Explore 8 events and festivals in Salamanca, Castile and León throughout 2026.
The Carnaval del Toro in Ciudad Rodrigo is one of Spain's most distinctive carnivals, declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest, and centred on bull runs through the medieval streets of this fortified city. Held each February before Lent, the five-day celebration combines encierros, bullfighting in the historic Plaza Mayor bullring, costume parades, and street festivities that draw crowds from across the country.
La Charrada is a traditional festival celebrating the folk music, dance, and costume heritage of the Charro region, held annually in Ciudad Rodrigo's Plaza Mayor. Local groups including Botón Charro, Al Son del Tamboril, and Aires Charros perform dances rooted in the centuries-old customs of this corner of western Salamanca province.
Salamanca's Holy Week is declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest and features 18 brotherhoods processing through the golden sandstone streets of the university city. The week draws on centuries of tradition, with notable processions passing through the Plaza Mayor and past the ornate facade of the cathedral, culminating in the Easter Sunday celebrations.
The International Gastronomy Summit — known as "Una Cocina Monumental" — is organized by the Junta de Castilla y León and brings together Michelin-starred chefs from Spain and beyond for two days of talks, show cooking sessions, and gastronomic tours in Salamanca. Previous editions have gathered chefs with a combined total of over 30 Michelin stars.
Festival Luz y Vanguardias transforms Salamanca each June into an open-air stage for contemporary digital art, with large-scale video mappings and light installations projected onto the city's historic façades. The festival includes an international video mapping competition with prize money and attracts artists and audiences from across Europe.
The Feria de la Virgen de la Vega bullfighting season in Salamanca is one of the most traditional taurine fairs in Castile, held in September in honour of the city's patron. Six bullfighting events bring leading figures of the taurine world to the historic Plaza de Toros, attracting aficionados from across the country.
The Ferias y Fiestas de Salamanca celebrate the Virgen de la Vega, patron of the city, over nine days in September. The programme spans concerts, open-air shows, fireworks, parades, and cultural events spread across the city's plazas, with the iconic Plaza Mayor serving as the main stage for the festivities.
"Salamanca es Navidad" is the city's official Christmas programme running from late November through early January. It features light-and-sound spectacles on the Plaza Mayor and other historic spaces, a 23-metre Christmas tree, an immersive nativity scene, a Christmas market in Plaza de Anaya, workshops, ballet performances, and over a hundred illuminated streets across the city centre.