Lorraine Williamson
There is something different about Spain in September. The days are still warm, the beaches and terraces haven’t quite emptied, and summer certainly doesn’t feel over, but the frantic pace of July and August begins to ease. Towns start to feel like themselves again, and life gradually settles back into its normal rhythm.
September offers something that July and August sometimes cannot: Spain is still very much in fiesta mode, but in many places the intensity of the peak tourist season is beginning to ease. It is also harvest time, bringing wine and food traditions into the calendar alongside major city celebrations and much smaller local fiestas.
Spain’s official tourism portal highlights September as an important month for vendimia, or grape-harvest celebrations, as well as patron saint festivals and historical recreations across the country.
Logroño: wine takes over the city
19–25 September | La Rioja
If there is one celebration that captures September in Spain, Logroño’s Fiestas de San Mateo and the 69th Rioja Wine Harvest Festival is a strong contender. More than 350 activities are planned, with the official festivities beginning on 19 September, although preliminary events are already under way today.
Wine and grapes are at the heart of the celebrations. One of the biggest traditions comes on 21 September, when grapes are crushed, and the first must is offered to the Virgen de Valvanera, patron saint of La Rioja. There is also a public grape pressing on 23 September, while music, fireworks, floats, food events and street celebrations fill the city throughout the week.
Today’s programme provides an early taste of what is coming, with children born during the past year receiving their first festival neckerchief at Logroño’s town hall. The vendimiadores representing this year’s harvest will be proclaimed on Wednesday, followed by the festival proclamation on Thursday and the opening of the Fuente del Vino on Friday evening.
Rioja’s grapes & glory: San Mateo Festival
Tarragona: human towers, giants and 600 years of fire
15–24 September | Catalonia
Tarragona’s Santa Tecla celebrations begin on Tuesday, bringing ten days and 513 events to the city. The programme combines music, food and performances with some of Catalonia’s best-known traditions, including castells, the spectacular human towers, giants and the Seguici Popular traditional procession.
2026 adds an extra historical dimension. Tarragona is marking more than 600 years of documented fire traditions at its festivities, with records of a St Michael performance dating back to the 15th century. The celebrations culminate on 24 September with the Santa Tecla Correfoc, when devils, dragons and other traditional figures carry fire and pyrotechnics through the streets before the final traca.
Cartagena goes back more than 2,000 years
18–27 September | Murcia
For ten days, Cartagena will turn the clock back to the Second Punic War as thousands of participants recreate the struggle between Carthage and Rome for ancient Qart Hadasht.
The Carthaginians and Romans festival includes theatrical recreations of events such as the foundation of Qart Hadasht, the wedding of Hannibal and Himilce, the Roman Senate, Hannibal’s march towards Rome and the arrival of the Roman fleet. Troops and legions parade through the city before the programme reaches the battle for Qart Hadasht itself. The festival is officially recognised as being of International Tourist Interest.
Oviedo celebrates its links with the Americas
19 September | Asturias
One of September’s more unusual celebrations takes place in Oviedo next Saturday. The Día de América en Asturias has been held since 1950 and celebrates the long relationship between Asturias and the countries to which generations of Asturians emigrated.
Floats, folklore and music bring together Asturian traditions with influences from Latin America and other parts of the world that received Asturian emigrants. Held as part of Oviedo’s wider San Mateo festivities, the event is recognised as a Festival of National Tourist Interest.
Barcelona prepares for La Mercè
23–27 September | Catalonia
Later in the month, Barcelona holds its biggest annual city festival, La Mercè. Rather than being a single event, the Festa Major spreads across streets and venues throughout the city with popular culture, live music, street arts and hundreds of activities.
This year’s invited city is Shanghai, marking 25 years of the relationship between Barcelona and the Chinese city. More than 100 artists from Shanghai and Barcelona’s Chinese community are expected to take part, alongside the traditional giants, castellers, fire traditions and other elements that give La Mercè its distinctly Catalan character.
One last chance for Murcia’s Moors and Christians
Until 14 September | Murcia
Anyone already in Murcia this weekend still has time to catch the final part of the city’s Moros y Cristianos celebrations. Elaborate costumes, music, and parades recreate elements of the city’s medieval history, bringing together Moorish and Christian groups in one of the region’s most visual annual events.
The 2026 edition has additional significance because it coincides with celebrations marking 1,200 years since the foundation of Murcia. The regional tourism authority describes the festival as a celebration not only of medieval conflict but also of the cultural influences that helped shape the city.
Albacete’s September feria continues
Until 17 September | Castilla-La Mancha
There are also several days left to experience the Feria de Albacete, one of Spain’s major September fairs. Running each year from 7 to 17 September, the celebration combines its enormous fairground atmosphere with music, food, traditional events and the distinctive circular Feria enclosure at the centre of proceedings.
For anyone within travelling distance, this is very much a go now rather than save it for later entry on the September calendar: the final days take place this week.
Mayorga: a night illuminated by burning grape skins
27 September | Valladolid
Towards the end of the month comes one of the most distinctive traditions on the list. In Mayorga, Valladolid, the Procesión de El Vítor commemorates the arrival of the relics of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, who was born in the town and later became an important missionary in South America.
During the procession, residents carry torches traditionally made using grape skins as they walk from the saint’s house towards the hermitage. Songs, fire and fireworks accompany a tradition dating back to the 18th century, when local people are said to have gone out carrying torches to welcome the saint’s relics.
September is far from over
The biggest summer festivals may have passed, but Spain’s celebration calendar certainly has not. In many ways, the second half of September offers a different experience: harvest traditions become more prominent, local fiestas return to centre stage and major cities celebrate alongside towns where traditions have survived for centuries.
For those willing to travel beyond the usual summer destinations, the next two weeks offer something for everyone. There is everything from wine and food to Roman battles, human towers, fire, music and processions. September may be quieter than August, but culturally, Spain is nowhere near ready to call time on summer.
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