In September, Spain returns to normal after the August holidays. Streets come back to life, shops reopen, and the festival calendar changes. In place of neighbourhood street parties and beach festivals come grape harvests, fairs and the biggest city festivals of the year.
2026 brings something new. Formula 1 returns to Madrid after 45 years, on a circuit built from scratch for the occasion, and the city hosts its biggest sporting event in decades.
Here's the calendar of what not to miss in Spain in September 2026.
September Highlights
Seville Flamenco Biennial
9 September to 3 October - Seville
The Biennial takes place every two years, always in even years, and is the biggest flamenco festival in the world. This is the 24th edition, with more than fifty productions staged across around ten venues in the city.
It opens on the 10th at the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza, with the gala "El mundo por montera". The line-up includes Sara Baras, back on a Biennial stage after fourteen years with the show "Infinita", along with Josรฉ Mercรฉ, Farruquito, Israel Galvรกn and Carmen Linares. There are 22 world premieres.
More information
Tickets
Between โฌ12 and โฌ75, depending on the show and venue
Book ahead
Premieres and one-off nights tend to sell out weeks in advance
Discounts
Under-30s pay half price at the box office, from one hour before each show, subject to availability
Spanish Grand Prix of Formula 1
11 to 13 September - Madrid
Formula 1 races in Madrid for the first time in 45 years. The circuit, Madring, was built from scratch in Valdebebas, next to IFEMA, and runs 5,470 metres with 20 turns. The contract with the city runs until 2035, so this is the first of ten editions.
Friday brings free practice, Saturday the third practice session and qualifying at 4pm, and the race is on Sunday at 3pm.
More information
- Grandstand and general admission tickets are sold only as three-day passes. The cheapest is Pelouse, an unreserved grass area at turn 17, from โฌ195. Update, 9 September: tickets are sold out, but VIP packages are still available on the official F1 website.
- The venue opens at 8am and closes at 8pm, with no re-entry once your ticket has been validated.
- Organisers recommend metro line 8 to Feria de Madrid, or Cercanรญas trains to Valdebebas.
- Fan zones run throughout the three days, with street food and live music.
Fromago Cheese Experience
17 to 20 September - Zamora
Fromago takes place every two years, and this is only its third edition, yet it's already Europe's biggest open-air cheese fair. In 2026 there are 342 exhibitors, 30% more than in 2024, and organisers closed the exhibitor list with a waiting list for the first time. More than 1,200 cheeses from around the world are on offer, and the last edition drew over 300,000 visitors.
The fair takes over Zamora's historic centre, with a three-kilometre route and more than 500 stalls. Admission is free, and the programme features 206 activities across tastings, workshops, cooking demonstrations and live music, spread over six stages.
More information
- The Galerรญas del Queso are the main tasting spot, where a master cheesemaker curates the selection. A five-cheese tasting costs โฌ7. Each gallery has its own theme, and we're especially looking forward to the one dedicated to the Cincho Awards, showcasing the winning cheeses.
- Some tastings and specific workshops require booking ahead or come at an extra cost.
- Saturday is the busiest day, with 66 activities. Thursday and Sunday are much quieter.
- Zamora is a small city with not many hotels. If you can't find anything there, Salamanca is less than an hour away by car and works well as a base.
- It's not all about cheese either, there are also stalls serving cured ham, octopus and other regional specialities.
We visited the last edition, here are a few photos
San Sebastiรกn Film Festival
18 to 26 September - San Sebastiรกn
The Zinemaldia is Spain's most important film festival and one of the world's few Category A festivals, alongside Cannes, Venice and Berlin. This is the 74th edition, with 263 titles from 47 countries. It's also the last under director Josรฉ Luis Rebordinos, who is retiring.
Confirmed guests include Penรฉlope Cruz, Brad Pitt, Ricardo Darรญn, Rami Malek, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Naomi Watts and Werner Herzog.
More information
- Many screenings are open to the public with a ticket, it isn't only an industry and press event.
- Tickets and passes go on sale on the official website before the festival, and the most popular screenings sell out fast.
- Most of the programme takes place at the Kursaal, with further screenings at the Victoria Eugenia Theatre and the Anoeta Velodrome.
- The city gets busy and expensive that week, so book accommodation months ahead.
San Mateo Festival and Rioja Grape Harvest
19 to 25 September - Logroรฑo
Logroรฑo celebrates its patron saint, San Mateo, in the same week that La Rioja begins its grape harvest. The region produces Spain's best-known wine, and the start of the harvest is cause for celebration across the whole city for seven days.
More information
- The festival is run by neighbourhood associations called peรฑas, each with its own music band and its own stall serving zurracapote, a wine drink with fruit, similar to sangria. You don't need to be a member, just turn up.
- Throughout the week they hand out free food on the street.
- A red scarf worn around the neck is the symbol of the festival.
- Monday the 21st is the big day, with a parade of floats built by the peรฑas.
- If you want to visit a winery nearby, book ahead.
