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Top Ten Festivals

The Europeans tend to 'do' festivals much better than we do in Britain (they usually have the weather on their side for a start!) and, particularly in Spain, seemingly every town and village, no matter how small, has an annual festival or fair. In fact, if you find yourself in the right place at the right time, these smaller events are arguably more enjoyable because you can often join in the festivities yourself.

Semana Santa and the Feria de Abril, Seville. It's only right that fiestas as big as these should top our list. Semana Santa (Holy Week) comes first, the main event of which are the processions through the city of brotherhoods of the church, penitents and ornately decorated floats which depict the Virgen or Christ. The Feria de Abril, held a fortnight later, is wonderfully flamboyant. Every night for a week, flamenco dancers perform in the hundreds of tents and pavilions erected in the Los Remedios district, and locals wear traditional costume.

Verbena de Sant Joan, Benifallet. At the other end of the extreme is Benifallet, a village in southern Catalonia with just 950 inhabitants that features on the A Meander along the Ebro cycle. The first of their two annual fiestas is the Verbena de Sant Joan, held on 23 June, and is one that you may prefer to watch rather than participate in – villagers take turns to jump over burning effigies so as to cleanse the human body and banish evil spirits.

Il Palio, Siena. Siena's spectacular, twice-yearly bare-back horse races, held in July and again in August, date from at least the 13th century. Although the main race itself is over in a matter of minutes, the related events last several days, starting with the draw to select the horses and jockeys (only ten of the city's districts can compete), followed by several trial races. On the day of the main race, the horses are taken to the relevant district's church to be blessed (it's apparently good luck if the horse makes a mess on the floor) and are then led to the Campo, Siena's main plaza, in a procession led by drummers and pages dressed in medieval costume. The long-standing rivalry between the districts makes for a frenzied atmosphere as the horses speed round the Campo.

Le Grand Pardon, Perros-Guirec. Brittany is a deeply traditional region with a strong Celtic culture. An important feature of the region's religious calendar is the pardon, which is celebrated at numerous churches and cathedrals throughout Brittany. As the name suggests, the event is a chance for people to ask for forgiveness, and usually involves a procession of villagers in the traditional costume (a black dress and lace apron and cap for the women) carrying banners of the local saint. Time your walk along Brittany's Granite Coast right and you could encounter one of Perros-Guirec's pardons – Le Grand Pardon is usually held on 15 August.

Corpus Christi, Hallstatt. As if its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site were not enough to get it on the map, the idyllic village of Hallstatt in Austria's lake district (featured on our Lakes & Mountains walk) boasts one of Austria's most colourful Corpus Christi celebrations. After processions through the streets, the participants sail across Hallstättersee in a flotilla of tiny boats.

Arts Festival, Spoleto. Spoleto, an atmospheric Umbrian hill town featured on our Italy's Green Heart walk, is the setting for one of Italy's leading international arts festivals. Between late June and early July each year the town is taken over by all types of performers, and a wide range of plays, operas, films, concerts and dance events are held at numerous venues around the town. This is, of course, a very busy time, but the crowds and countless street performers make for a special atmosphere.

Fiesta de San Antonio, Trevélez. Many Spanish fiestas, particularly those of villages in Andalucia, celebrate the Christians' success in gradually driving the Moors from Spain. Trevélez in the Alpujarras is one such village, and holds its fiesta on San Antonio's Day, 13 June. As is the case with all fiestas of this type, the celebrations usually begin with a procession of villagers dressed as Moors and Christians, followed by a battle re-enactment, which naturally ends with the Moors either dying or being converted to Christianity.

La Braderie, Lille. The first weekend of September sees hundreds of small traders and stall holders descend on Lille for a 48-hour market that lasts until midnight on Sunday. It is thought that the event originated in the Middle Ages, when domestic staff were allowed to sell unwanted goods belonging to their employers for one day each year between sunrise and sunset. Obviously it has grown greatly since then, but the libertarian values of the original event still survive, with anyone allowed to sell just about anything. It is traditional to sustain yourself with moules frites, and the smell of frying potatoes fills the air above the bustling bric-a-brac stalls.

Cantada de Havaneres, Calella de Palafrugell. The traditional accompaniment to this fiesta on the Catalan Coast is not chips but a cup of cremat – hot coffee flambéed with rum. Held in early July, it is devoted to traditional sailors' songs. The rhythmic, melancholic songs were picked up from the Caribbean by sailors in the 19th century, and some recitals are held on the beach.

Sagra del Pesce, Camogli. Held on the second Sunday in May, this is another festival linked to the sea and is dedicated to San Fortunato, the patron saint of fishermen, in the hope that the fishermen of the Ligurian Coast will continue to draw big catches over the coming year. The festivities begin with fireworks and bonfires on the Saturday night, then on the Sunday freshly caught fish are fried in a huge frying pan measuring some 5 metres in diameter and handed out free of charge as a demonstration of the abundant resources of the sea.

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