Las Fallas Festival, Valencia

No. The monuments stand in the open street, and the mascletà, the night fireworks and the cremà are all free to watch. The only things you pay for are a seat on a private balcony overlooking the town hall square, which some hotels and flat owners rent out, and entry to the exhibition of ninots before the festival.

Before the monuments go up, each falla sends one figure, a ninot, to an indoor exhibition that opens in late January or early February; in 2025 it ran at the Museu de les Ciències from 31 January to 15 March. Visitors vote for their favourite, and the winning ninot is pardoned, the ninot indultat, and spared from the fire. Entry carries a small fee.

Yes, the ninots indultats chosen by public vote each year, one for the large monuments and one for the children's. They go to the Museu Faller in Valencia, which keeps pardoned figures going back to 1934 and is worth a visit any time of year.

The usual story points to Valencia's carpenters, who burned their offcuts and the wooden stands that held their lamps through the winter on the eve of Saint Joseph, their patron. Over time people dressed the bonfires up as figures mocking local characters, and the satire is still the point: most monuments poke fun at politicians, celebrities and the news of the year.

The monuments in the Sección Especial, the top category, are the largest and most elaborate, and their prizes are announced during festival week. Several of them are in Ruzafa, El Carmen and around the old town, all walkable from each other. Ruzafa's street lights, built by the local commissions, are a separate draw at night.

Buñuelos de calabaza, fritters made with pumpkin and dipped in thick hot chocolate, are sold from stalls all over the city during the festival. Churros stands appear on most corners as well. For a sit-down meal, book paella for lunch, as Valencians do, and expect restaurants to be full and some menus to be shortened during the week.

The traditional dress is based on 18th- and 19th-century Valencian clothing. Women wear silk skirts woven with floral patterns, a lace shawl and their hair in buns fixed with gold combs; men wear a shirt, a waistcoat or jacket, a sash and knee breeches, often with a patterned scarf tied on the head. Visitors are not expected to dress up, and nobody minds ordinary clothes.

The City of Arts and Sciences, the Central Market and the cathedral all stay open, though opening hours may shift on the 19th, a local holiday. A half-day trip to the Albufera lagoon south of the city, where rice for paella is grown, is an easy escape from the noise. The beaches at Malvarrosa are a short tram ride from the centre.

Plenty of Valencian families bring babies and toddlers, but the noise is extreme. The mascletà shakes the ground, and children and teenagers set off firecrackers on almost every street corner during the week. Ear defenders for small children are a must, and the children's monuments, which burn earlier in the evening on the 19th, are an easier way in than the midnight cremà.

The streets are flat, but crowds, barriers and closed roads make movement slow, especially near the town hall square at 14:00 and around the big monuments in the evening. Visiting the Sección Especial fallas in the morning, when the streets are quieter, works far better. Metro stations on the main lines have lifts.

Firefighters stand by at every monument, hose down the facades nearby and keep the crowd behind barriers at a distance set by the size of the falla. The heat still reaches you, so keep back from the front line if you are with children, and wear clothes you would not mind getting a spark or some ash on. Keep valuables close, as pickpockets work the dense crowds.