Fiesta

Feria del Rosario, Fuengirola

The Costa del Sol’s big autumn fair, and one of the few with fixed dates.

The white and yellow entrance arch of Fuengirola's Recinto Ferial, with a tiled image of the Virgen del Rosario above the central arch
The entrance to Fuengirola’s fairground, with the Virgen del Rosario in tiles above the arch. Photo: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Dates
6–12 October, every year
Highlights
6 Oct 21:30 pregón and lights · 7 Oct 10:00 Misa Flamenca and procession · 8 Oct Children's Day · 9–12 Oct concerts at the Palacio de la Paz

Fuengirola’s feria honours the Virgen del Rosario Coronada, the town’s patron, and runs 6 to 12 October. The dates are the same every year, which is unusual for an Andalusian feria and makes it easy to plan around. The patron’s feast is 7 October, a local public holiday in Fuengirola, with an open-air Misa Flamenca in Plaza de la Constitución and a procession through the old centre that riders on horseback join part-way.

The fair itself is at the Recinto Ferial, the permanent fairground a short walk from the train station. The casetas there are run by the town’s peñas, the local social clubs, and are open to everyone, which is the opposite of Seville, where most are private. Horses and carriages parade in the fairground from midday until early evening. After dark it becomes casetas, funfair and concerts at the Palacio de la Paz, and it runs into the early hours.

The week opens on the evening of the 6th with the pregón, the opening speech, and the switching-on of the lights. A romería to El Esparragal in late September (27 September in 2026) serves as the warm-up. Because 12 October is Spain’s national holiday, the fair always ends on a day off, and in years when that makes a long weekend the last days are the busiest.

It is a resort-town feria and not a destination one. If you are already on the coast in October it is the best week to be there; if you are not, it is not a reason to cross Spain.

Not to be confused with the Feria Internacional de los Países, Fuengirola’s other big fair, which uses the same fairground in spring (29 April to 3 May in 2026).

Practical warning for anyone staying in Fuengirola that week: expect traffic restrictions around the fairground, late-night noise near it, and no street market on the fairground. The town runs a special night bus on Line 1 during the fair.

This year: the concerts, ticket prices, night-bus times and day-by-day schedule are in Feria del Rosario 2026: the programme and how to do it well. See also the Málaga province guide and October in Málaga.

Official information: fuengirola.es