Madrid festivals and fiestas: a guide for the festive traveller, season by season

The big Madrid festivals are spread throughout the year: New Year's Eve in the Puerta del Sol and the Three Kings Parade (Cabalgata de Reyes) in winter; Holy Week, the Dos de Mayo and San Isidro, the city's patron saint, in spring; Pride and the August street parties (San Cayetano, San Lorenzo and La Paloma) in summer; and the Fiesta de la Trashumancia (sheep droving festival) in autumn. On top of these there are bullfighting fairs, fun runs and music festivals. The exact dates of many of them change every year, so confirm them before booking your trip.

Christmas in Madrid is lived out on the street: lights on the main roads in the centre, the Christmas market in the Plaza Mayor with nativity figures and joke items, and queues to see the Christmas shows at some of the big department stores. On the night of 31 December, thousands of people eat the grapes to the chimes of the clock on the Real Casa de Correos, in the Puerta del Sol. That same afternoon the San Silvestre Vallecana is run, the fun run that finishes in Vallecas.

On 5 January, the Three Kings Parade makes its way through the centre with floats and sweets. In February or March comes Carnival, more modest than in other Spanish cities, which ends with the traditional Burial of the Sardine.

2 May is a public holiday in the Madrid region and commemorates the 1808 uprising; the Malasaña neighbourhood celebrates it with concerts in the square of the same name. A few days later, around 15 May, comes San Isidro: madrileños dress up as chulapos and chulapas, dance the chotis, eat rosquillas and make a pilgrimage to the saint's meadow and hermitage, in Carabanchel. It also coincides with the big bullfighting fair at the Las Ventas bullring.

Spring is also high season for culture, with exhibitions, the Book Fair and gardens in bloom; we cover it in cultural spring in Madrid.

Madrid Pride is one of the biggest in Europe. For several days, Chueca and the centre fill up with stages, and the march makes its way along the main avenues. It is the busiest week of the summer for visitors, so book your accommodation and transfers well ahead.

In August, when part of the city empties out, the most traditional street parties arrive: San Cayetano, San Lorenzo and La Paloma, between La Latina and Lavapiés, in the Embajadores neighbourhood, with paper lanterns, Manila shawls, lemonade and chotis. Summer also brings open-air concert series and big music festivals, whose venues and dates change from one year to the next.

One of the most curious spectacles of the year is the Fiesta de la Trashumancia: flocks of sheep cross the centre of Madrid, following the ancient drovers' roads, to champion this traditional trade. The Autumn Fair (Feria de Otoño) is also held at Las Ventas in autumn. And in November, All Saints' Day sweets fill the windows of the pastry shops.

• Expect road closures: on New Year's Eve, at the Three Kings Parade, Pride or San Isidro there are traffic closures in the centre. If you go by taxi, ask to be dropped on a nearby street outside the cordon and agree an easy pickup point for the way back.
• The metro gets packed before and after big events, and some stations may close for safety reasons.
• Book your airport transfer in advance at peak times such as Christmas, Holy Week or Pride week. We explain how far ahead to book your airport taxi.
• To get back in the early hours, bear in mind that the metro does not run all night. In our guide to Madrid by night we explain the options.

If you are staying in the centre, the taxi in central Madrid page lets you book the journey to Barajas at a fixed price of €33 to any terminal, including the day after the festivities and first thing in the morning.