Fiesta Time
The Mediterranean has so much appeal: a great climate, stunning coastline and a rich and diverse culture. All year round there are countless festivals held, which are famous locally and internationally and attract travellers from far and wide. Here’s a roundup of some of the best, which are coming up soon:
Limassol Wine Festival
For a hedonistic foodie indulgence, don’t miss the annual Limassol Wine Festival held in the Municipal Gardens, Limassol in Cyprus. Sumptuous Cypriot delicacies spill over stalls and tavernas in the beautiful municipal gardens where the festival is held. You can try out the Cypriot wine but be warned, it ons tap. There’s more festival fun in the nearby open-air theatre, with satirical plays, shadow theatre (Karagiozis) and puppet shows.
Tip: Be sure not to miss the opening of the festival, which kicks off with a spectacular fireworks display, Greek dancing, singing and the traditional ‘treading of the grapes’. The Festival will run from 8th -18th Septemember.
Olhão’s Seafood Festival
One of the biggest foodie fests in the Algarve, the Olhão Seafood Festival should be on any bon viveur’s summer schedule. Its held from 10th- 15 August 2011, and held in the Jardim Pescador Olhanense. The festival is spread out over one week in August and takes place in the Algarve’s biggest fishing village – Olhão. With Portugal’s finest chefs cooking up a mouth-watering, seafood storm- festival-goers are guaranteed some of the best seafood caught off the Ria Formosa estuary. To add further to the festival flavour, artists are lined to perform every night of the festival. Tickets are normally around 8€ for adults and 3€ for children (children aged 6 and under go free).
Tip: The festival normally attracts over 60,000 visitors, making it the largest of its kind in Europe, which means it is seriously popular. Make sure you don’t miss out by purchasing tickets in advance of the day, at Ria Shopping Olhão.
Fiesta of San Andres
Later in the year, The Fiesta of San Andres is often referred to as The Wine Festival. This is due to the fact that a principal part of the event involves new wine tasting. The festival celebrates Canarian wine, which has its own unique character due to the volcanic soil the island’s vineyards grow on. There is also a weird and wonderful side to the festival which involves a noisy ritual of pot-and-pan bashing. The tradition is played out by the local children and adults of Puerto de la Cruz and is believed to scare away bad spirits. It runs over two days – 29-30th November, and is held in the Plaza del Charco, Puerto de la Cruz.
Tip: Be sure to make your way around the Plaza del Charco, there are tasting stalls where visitors can try tasty local favourites such as: chestnuts, fish, gofio dough and wine.
Paphos Aphrodite Festival
Music buffs and opera fanatics will be in their element at the Paphos Aphrodite Festival. Every year, early in September (2nd-4th) a well-known opera troupe perform a classic opera in front of The Medieval Castle of Paphos found at Kato Pafor Port. For three days, viewers are taken on a lyrical journey of love, passion and tragedy beneath the starlight skies of Paphos. This year is the festival’s 13th consecutive year running and the popular opera Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) by Jacques Offenbach will be performed. Tickets for the concert are between 35€ and 80€.
Tip: Bring a light jacket or shawl as the sea breeze can get a little chilly towards the end of the performance.