Fallas de València: experience a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage event

Published 01/03/2023

València has completed the final preparations and is ready to host Fallas, a festival unlike any other. Keep reading to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

Fallas de València is a festival you have to experience at least once in your lifetime, though most probably you’ll find yourself wanting to come back year after year. The event is a unique opportunity to enjoy València city, the historic centre and its most iconic sights. 

The month of February and early March are packed with surprises that will get you in the Fallas mood and prepare you for the festivities to come. La Crida, for instance, is an emotional call out to the Fallas world, set against the backdrop of Torres de Serrano, marking the official countdown to Fallas de València. 

From the 1 March, you can see a daily mascletá – a noisy firecracker display – at 2pm in Plaza del Ayuntamiento. The square often gets busy so it’s worth getting there a bit early. 

From the 16 march, the fallas or sculptures will finally be ready for you to visit in the streets. Get prepared for plenty of irony, colour and spectacle. We’d recommend putting on a pair of comfortable shoes and exploring the different streets and neighbourhoods in search of the sculptures that capture your attention. On your way, you’re sure to bump into verbenas (street parties), paellas being cooked up at night, buñuelo (a sort of doughnut) stalls and band music. Fallas de València is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. 

From the 17, at around midnight, there will be fireworks displays. Before this, the Ofrenda de Flores will have started, an offering of flowers to Mare de Déu which culminates in a beautiful floral tapestry being created next to the cathedral. 

Fallas de València 2023 will be an unforgettable one if you attend Nit del Foc, the night of fire, taking place in the early morning from the 18 to the 19 March, filling the sky with magnificent shapes and colour. And, of course, your heart will skip a beat or two at the Cremà, in which the street sculptures will be burnt as emotional falleros watch. Come and experience Fallas de València and you’ll never be quite the same again. 

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