Granada’s cultural calendar: festivals month by month

Granada has two calendars: the official one and the one made of its festivals. The second is the one that shows you the real city — and the one worth checking before deciding when to come and study Spanish.

Winter

• January — the Three Kings Parade (5th): the magical night of Spanish childhood; floats and sweets through the city centre. And on the 2nd, the Toma de Granada, the commemoration of 1492: today it lives alongside a civic debate about how to remember it — and understanding that debate is understanding today’s Granada.
• February — San Cecilio: the city’s patron saint, with a pilgrimage up to the Sacromonte on the first Monday of February: salaíllas (salted flatbread), broad beans and neighbourhood spirit among the caves. A very local, untouristy festival — perfect for practising Spanish.

Spring

• March/April — Holy Week: processions between the Albaicín and the centre, with unique moments (the climb to the Sacromonte among bonfires, the silence in Plaza Nueva). Movable dates.
• 3 May — the Día de la Cruz 🌸: the most Granada-like festival of all. Squares and courtyards fill with crosses made of flowers, flamenco dresses and carnations; the whole city takes to the streets. If you can only live one local festival, make it this one.
• May/June — Corpus Christi: Granada’s big fair (movable dates): casetas at the fairground, an illuminated gateway, and through the centre the Tarasca, the enigmatic figure paraded on the eve whose outfit, they say, predicts the year’s fashion.

Summer

• June/July — International Festival of Music and Dance 🎻: decades of concerts on the most beautiful stages imaginable: the Generalife, the Court of the Myrtles, the palaces. Classical music and dance under the Alhambra’s stars.
• July/August — summer nights: open-air cinema, terraces, and the tropical coast an hour away to escape the heat.

Autumn

• Late September — the Virgen de las Angustias: the city’s patroness. A huge floral offering along the Carrera de la Virgen and a procession on the last Sunday of the month. That day everyone eats the traditional tortas de la Virgen.
• November — International Jazz Festival 🎷: one of Spain’s longest-running jazz festivals. Granada in coat-and-club mode.

And all year round

• The university agenda (concerts, theatre, talks) sets the rhythm from October to June.
• Flamenco has no season: the zambras of the Sacromonte and the peñas never stop.
• And tapas, the city’s daily festival, doesn’t rest either.

A tip from the Clinic

Every festival is a Spanish and culture lesson you won’t find in books: Holy Week vocabulary is nothing like Corpus vocabulary, and the May Crosses speak pure Granada. Our cultural activities and routes are programmed around this calendar — and if you come in May or June, let us know: the city will be waiting at its very best.