Fallas night fireworks in Valencia: the castillos calendar and where to watch

In 2026 there were night fireworks from 16 January, nine nights in Plaza del Ayuntamiento and three castillos at the Monteolivete bridge. The full calendar according to the city programme, where to stand and what you pay for.

By Neus Ferrer28 September 20266 min read

A castillo is a night-time aerial fireworks display, the opposite of the mascletà, which is all noise and happens in broad daylight. At the 2026 Fallas there were night fireworks from 16 January at 21:00 until the Nit del Foc, and almost all of them were set off at 11:59pm.

This page follows the city programme and the official fireworks programme, not press summaries, which in at least one case moved the fireworks to a different place.

What goes up each night?

The 2026 calendar falls into three settings: January and February events ending with fireworks, nights in Plaza del Ayuntamiento, and the three big castillos at the Monteolivete bridge.

When	What	Where
16 January at 21:00	Castell de la Gala	Old Turia riverbed, Tirso de Molina section
30 January at 22:00 and 31 January at 17:30	Fireworks at the end of the two Exaltation ceremonies	Palau de la Música
6 February at 19:00	Fireworks after the opening of the Ninot Exhibition	Museu de les Ciències
22 February 2026, at 19:30	Light and colour show after the Crida	Torres de Serranos
28 February and 1, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 15 March	Night-time fireworks show, almost always at 23:59	Plaza del Ayuntamiento
16 and 17 March at 23:59	Fireworks castillo	Monteolivete bridge
18 March at 23:59	Nit del Foc	Monteolivete bridge

Three of the square's nights started before midnight: at 20:00 on 1 and 8 March and at 20:30 on 12 March. The one on 15 March at 23:59 has its own name, l'Alba de les Falles, and comes with tracas (strings of firecrackers) all over the city.

One contradiction worth knowing: a press summary placed the fireworks of 7 and 8 March at Monteolivete. The city programme puts them in Plaza del Ayuntamiento, and that is the one we follow.

A fireworks castillo over the Monteolivete bridge in Valencia at night, with golden palm-shaped bursts reflected in the Turia riverbed

Why do some say the 18th and others the 19th?

Because the Nit del Foc starts at 23:59 on 18 March and ends on the 19th. Some websites give the date of the evening, others the calendar date after midnight, and a few write "00:00". It is a single show, the last big fireworks display before the Cremà.

The Monteolivete castillos finish after midnight, and getting back to your accommodation across half a city closed to traffic takes longer than the show itself. Staying within walking distance of the City of Arts and Sciences or Ruzafa means not relying on the metro that night.

See hotels from 16 to 19 March →Affiliate link: booking through it supports the site at no extra cost to you.

Where should you stand at Monteolivete?

The three big castillos are fired from the Monteolivete bridge, next to the City of Arts and Sciences. The Turia riverbed, the Alameda and the area around the City of Arts give a good view, but they fill up early and some entrances are filtered for security.

As a precaution, arrive two to three hours beforehand: that is an estimate, not a published rule. Avoid the car, avoid turning up at 23:45 for a 23:59 display, and avoid the "secret spots" shared on social media, which get packed for exactly that reason.

Choose a spot from which you can walk back without depending on a single stop. Leaving is usually slower than arriving, because the whole crowd moves at once and some streets stay closed; the detail of the closures is in getting around Valencia.

Crowd watching the Nit del Foc from the old Turia riverbed in Valencia, silhouettes of spectators against a sky full of red and white fireworks

Photo: CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is free and what do you pay for?

The city's fireworks are free from the street, and there is no general ticket to see a castillo. What you pay for is comfort: terraces, balconies, restaurants with a view or hotel rooftops.

There is no public reference price for those places. The range seen for Fallas balconies and stands runs from €70 to over €150, and before paying you should ask for the exact location, the real view, whether a set menu is compulsory and what happens if the street is closed.

Which nights are least crowded?

There is no official count per night. What follows is a reading of the programme and of how the sites are laid out, not a statistic.

Period	Expected crowds	Tip
January and February	Low to moderate	The best way to see fireworks without the crush
First days of March	Moderate	Weeknights in the square, the most bearable
March weekends	High	Get to the square well ahead of time
16 and 17 March	Very high	Avoid crossing the city at that hour
18 March, Nit del Foc	Extreme	Do not count on arriving at the last minute

If fireworks are all you are after, the first half of March is cheaper and has night shows in Plaza del Ayuntamiento. A central three-star hotel costs around €100 to €160 from 1 to 14 March and €150 to €250 on the 15th and 16th.

See hotels in March →Affiliate link: booking through it supports the site at no extra cost to you.

The full plan for a Fallas weekend, with the mascletà and a castillo on the same day, is in what to do in Valencia this weekend. If you would rather have someone guide you round the monuments before the fireworks, compare activities and walks in Valencia.

Noise, smoke and what the programme doesn't tell you

Castillos and mascletàs are very loud, and they affect young children, sensitive people and animals most. Guides present this as part of the gunpowder culture, but none publishes a noise measurement that is useful to spectators.

Gunpowder smoke lit by street lamps on a Valencia avenue after a castillo, with people walking home and safety barriers

What isn't published

There is no figure for spectators per castillo, no fireworks budget and no verifiable tonnage of gunpowder. Nor have we been able to rebuild the 2023, 2024 and 2025 calendars night by night: the general pattern holds, the detail does not.

The 2027 fireworks programme had not been published as of 28 September 2026. The rest of last year's events are in the Valencia Fallas 2026 programme and in the event-by-event calendar.

Sources

Valencia City Council, Programa Oficial de Festejos Fallas 2026 and Programa pirotécnico Falles 2026 (city documents from January and February 2026). Visit Valencia, Fallas 2026 fireworks calendar (23 February 2026). Junta Central Fallera, official 2025 programme. Research sheet on the Fallas castillos, 28 September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

When are the Fallas castillos?

In 2026, the three big castillos were fired at the Monteolivete bridge on 16 and 17 March at 23:59, and the Nit del Foc on the 18th at the same time. Before that there were night shows in Plaza del Ayuntamiento from 28 February.

Do you have to pay to watch a castillo?

No. The city fireworks can be watched free from the street. You only pay for a private spot with a view, such as a terrace, a balcony or a restaurant, and there each operator sets the price.

Is the Nit del Foc on 18 or 19 March?

It is the same moment counted in two ways. The programme sets it on 18 March at 23:59; some websites speak of midnight between the 18th and 19th or of 00:00. There are not two shows.

How early should you get to Monteolivete?

There is no official rule. As a precaution, two or three hours before for a good spot at the big castillos, and more for the Nit del Foc. Leaving is usually slower than arriving.

The author

Neus Ferrer

Writer · Fallas

Neus has belonged to a falla commission since the age of eight and has seen twenty monuments go up. She knows which streets are closed from the day before and at what time the mascletà can no longer be heard from the centre. She does not recommend a spot where she has not stood for hours.