Corpus Christi in Granada

Corpus is Granada’s fiesta mayor, and unlike most of Spain the city keeps it on the Thursday rather than shifting it to the Sunday. It falls sixty days after Easter, so the date moves properly from year to year.

Two things make it Granada’s own. The Tarasca is a mannequin riding a dragon, paraded on the Wednesday, whose outfit is kept secret until the day and read as a verdict on the coming season’s fashion. The Carocas are painted panels in Plaza Bib-Rambla satirising the year’s local politics — you need Granadino context to follow them, and locals stand and read them for an hour.

There is a full feria alongside, out at the Almanjáyar fairground, with an alumbrao to open it. Many of the casetas are public, unlike Seville’s.

Book three to four months ahead. See the Granada travel guide — and book the Alhambra before anything else.