Venue: Nerja
Event Date: 8th to 12th
The streets and squares of Nerja come alive with colour and music for the annual Nerja Feria, held in honour of the town's patrons:
Like most Spanish festivals, the Nerja Feria is a mix of religious tradition and a good old Spanish knees-up. Towards the end of September, a statue of the Virgin is carried from its shrine to the El Salvador Church. After mass on 10 October, the locals return the Virgin to her sanctuary in a grand procession, accompanied by a statue of Saint Michael.
On the party side of things, casetas (tents) are set up, decorated with crepe-paper and fairy lights, and filled with revellers from dusk till dawn. On the streets a variety of parades (including the crowning of the feria queen) and street theatre performances take place, though the action centres on the casetas that blast out flamenco music.
Peer into one of the tents and you will find women in traditional Spanish dresses dancing to the click of the traditional feria drink). If the noisy casetas all get a bit too much, there is always the open-air fairground to enjoy.