April 20 to 27 Fiestas de Primavera 2025 in the city of Murcia

The barraca restaurants return and the main events include the Bando de la Huerta on April 22 and the Entierro de la Sardina on April 26

After the week of Semana Santa and the Easter holidays the majority of Spain returns to its normal routine, but not so in the city of Murcia!

The Fiestas de Primavera take place in Murcia in the week following Easter, frofrom April 20 to 27, celebrating the arrival of spring and the end of the penitence of Semana Santa as the city celebrates its role as the vegetable garden (or “huerta”) of Spain, a mantle it has worn since the Moors began to harvest water from the River Segura using irrigation channels, watermills, underground storage systems and wells a thousand years ago.

Along with the fruit and vegetable crops, over the centuries numerous traditions of the Huerta have been passed down through the generations, and this festival celebrates many of them, bringing food, flowers, costumes and colour to the streets of the city.

At the same time, the annual Costa Cálida Tuna festival returns to the San Basilio district, close to the motorway exit at km 140 on the A-30: far from being connected to fish in any way, the Tunas are the male voice and acoustic guitar groups whose sounds are so typical of Spanish music and who generally appeal greatly to international audiences.

But for many Murcianos the central feature of the Fiestas de Primavera is the opening for a week of the “barracas”, open-air restaurants which are set up every year by the various folk dancing peñas and which serve the best of simple traditional Murcian cuisine in tasty portions to make for a hearty meal. The food is well priced, with the same prices set for all of the barracas, and all funds raised are used to fund folk activities and next year’s fiestas!

The 38 barracas are all over the city in the gardens and public parks, and you'll come across them wherever there's a spot of green on the map, but the best known and largest are those in the Jardines del Malecón and by the Plaza Cruz Roja, both of which run along the banks of the river Segura in the centre of Murcia. PRIOR BOOKING IS STRONGLY ADVISED!

The most popular events are the Bando de la Huerta on April 11 and the Entierro de la Sardina on April 15, but these are just two of many. The highlights of the 2023 schedule are as follows:

Sunday April 20

The “barraca” open-air restaurants open at 19.30, after the end of the last Semana Santa procession.

11.00 to 14.00 and 15.30 to 20.30: Rowing boats for hire on the River Segura at only 1 euro per hous. Further information at www.eltiodelabarca.com. This service is available throughout the week.

18.30: Official opening of the “Entorno Huertano” in Santiago y Zaraïche. This area, a recreation of traditional life in the Huerta of Murcia, including live animals, is open to the public for a week between 12.00 and 22.00.

Monday April 21

10.30: A floral offering at the Monumento a la Huerta in the Jardín del Salitre, one of the most popular of the many parks in the city.

17.00: The children’s Bando de la Huerta parade is held in the city centre. Route: Avenida General Gutiérrez Mellado, Avenida Alfonso X el Sabio, Plaza Santo Domingo, Calle Alejandro Séiquer, Plaza Cetina, Calle Isidoro de la Cierva, Apóstoles, Plaza Belluga.

18.00: Floral offering in the Plaza Belluga to the Virgen de la Fuensanta, the patron of the city of Murcia. Followed by a parade (route: Plaza de Camachos, Avenida Canalejas, Puente Viejo, Martínez Tornel, Glorieta de España, Arenal, Plaza de Belluga).

19.00: Opening of the "Espacio Sardinero" in Calle Basabé, with live music from Joaquín Guillén  at 20.00 and Antonio Micol at 21.00.

19.00:  Live music at the Cuartel de Artillería, tickets available at www.compralaentrada.com.

21.00 Inaugural gala of the XXXVI Certamen Internacional de Tunas “Costa Cálida” at the Teatro Romea.

Tuesday April 22, the day of the Bando de la Huerta

Throughout the day hundreds of thousands of Murcianos dress up to celebrate the Bando de la Huerta in the parks and gardens of the city. The barracas are in full swing and are packed to the rafters, providing traditional outdoor eating, and if you don’t have a prior booking there will be very long queues. Many prefer to take a picnic or head for a “normal” bar or restaurant, and don’t even consider the possibility of parking anywhere near the centre!

10.00: “Huertana” Mass featuring the figure of the Virgen de la Fuensanta (the patron of Murcia) in the Plaza Belluga, outside the Cathedral. This is followed at 11.30 by the procession with the Virgen de la Fuensanta on the following route: Plaza Belluga, Apóstoles, Isidoro de la Cierva, Alejandro Seiquer, Plaza Santo Domingo, Trapería, Hernández Amores, Gran Vía Escultor Salzillo, Plaza Belluga.

13.30: Fireworks outside the Town Hall in the Glorieta de España.

17.00: The Bando de la Huerta parade sets out on its processional route: Calle Mozart, Alameda de Capuchinos, Marqués de Corvera, Plaza González Conde, Calle Sacerdotes Hnos. Cerón, Calle Princesa, Puente Nuevo, Plaza Cruz Roja, Avenida Teniente Flomesta, Gran Vía Salzillo, Plaza Fuensanta, Avenida de la Constitución, Plaza Circular, Ronda de Levante, Plaza Juan XXIII.

Wednesday April 23

10.00: A “Sardinera" Mass and floral offering in the cathedral of Murcia.

