerts of national and international music.
- When: From 2nd to 23rd of July
- Where: Jardines de los Viveros
Discover the artists here.
Festa al parc
In the Central Park activities for the whole family will take place, such as games, workshops, live music, etc.
- When: 12th,13th and 14th of July
- Where: Parque Central
- Free entry
Battle of flowers
It is a unique parade in which floats decorated with flowers travel along the Paseo de la Alameda while the public throws flowers at them.
- When: 28th of July, from 8am
- Where: Paseo de la Alameda
Jazz Festival
The Jazz Festival celebrates its 27th edition, this summer. Renowned international artists, some of them Grammy Award winners, and outstanding Valencian talents will be taking part.
- When: From 20th of June to 28th of July
- Where: Palau de la Música
Buy your ticket here
Funfair
- When: from Sunday to Thursday, from 6:30pm to 1am. Friday and Saturday, from 6.30pm to 2am.
- Where: Between the Flowers Bridge and the Exhibition
Entrance of the Moors and Christians
The Cabañal beach will host the Medieval Fair and the traditional entrance of the Moors and Christians. The event starts in Calle de la Reina and offers re-enacted battles, traditional costumes, music and rhythm.
- When: From 4th to 7th of July
- Where: Cabañal
Visit to Albufera
From Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm, all July. Don’t miss the totally free of charge guided tours of Albufera!
- When: from 1st to 24th of July
More information here.
Gran Nit de juliol
The streets of Valencia are filled with music and free activities.
It is called the Great Night of July (Gran Nit de juliol) as most of the museums will be open at night and offer extraordinary activities.
Check the program here.
Fireworks show
In July, there will be fireworks show every Saturday:
Pirotecnia Caballer FX- Saturday, July 6th
– Plaza del Ayuntamiento, 11.59pm
Pirotecnia Vulcano – Saturday, July 13th
– Puente de Monteolivete, 11.59pm
Pirotecnia Valenciana – Saturday, July 20th
– La Marina de Valencia, 11.59pm
Pirotecnia Tamarit – Saturday, July 27th
– Plaza del Ayuntamiento, 11.59pm
Finally, you can find more information about the activities of the July Fair here.
We hope that today’s article will make you enjoy a wonderful and entertaining month of July in Valencia.
From our Spanish language school El Rincón del Tándem, we encourage you to continue learning about local festivals and traditions. And also, to put into practice everything you have learnt in the Spanish courses in informal contexts and everyday life.
Happy July!