La Mercรจ
23 to 27 September - Barcelona
La Mercรจ is the festival dedicated to Barcelona's patron saint and the biggest event on the city's street festival calendar. In the second half of September, the old city hosts a programme built entirely around Catalan popular tradition, with dozens of free street activities.
More information
- Almost everything is free and outdoors.
- The patron saint's day is Thursday the 24th, a local holiday and the busiest day.
- There's a tribute to Gaudรญ at Park Gรผell, marking the park's centenary.
- The city council publishes the full programme in early September. It's worth checking beforehand, as so much happens at once.
Some things you can expect to see
- El Correfoc: a parade of people dressed as devils who run through the streets among fireworks and torches. It traditionally takes place at night, and the main route usually runs along Via Laietana or Passeig de Grร cia.
- Los Castells: human towers built by teams known as colles castelleres. The main displays take place around midday in Plaรงa de Sant Jaume, mainly on 24 September.
- Gegants i Nans: street parades of giant figures and big-headed characters. These take place during festival mornings and afternoons, winding through the Gothic Quarter and usually ending in Plaรงa de Sant Jaume.
- Shows and music: festivals such as BAM and Mรบsica Mercรจ bring free performances across the city.
- El Piromusical: the light, fire and music show that closes the festival, on Sunday the 27th at 10pm. Because of renovation works at the Fira, the fireworks move this year from Font Mร gica in Montjuรฏc to Bogatell beach, visible along the whole seafront.
Music Festivals
September closes out the festival season in Spain, with less beach and more big city. Madrid and Zaragoza host most of the action.
Ebrovisiรณn
Music: panish indie and rock
Where: Miranda de Ebro (Burgos)
When: 3 to 6 September
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A small festival with a loyal following. This year's line-up includes Carlos Ares, Los Chivatos, Mujeres and Triรกngulo de Amor Bizarro.
Vive Latino Espaรฑa
Music: Spanish and Latin American rock and indie
Where: Zaragoza
When: 4 and 5 September
More information
Fifth edition, with more than thirty artists from six countries across three stages. The line-up mixes Spanish names with Latin American bands.
Coca-Cola Music Experience
Music: pcommercial pop and urban music
Where: Madrid
When: 4 and 5 September
More information
Sixteenth edition, with Melendi, Dellafuente, Omar Montes, Wisin and Belgian artist Dimitri Vegas.
Blackworks Barcelona
Music: hard techno
Where: Barcelona
When: 11 September
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Line-up includes A.N.I., a B2B Ben Techy and O.B.I., Dexphase, Holy Priest, I Hate Models, Lucia Gea, Nico Moreno, Paolo Ferrara, Raxeller and Skryption.
Granada Sound
Music: Spanish indie and pop
Where: Cortijo del Conde, Granada
When: 11 and 12 September
More information
This year's line-up includes Fangoria, Siloรฉ, Ultraligera, La La Love You, Belรฉn Aguilera and Carlos Sadness.
Brava Madrid
Music: 90s and 2000s pop and dance
Where: Madrid
When: 18 and 19 September
More information
After two editions at IFEMA, the festival moved to Caja Mรกgica because of works on the Formula 1 circuit. This year brings Sugababes, Natalie Imbruglia and Vengaboys.
Madrid Salvaje
Music: Spanish rap and trap
Where: Leganรฉs, Madrid
When: 25 and 26 September
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Three stages and more than thirty performances, with Kidd Keo, Delaossa, Fernando Costa and Nikone, alongside live skateboarding and graffiti.
Love the Twenties & Love the 90s
Music: 90s and 2000s dance
Where: Seville
When: 25 and 26 September
More information
The country's biggest dance nostalgia party, with names from the 90s and 2000s, including Germany's Cascada, Belgium's Ian Van Dahl and Spain's Juan Magรกn.
Village Festivals and Curious Traditions
Beyond the big events, September brings dozens of smaller ones across the country, each with a tradition found nowhere else. Here are the most curious ones this month.
El Cascamorras (Baza and Guadix, Granada) - 6 to 9 September: Guadix sends someone dressed as a harlequin to Baza to fetch the Virgen de la Piedad. If he arrives spotless, he gets to take the statue home. The people of Baza won't allow it, and cover him in black paint during the chase through the streets.
Entrada de Toros y Caballos de Segorbe (Castellรณn) - 7 to 13 September: one of the few festivals in Spain where bulls and horses run together through the same streets, a tradition dating back to the 16th century.
Fiestas de Carthagineses y Romanos (Cartagena, Mรบrcia) - 18 a 27 de setembro: uma das maiores recriaรงรตes histรณricas do paรญs, com mais de 6 mil figurantes em desfiles e batalhas que reencenam a conquista romana da cidade em 209 a.C.
Fiestas del Motรญn de Aranjuez - 2 to 6 September: revives the popular uprising that brought down minister Manuel Godoy in 1808, with locals in period costume re-enacting the assault on the minister's house through the streets of central Aranjuez.
Romerรญa de Nuestra Seรฑora de la Barca (Muxรญa, Galicia) - 11 to 14 September: a pilgrimage to the sanctuary perched on the rocks by the sea in Muxรญa, one of the most photographed spots on the Galician coast.
