Fiestas and markets

Whitewashed houses with wrought-iron balconies and flowers beside a paved square; strings of blue and white bunting and power lines cross overhead, with trees and the tiled dome of the church behind. — Blue and white bunting over the square below the church of the Mare de Déu del Consol Open Street View →Photo: Axel Voigts

Contact

Fiestas department: Concejalía de Fiestas
Ajuntament d’Altea
Plaça de José María Planelles 1, 03590 AlteaShow on the map
Telephone: +34 965 84 13 00
Events calendar: altea.es
Tourist information: Carrer Sant Pere 14
965 84 41 14 Show on the map

Opening hours

Period	Public opening
Weekly market, Tuesdays	morning, Parking Basseta Centre
Craft market, summer evenings	church square
Market hall	Monday to Saturday, mornings
Christmas market	early December, Avinguda de la Comunitat Valenciana

The Festes Majors fall on the fourth or last weekend of September. The programme is published each year by the municipality.

Opening hours change. Please check before going: altea.es

Departments and contacts

Concejalía de FiestasProgramme, permits, road closures
Federació de Moros i Cristians Sant BlaiUmbrella body of the filaes, the Moors and Christians companies
Associació del Crist del SagrariAssociation involved in the Festes Majors
Tourist informationProgrammes, routes and dates for visitors

The fixed points of the year

Sant Antoni, JanuaryBonfires and the blessing of animals — the first fiesta of the year.
Holy Week, springProcessions through the old town, quieter and more solemn than the summer fiestas.
Sant Joan, JuneBonfires on the beach on the shortest night of the year.
Castell de l’Olla, AugustThe fireworks display launched from the sea off the Platja de l’Olla; in 2025 the town council estimated 80,000 to 90,000 visitors (Altea Cultural ↗).
Festes Majors, late SeptemberIn honour of Sant Blai and the Crist del Sagrari, on the fourth or last weekend of September, with the Moors and Christians: parades, embajadas (staged parleys), mock battles and processions.

Markets

Weekly market — the classic market with clothes, fruit, plants and household goods; Tuesday mornings at the Parking Basseta Centre car park
Craft market — summer evenings on the church square, when the town is at its busiest
Market hall — fish, meat and vegetables Monday to Saturday, Avinguda Rei en Jaume I 4. Show on the map
Christmas market — early December, on the Avinguda de la Comunitat Valenciana
Flea and themed markets — occasional, announced in the events calendar

What to expect

On parade and procession days the old town is usually closed to traffic; the council announces closures by bando (public notice)
During fiesta week, parking anywhere near the centre is effectively hopeless — better to walk or take the TRAM
The Castell de l’Olla fireworks are very loud; make arrangements for pets in advance
On local public holidays shops and offices close too, not only the town hall
On local fiesta days street music may continue after 23:00 (municipal bylaw on the use of public spaces, Art. 24)

Programme, parade routes and road closures, published each year at: altea.es

Good to know

Local public holidays are not the national ones. Of the maximum of fourteen public holidays a year, two are Altea’s own local days. They are fixed by the council and published in advance — worth noting before booking an appointment with any office.

The Castell de l’Olla is fired from barges out at sea in August; in 2025 the town council estimated 80,000 to 90,000 visitors. Anyone living near the bay should plan for the noise; anyone attending should arrive hours early or not by car.

The filaes of the Moors and Christians are grouped in the Federació de Moros i Cristians Sant Blai. Anyone can watch the parades; anyone who wants to take part turns to a filà.

Fees and charges

Many municipal events are free; some concerts are ticketed. Stalls, pitches and event permits are subject to municipal charges set out in the fiscal bylaws: altea.es → Ordenanzas fiscales.

Frequently asked questions

When exactly are the fiestas?

The Festes Majors in honour of Sant Blai and the Crist del Sagrari fall on the fourth or last weekend of September, with the Moors and Christians at their heart. The preliminary programme starts in late August or early September; the programme is published each year by the municipality.

Can I watch, or is it for members only?

Everything in the street is public. The parades, the fireworks and the processions are there to be watched, and visitors are welcome.

Where is the Tuesday market?

All of it at the Parking Basseta Centre car park — no parking there from midnight; on market days you may park in the cycle lane of the Avenida Juan Alvado. Parking

Is the noise at night legal?

On local fiesta days street music may go on after 23:00. Outside those days the ordinary noise rules apply and the local police can be called on 092.

Map

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History — where the fiestas come from
Parking — market day and fiesta week
Pictures — the town in photographs

Compiled October 2026. Dates change every year — the municipal programme is what counts. Sources: town hall altea.portalemp.com; tourist office comunitatvalenciana.com; weekly market altea.portaldelcomerciante.com; Festes Majors comunitatvalenciana.com and alicanteplaza.es; public holidays: Art. 37.2 Estatuto de los Trabajadores (inap.es) and the regional calendar of local holidays (iberley.es); Christmas market comunitatvalenciana.com; fiesta associations elperiodic.com; concerts, open-air cinema and tickets elperiodic.com and elperiodic.com; street music: Art. 24 of the bylaw on the use of public spaces (portaldelcomerciante.com).