Feria de Abril

The Feria began in 1847 as a livestock market and became a fair: for a week, usually two weeks after Easter, a district of Seville is covered with over a thousand casetas, striped canvas marquees where families, businesses, clubs and political parties host food, drink and dancing, lit at night by strings of lamps and entered through a monumental gateway rebuilt each year. Women wear the traje de flamenca, men sometimes the traje corto, and the afternoons bring the paseo de caballos, riders and horse-drawn carriages circulating the grounds. The dance is sevillanas rather than flamenco proper. Most casetas are private and entry depends on knowing someone, which visitors discover on arrival.

What you actually see

• The casetas - over a thousand striped marquees, most of them private.
• The paseo de caballos - riders and carriages circulating each afternoon.
• The flamenca dresses - the traje worn by most women attending.
• The portada - a monumental entrance gateway built anew each year.

When to go

April, usually starting two weeks after Easter, though the dates move and occasionally fall in May; the fair runs from a Saturday night to the following Saturday. Accommodation in Seville must be booked months ahead.

Honest expectations

The great majority of casetas are private and closed to anyone without an invitation, which is the single biggest disappointment for visitors; only a handful are municipal and open. Prices in Seville double during the week. Crowds are enormous and the heat can be considerable.

Nearby

The Seville old town and Triana are across the river; Semana Santa precedes the fair by two weeks.