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Religious festival · Santiago de Compostela
The patronal festival of Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, fills the second half of July with concerts, folk performances and street theatre, and culminates in the fireworks on the night of July 24 and the solemn mass on July 25, the Apostle’s Day and Galicia Day, featuring the botafumeiro in the cathedral.
In the photo: Santiago de Compostela
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Feast of Apostle James — Santiago de Compostela
In the second half of July, with the main days on July 24 and 25: the fireworks on the night of the 24th and the Apostle’s Day, also Galicia Day, on July 25.
July
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
The Feast of the Apostle is the largest celebration in Santiago de Compostela and one of the most important in Galicia. Dedicated to Saint James the Greater, patron of the city, of Galicia and of Spain, whose tomb is traditionally said to lie under the cathedral, the festival occupies the second half of July and combines official religious solemnity with a long programme of music, theatre and popular culture. It is declared of international tourist interest and brings pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, visitors and Galicians from across the region to the city during these days.
The two central days are July 24 and 25. On the night of the 24th, the Eve of the Apostle, Santiago watches fireworks in honour of the saint, a tradition documents trace back to the 17th century, when the Praza do Obradoiro was lit with coloured candles to announce the day. For a long time the highlight was the burning of a fireworks castle reproducing the cathedral’s old façade; the programme may combine fireworks launched from several points in the city, such as the Alameda and the Cidade da Cultura, with light projections and images onto the facades of the Obradoiro.
On the 25th, the cathedral celebrates the solemn mass, in which the king or a representative of the Royal Household makes the traditional offering to the Apostle, and the botafumeiro, a huge brass thurible, is traditionally swung from one side of the transept to the other, pulled by ropes and filling the temple with incense; operation depends on the cathedral’s conditions. The 25th is also Galicia Day, a regional holiday since 1979, with official acts and celebrations throughout the city, and the parade of gigantes and cabezudos walks through the old town streets.
Throughout the fortnight, the squares and parks of the old town host classical, folk and pop concerts, orchestras in the Alameda, street theatre, children’s shows, parades of music bands from across Galicia and displays of traditional costumes and dances. The festival closes on July 31 with another night of fireworks.
In years when July 25 falls on a Sunday, the city celebrates the Jacobean Holy Year, or Xacobeo, which attracts even more pilgrims and extends the religious celebrations throughout the year. For visitors, July combines the arrival of pilgrims at the Praza do Obradoiro, the life of the stone streets of the old town, a World Heritage site, and a festival where religious tradition and cultural programming coexist.
The fireworks in honour of the Apostle on the night of July 24, seen from the Alameda or one of the city’s viewpoints. Light projections onto the facades of the Praza do Obradoiro, when scheduled. The solemn mass on July 25 in the cathedral, with the offering to the Apostle and, when in operation, the botafumeiro. The gigantes and cabezudos in the old town streets on the 25th. The concerts and orchestras in the Alameda throughout the fortnight. The meeting of music bands and the displays of Galician costumes and traditional dances. The arrival of pilgrims at the Praza do Obradoiro at any hour of the day. The fireworks on July 31, which close the festival.
The old town is pedestrian and explored on foot; for the fireworks on the 24th, pick a spot early in the Alameda, in Carlomagno Park or near the Cidade da Cultura, where some of the fireworks are launched, or a viewpoint with a view of the cathedral. The mass on the 25th gets very crowded: entry to the cathedral is limited and organised by the chapter, and many follow the ceremony from outside or on television. The official schedule lists day-by-day music and ceremonies, many of which are free. July brings mild, long days in Galicia, but rain can appear: bring a light jacket and an umbrella. If you’re doing part of the Camino de Santiago, plan your arrival to avoid the busiest days.
In Galicia, the festival goes through the table. Polbo á feira, cooked and served on wooden plates with olive oil, coarse salt and paprika, appears in restaurants and stalls. Tarta de Santiago, almond-based with the Apostle’s cross dusted in sugar, is the city’s sweet. To accompany these, empanadas galegas, shellfish, tetilla cheese and Galician wines such as albariño and ribeiro are common.
Accommodation in Santiago usually fills up early in the second half of July, especially on the nights of the 24th and 25th and during Holy Years; book well in advance. Pilgrim hostels also fill on these dates. Santiago tourism publishes the annual programme, including the fireworks launch points and the cathedral ceremonies.
In the city
Flavors of Spain
July
Your questions
In the second half of July. The main days are July 24, with fireworks at night, and July 25, the Apostle’s Day and Galicia Day, with a solemn mass in the cathedral.
During the solemn mass on July 25 in the cathedral, when the large thurible is swung from one side of the transept to the other during the offering to the Apostle.
The fireworks on the night of July 24 are launched from several points, such as the Alameda and the Cidade da Cultura, and can be seen from the city’s viewpoints. Check the programme to see whether there will be light projections on the facades of the Praza do Obradoiro.
It is the Compostela jubilee year, celebrated when July 25 falls on a Sunday. In those years, the cathedral receives even more pilgrims and the religious celebrations are extended throughout the year.
Festivals and events in Spain
JanuaryOn January 20, the feast day of Saint Sebastian, the city's patron: the celebration begins at midnight between January 19 and 20 and ends at the following midnight.
For 24 hours on January 20, San Sebastián, in the Basque Country, honors its patron saint to the sound of drums and barrels: uniformed companies parade through the city playing the marches of Raimundo Sarriegi, from the raising of the flag in Plaza de la Constitución until the lowering in the same square.
February/MarchAt the end of winter, between February and March, following the movable Carnival calendar: the contests and the queen’s gala take place in the preceding weeks, and the streets celebrate from the opening cavalcade until the weekend after Ash Wednesday.
The capital of Tenerife’s Carnival, in the Canary Islands, with a monumental fantasy queen, murgas, comparsas and rondallas, the big Coso parade on Carnival Tuesday and balls that fill the squares and avenues of the center until dawn.
MarchFrom March 1 to 19, with the main days from March 15 to 19; the official opening, the Crida, is on the last Sunday of February.
Valencia’s festival, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, in which hundreds of satirical monuments of wood, cardboard and cork are erected in the streets, visited for days and burned on the night of March 19 amid fireworks, music and flowers.
March/AprilIn the week before Easter, from Palm Sunday to Resurrection, in March or April.
During Málaga’s Holy Week on the Costa del Sol, the brotherhoods carry enormous floats through the city center, borne on the shoulders of hundreds of porters, accompanied by marching bands, daytime and nighttime processions, and moments unique to the city, such as the Legion’s landing at the port on Holy Thursday.
March/AprilFrom Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, in March or April depending on the date of Easter; smaller processions begin on the previous Friday, Friday of Sorrows.
During Holy Week, the brotherhoods of Seville, the capital of Andalusia, carry images of Christ and the Virgin through the streets on gilded floats carried by costaleros and followed by long lines of penitents, on routes that pass by the cathedral day and night, until the early hours of Good Friday.
April/MayIn April or May, one or two weeks after Holy Week, depending on the date of Easter; it lasts about a week, from the night of the pescaíto and the alumbrao until the fireworks on the last night.
A weeklong party in Seville’s fairground, between Los Remedios and the Guadalquivir: streets of decorated casetas with lanterns, a noon parade of horses and carriages, flamenco-style dresses, sevillanas danced until the early hours, and the amusement park on the Calle del Infierno.
