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The April Fair is Seville’s biggest festival, held every spring two weeks after Holy Week at the Real de la Feria, in the Los Remedios neighbourhood. For six days, the city is filled with festival marquees, lanterns, sevillanas and flamenco dresses, and the atmosphere shifts entirely to this venue on the other side of the Guadalquivir. It does not have a fixed date on the calendar: as it depends on Holy Week, it changes every year, which is why one of the most common questions is exactly when it takes place.
If you’re visiting from out of town and want to explore the city without having to worry about transport or logistics, a excursion to Seville from Malaga A day trip allows you to explore the city, stroll through the city centre and, depending on the time of year, soak up the atmosphere of the Feria. Below you’ll find all the practical information: when it takes place, where it’s held, what you shouldn’t miss and how to get there.
The April Fair does not have a fixed date: the long-standing rule is that it begins two weeks after Easter Sunday, that is, two weeks after the end of Holy Week. For this reason, although its name refers to April, in some years part of the celebration takes place in May. It lasts six days, Tuesday to Sunday, a format that the City Council reintroduced following a public consultation.
The unofficial kick-off is on the evening of Monday, the day before, with the traditional dinner on little fish at the stalls. At midnight, the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives: the light-up, the simultaneous switching on of the lights at the main entrance and throughout the entire site, which marks the official start of the Fair in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The festivities draw to a close on the last Sunday evening with a fireworks display over the Guadalquivir.
Dates for the next edition: The April Fair 2027 takes place from Tuesday 13 to Sunday 18 April, with the ‘pescaíto’ dinner and the ‘alumbrao’ on the evening of Monday 12th. In 2027, Easter Sunday falls on 28 March, hence these dates. Please also bear in mind that ‘Miércoles de Feria’ is a local bank holiday in Seville. It is always advisable to check the calendar with official sources, such as Seville City Council, before organising your trip.
As for opening hours, from Monday to Thursday, the Real comes alive in the afternoon and evening, roughly from 8.00 pm to 4.00 am; on Fridays and Saturdays, it’s busy from midday until the early hours; and on Sundays, it closes at midnight with the fireworks.
The Fair has its own rhythm and traditions. These are the elements that define it and make the difference between merely passing through the Real and truly enjoying it.
The ‘alumbrao’ marks the start of the festivities. At midnight on Monday night, the main entrance and all the lights across the fairground are switched on simultaneously, and the crowd celebrates this as the official start of the Feria. The entrance arch is a huge temporary structure whose design changes every year and features more than 20,000 light bulbs: it becomes the visual symbol of that year’s Fair and one of the most photographed spots. Across the Real fairground as a whole, some 90,000 lanterns are hung.
The marquees are the heart of the Feria: over a thousand marquees decorated with lights, flowers and flags, where people eat, drink, chat and dance. Each one has its own décor and atmosphere, ranging from the most traditional, centred on flamenco and local cuisine, to more modern and laid-back ones.
Most of them are private, run by families, social clubs, religious brotherhoods, companies or associations, and you need an invitation from a member to get in. But there are also public toilets, run by political parties, trade unions, local authorities and associations, and open to all. If you don’t know anyone with a stall, these are the best way to experience the atmosphere from the inside: it’s a good idea to find out where they are before you go, rather than winging it on the day.
Sevillanas are the quintessential dance of the Feria and can be heard non-stop in the casetas. You don’t need to be an expert to enjoy them: many visitors give it a go, even if it’s their first time. It’s also a great week to see flamenco artists perform live, both at the Real and in the tablaos in the city centre. The women usually wear a flamenco dress and the men a ‘traje corto’ or ‘campero’, the traditional Andalusian riding outfit.
Rebujito, a refreshing mix of fino or manzanilla sherry with lime-lemon fizzy drink, is the traditional drink of the Feria and is served by the jug in the casetas. It is accompanied by Andalusian cuisine: fried fish, baby squid, anchovies, marinated dogfish, Iberian ham, prawn fritters, gazpacho and salmorejo, all to be shared at the table. And in the early hours of the morning, churros with hot chocolate.
The Feria has its own dress code. It is not compulsory to wear a flamenco dress, although many women do so during the festival, but it is advisable to dress smartly: trainers and shorts are out of place. Bear in mind, too, that some marquees, particularly the private ones, have a dress code and may require men to wear a jacket and tie and women to wear a dress.
During the day, the Real takes on a different atmosphere with the parade of horses and horse-drawn carriages: riders, female riders and carriages wind their way through the streets of albero in a procession that is a tradition in its own right. It is the best time to experience the most traditional side of the Feria, before the atmosphere shifts back to the marquees in the afternoon and evening.
Even if you don’t know anyone who’ll invite you to their marquee, just wandering around the site and soaking up the atmosphere makes it worth a visit. A handy tip: don’t arrange to meet your group at the main entrance. It’s the first thing that springs to everyone’s mind, and it’s exactly where it’s hardest to find each other.
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The April Fair is held at the Real de la Feria, a site covering some 450,000 square metres situated on Avenida de la Prensa, in the Los Remedios neighbourhood, on the opposite bank of the Guadalquivir from the historic centre. Every year, the entire infrastructure is set up there: the entrance arch, the ‘albero’ streets named after bullfighters, over a thousand marquees and the fairground area known as the Hell Street.
The area is laid out in a grid of streets, which makes it easier to find your way around. It’s worth bearing in mind that during the Fair the neighbourhood gets absolutely packed — the festival attracts over two million visitors every year — so getting around on foot is usually the most convenient option once you’ve reached the area.
The Real is relatively close to the centre of Seville, but the traffic and current restrictions mean that driving isn’t a good option. It’s usually best to walk if you’re staying nearby, as crossing the Guadalquivir via the Triana or Los Remedios bridges is a manageable stroll.
If you prefer to use public transport, here are the options:
If you’re travelling by car from outside the city, the most practical option is to park in areas some distance from the Real and complete the journey on foot or by public transport, as parking next to the venue is very limited.
Find out about the special bus service for each edition at:
Even if your visit coincides with the Fair, it’s well worth setting aside some time to explore the rest of the city. The Seville Cathedral and the Giralda are the first must-see attraction: the world’s largest Gothic cathedral, which houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus, and its tower, a former Almohad minaret converted into a bell tower.
Very close by is the Royal Alcazar of Seville, a complex of palaces and gardens of Islamic origin which remains the official residence and which served as the setting for the filming of Game of Thrones in Andalusia. The tour is rounded off by the Santa Cruz neighbourhood, the old Jewish quarter, the Plaza de España and the Triana riverbank. If you want to plan your route properly, you’ll find our guide to what to see in Seville.
From Málaga, Seville is about two and a half to three hours away by road, a distance that makes it possible to visit as a day trip. You can go on your own by car, train or bus, but if you’d rather not have to worry about transport and planning, an organised day trip will take you there and back on the same day.
With Visitanddo, we organise the departure from Málaga, take care of the journey and give you time to explore the historic centre and, during the Feria, soak up the atmosphere at the Real. It’s the convenient way to explore Seville without having to drive or worry about parking, which is particularly useful at a time of year when the city is busier than usual. If you’d like to visit the Cathedral and the Giralda with tickets included, you have the excursion to Seville with visit to the Cathedral and the Giralda.
The April Fair is held every spring, two weeks after Easter Sunday, so the date changes every year. The 2027 event runs from Tuesday 13th to Sunday 18th April, with the ‘pescaíto’ dinner and the ‘alumbrao’ on the evening of Monday 12th. It lasts six days, from Tuesday to Sunday.
The April Fair is held at the Real de la Feria, a site covering some 450,000 square metres in the Los Remedios neighbourhood, on the other side of the Guadalquivir. Every year, more than a thousand marquees are erected there, along with the streets of albero, the entrance archway and the fairground area on Calle del Infierno.
At the Fair, visitors enjoy the marquees, where they eat, drink and dance; they dance sevillanas, drink rebujito and sample Andalusian cuisine. During the day, the highlight is the parade of horses and horse-drawn carriages through the Real, whilst at night the atmosphere centres on the marquees.
It depends on the type of marquee. Most are private and require an invitation from a member, but there are public marquees run by political parties, trade unions, local authorities and associations which are open to the public. It’s a good idea to find out where they are before you go if you don’t know anyone with a marquee.
From Málaga, you can reach Seville by car, train or bus in around two or three hours. The most convenient option is an organised day trip, which takes care of transport and logistics, leaving you free time to visit the Real.
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