Every March, hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals flood the streets and squares of Valencia to experience the city’s Fallas festival. It’s a truly bucket list-worthy event. It’s also, from this local’s perspective, a right pain in the ears.
I first experienced Fallas – or Falles, in Valencian – in 2019. I was a doe-eyed tourist and still, technically, a student; bright lights and loud noises had recently been a big part of my life. But if my first Fallas had been a largely positive experience, the annual event – like me – quickly got old.
Don’t get me wrong – Fallas is spectacular. There’s just nothing else like it anywhere in the world. It’s as Valencian as paella, horchata, and the world’s best oranges. Besides, who am I – a pasty-faced guiri – to complain about a local festival that’s been around longer than full English breakfasts in Benidorm?
The problem is, when Fallas comes to town, you either have to throw yourself into the festivities or get as far away from them as possible. There is no in between. And these days, I’m much more partial to a si-esta than a fi-esta.
Fallas: lively, colourful, and so very, very noisy…
Fallas sees hundreds of thousands of revellers from around the Valencian Community and beyond descend on the city to join street parties, watch the fireworks, and admire the magnificent – often cuttingly satirical – fallas sculptures before they’re burned to ashes during the closing Cremà.
A falla satirising Brexit during Fallas 2019, around 11 months before the withdrawal agreement entered into force. This is the side of Fallas I can get behind!
The Falla Municipal, outside Valencia’s town hall, during the 2019 Fallas festival.
The Falla Municipal is engulfed in flames during the 2019 Cremà, officially bringing the year’s festivities to a close.
On the one hand, Valencia never feels more alive with energy and colour than during Fallas; on the other, it’s never more crowded, noisy, and overwhelming.
Flights and accommodation costs skyrocket, getting around the city is almost impossible, and a good night’s sleep… oblida-ho (forget about it)! Loud music and explosions will keep you up till the small hours. Not long after you’ve finally nodded off, you’ll be rudely awoken by the early morning Despertà, when a procession of impressively committed falleros winds its way through the streets, dropping petardos – firecrackers – as it goes.
Then there’s the daily Mascletà: an early afternoon fireworks display that amounts to a ballistic assault on the eardrums and leaves me feeling profound sympathy for local pets.
A crowd gathered at Valencia’s Plaça de l’Ajuntament to watch the Mascletà in 2019. These events regularly hit 130 decibels.
Pictured on the way to the Mascletà in 2019. Who brings a horse to a fireworks display?!
This guiri’s gripes aside, Fallas is a unique and awe-inspiring spectacle that rightly features on many a traveller’s bucket list. Yet, to anyone planning to visit the wonderful city of Valencia for the first or only time, to take in its sumptuous sights and culinary delights at a leisurely pace, I say this: give the month of March a wide berth!
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