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WHATS ON

What’s on in Spain: 14 fun things to do in February

February is the month to shake off the winter blues with Carnival! Or head to a celebration of the most tragic of star-crossed lovers. Failing that how about a festival focusing on food?

Published: 4 February 2020 09:09 CET
What's on in Spain: 14 fun things to do in February
Carnival is celebrated across Spain in February. Photo: AFP

Here are some of the highlights going on across Spain this February.

Food

Madrid Gastrofestival, February 7th until February 23rd

Photo: GastroFestival  Madrid

This is more than just a food festival. The Spanish capital becomes a hub for gourmet cuisine, as well as the art, fashion, literature and films that are inspired by it. 2020 celebrates an extended edition of the famous festival. Foodies come, eat and rejoice.

Calçots in Catalonia (February and March)


Photo by Silvia Martin/Flickr

February and March are Calçots time in Catalonia! You can find the traditional grilled spring onion all around the region. In Barcelona there is a market throughout the period in Parc de les Tres Xemeineies where guests can celebrate the urban edition of the Calçotada to the sounds of Sardana music and a porró of vino tinto.

Recipe: How to make, eat and enjoy calçots

 

Exhibitions

“1939 Exilio Republicano Español“, Madrid until February 29th


Photo from the exhibition of a young Spanish exile by Germaine Chaumel

 

A huge exhibition of sketches, photographs and paintings records the plight of the 500,000 republican refugees after the civil war.

The exhibition entitled “1939 Exilio Republicano Español” at the La Arquería in Madrid's Nuevos Ministerios has been extended until the end of February. and includes powerful works created by the most famous exile from the Spanish Civil War, Pablo Picasso.

The exihibit also includes documentary evidence chronicling those who took the path into exile, what life was like in the enternment camps in France and how exiles rebuilt their life in the ensuing years.  

ARCOmadrid International Contemporary Art Fair February 26th until March 1st

Photo: Arco-Madrid / Ifema

The International Contemporary Art Fair is one of the main art fairs on the international circuit and a must-see for art lovers and collectors in Madrid. It takes place in the huge exhibition center IFEMA but also look out for galleries in the captal holding their own events.

Cultural Festivals

Spring…and almond blossom!


Blossom in Madrid's Parque de Berlin. Photo: F Govan
 

February is the month when almond trees burst into bloom with their exquisite pale pink blossom. Some areas, like the Canary Island of La Palma celebrate the blossoming of the almond trees that grow everywhere on the island with a festival that involves lots of exquisite handmade almod sweets, but wherever you are in Spain, you won't be far from some blooms, so get out into the countryside and enjoy that spring air! 

La Endiabla , Cuenca, Castille-La Mancha, February 1st to 4th


Photo: La Endiablada

Every year at the beginning of February, visitors flock to the small town of Almonacid del Marquesado in Cuenca where locals celebrate La Endiablada, or “the brotherhood of the devils”. Since at least the 13th century, locals have gathered for this celebration, dressing up in outlandish “devil” costumes with noisy cowbells and dancing through the town. The festival is meant to honour both the Virgin Mary as well as the town's patron saint, San Blas.

 

Festes de Moros i Cristians a Sant Blai, Bocairent, Valencia February 1st to 6th. 


Photo: Juan Sanz/  Bocairent Town Hall

In February, the small town Bocairent in the Valencia region hosts the tradtional Moors and Christians festival.  There are re-enactments of the fights between the two groups as well as parades and fireworks – not to mention the perfect opportunity to visit this truly charming town.

Santa Eulàlia Festival, Barcelona, February 7th to 12th


Photo: Santa Eulalia Festival

Once the patron of Barcelona, Santa Eulàlia was more or less abandoned in the 17th century to make space for the city's beloved Mercé. However, the celebration of the former patron now takes place in February and is the perfect opportunity for everyone who missed the Festes de la Mercé in September to encounter giants on the street or risk a scorching in the correfocs, the traditional firework runs. You might also stumble upon the famous human towers and Sardana dances. On the 12th of February, Saint Eulàlias day, visitors can enter the Ajuntament (City Hall) as well as several other museums for free.

READ MORE Els Castells: What you need to know about the human towers of Catalonia

 

Las Bodas de Isabel de Segura, Teruel, Aragon February 20th to 23rd 

Photo: Teruel City Hall

Believing her true love to be dead, Isabel marries another in Spain’s take on Romeo and Juliet. Every year the city of Teruel revives the tragedy of the two lovers on the month of romance. Celebrate your Valentine’s day with star-crossed lovers and medieval dress in the mountainous Aragon region of eastern Spain.

Flamenco festival of Jerez  February 21st, March 7th.


Photo: AFP

The Andalusian town of Jerez takes its unofficial title of “city of flamenco” quite seriously, and no other time of year is that more apparent than during the annual Festival de Jerez. For two weeks, the city comes alive with dozens of performances of the traditional dance and musical style.

Carnival

Carnival Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, February 19th to March 1st 


Photo: Depositphotos

Those looking to have the Rio de Janeiro carnival experience without having to fly all the way to South America should head instead to the largest of the Canary Islands, Tenerife. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a twin city of the Brazilian metropolis and its carnival is world-renowned – as much as it is out of this world.

Sitges Carnival February 18th to 26th


Photo:Sitges festival

More than 250,000 people flock to the coastal town of Sitges about 35 kilometres from Barcelona, every February for one of the biggest gay carnivals in the world. The week is packed with parades, parties and shows and the gay-friendly town opens its doors to thousands of revellers. 

Cádiz Carnival February 28th until March 10th 


Photo: Depositphotos

The carnival in Cádiz is one of the most famous in Spain, dating back to the 16th century. These days it’s all about dressing up and poking fun at politicians and people in the news, as well as the usual eating and drinking of course.

Sports

Seville Marathon February 23rd


Photo: Zurich Marathon, Sevilla

If hills aren't your thing, why not take part in the flattest marathon in Europe, which takes in some of the most picturesque sights of Seville along the route. You can still register if you fancy taking up a New Year´s challenge. Otherwise, why not lend your support to the runners by cheering them on from the side lines?

 

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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