12.00: The "Espacio Sardinero" opens in Calle Basabé.

20.00: The children’s Entierro de la Sardina, featuring floats on which all of the groups are children, starting on Avenida Gutiérrez Mellado. At the end of the parade the children’s Last Will and Testament will be read from the Town Hall balcony, a catafalque is ceremonially burnt in Avenida Teniente Flomesta and there is a firework display outside the Town Hall.

21.30: The evening's music begins at the Tunas festival in the district of San Basilio, behind Avenida Miguel de Cervantes. 

Thursday April 24

10.00: The floats taking part in the “Batalla de las Flores” go on display in the morning and during the afternoon are decorated in preparation for the event parade. Plaza Hernández Amores, Plaza Esteve Mora, Plaza Apóstoles, Jardín Floridablanca, Avenida de la Libertad, Calle Almudena.

12.00: The "Espacio Sardinero" opens in Calle Basabé.

12.00: Live music in Plaza Apóstoles, Plaza de Santo Domingo and the Glorieta de España.

17.00: The "Batalla de las Flores", the main floral parade of the Fiestas de la Primavera, begins near the Plaza Circular and concludes on the south bank of the River Segura this year in the Alameda de Colón, alongside the Jardín de Floridablanca. At the end of the parade the flowers are handed out to spectators, and there is a firework display. 

Route: Alfonso X, Plaza Santo Domingo, Calle Alejandro Seiquer, Plaza Cetina, Calle Isidoro de la Cierva, Plaza Ceballos, Calle Ceballos, Avenida Teniente Flomesta, Puente Nuevo, Plaza Voluntarios, Calle Princesa, Calle Sacerdotes Hermanos Cerón.

20.30: The arrival of the Sardine is celebrated with a parade from Plaza Belluga, outside Murcia cathedral, to the Town Hall. This is followed at 22.30 by the official delivery ceremony featuring the Mayor of Murcia on the balcony of the Town Hall, and a firework display. Parade route: Plaza Belluga, Apóstoles, Isidoro de la Cierva, Plaza Cetina, Alejandro Seiquer, Plaza Santo Domingo, Santa Clara, Maestro Alonso, Gran Vía Salzillo, Plaza Martínez Tornel, Glorieta de España.

21.30: The evening's music begins at the Tunas festival in the district of San Basilio, behind Avenida Miguel de Cervantes, with groups competing tonight from Tenerife, Colombia, Granada, Portugal, Peru and Mexico.

Friday April 25

11.00: Asturias bagpipes parades, route: Glorieta, Belluga, Salzillo, Trapería, Santo Domingo.

12.00: The "Espacio Sardinero" opens in Calle Basabé.

17.30 to 21.00: Music and dancing with La Calle Salsa in Avenida de la Libertad.

20.00: The parade of the Last Will and Testament of the Sardine (“El Testamento de la Sardina”). Route: Avda. Gutiérrez Mellado. Alfonso X, Plaza Circular,m Avda. Constitución, Plaza Fuensanta, Gran Vía, Plaza Martínez Tornel, Glorieta de España. The parade ends at 21.30 with the reading of the will of the Sardine on the balcony of the Town Hall.

21.30: The Tunas return to the Pérgola de San Basilio for the closing gala of the Costa Cálida International Tuna Festival (admission free).

Saturday April 15, the Entierro de la Sardina

11.00: The groups taking part in the main Entierro de la Sardina parade later in the day warm up in the streets of the city.

11.00: The "Espacio Sardinero" opens in Calle Basabé.

12.00: The parade of Doña Sardina. Route: Plaza Belluga, Calle Salzillo, Trapería, Plaza Santo Domingo, Avenida Alfonso X el Sabio, Plaza Circular. The parade ends with firecrackers in the Plaza Circular at 14.00.

20.30: The Entierro de la Sardina, the biggest parade of the Fiestas de Primavera gets under way. Route: Avda. S. Juan de la Cruz, C/ Sta. Joaquina de Vedruna, C/ Princesa, C/ Alameda de Colón, Puente Viejo, Pza. Martínez Tornel, Gran Vía Salzillo, Pza. Fuensanta, Avda. Constitución, Pza. Circular, Avda. Primo de Rivera, Plaza Díez de Revenga. Seats along the parade route can be reserved at compralaentrada.com

Midnight: Music in the Plaza Martínez Tornel.

01.30 (approx): the parade ends in the Plaza Díaz de Revenga and the Sardine is ceremoniously cremated in the Plaza Martínez Tornel, next to the river and the Glorieta de España. This is followed by a huge firework display over the River Segura on the Pasarela Miguel Caballero (the bridge at the eastern end of the Glorieta de España, around 150 metres from the Puente Viejo).

Sunday April 27

9.00 to 14.00: In the park area alongside Calle Pintor Almela Costa the annual gathering of radio control naval modelling enthusiasts takes place, with various classes of remote control vessels sailing on the pond.

12.00: Open-air magic festival in the Plaza de Santo Domingo.

14.00: The official closing ceremony of the "Barracas” in the Jardín del Malecón, although the majority remain open for a last long lunch before they are dismantle for another year.

For more upcoming events in the Region of Murcia go to the What's on section of Murcia Today.