Valencia Weekend April 2 -6 | Easter in Valencia
Buen Finde! It’s Easter weekend in Valencia and Semana Santa Marinera is underway, when the streets of the maritime neighbourhoods fill with processions through Easter Sunday. There’s also plenty to eat, drink, and listen to across the long weekend. A full programme from Berklee Valencia’s student concerts to a singalong Jesus Christ Superstar, Easter sweets from the city’s best bakeries, and two festivals — wine and cheese — that bridge Holy Week into the weeks ahead.
Remember: Good Friday (3 April) and Easter Monday (6 April) are both public holidays in Valencia. Shops, banks, and most businesses will be closed on both days.
Quick housekeeping note: I’ll be travelling for the holidays but still keeping tabs from afar. Mireille will be in town, keeping Pont de Valencia ticking along!
Semana Santa Marinera
The full procession schedule — and a guide to who’s who in the street
The Ayuntamiento has published the complete schedule of Semana Santa Marinera processions, including transport options for getting to the maritime neighbourhoods. The processions run from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday, with the most spectacular taking place on Holy Thursday and Good Friday nights.
If you’re new to Semana Santa Marinera, Valencia’s unique maritime holy week, Las Provincias has a useful guide to the biblical figures you’ll see in the processions — from Roman soldiers and apostles to the Virgen Dolorosa — with brief explanations of who each character represents and where they appear in the Holy Week narrative.
Sources:
Semana Santa Marinera de València 2026 — Ajuntament de València
Los personajes de la Biblia en Semana Santa: quién es quién en las procesiones — Las Provincias
Food & Drink
Easter sweets, a cheese festival, and Cuina Oberta
Easter weekend in Valencia also brings a sweet tradition that runs from torrijas to the mona de Pasqua — the decorated Easter cake given to children by their godparents on Easter Sunday. Valencia Bonita has published this year’s winners of the city’s annual Easter sweets competition, a useful guide to which bakeries are producing the best of the season.
Running until 5 April at Mas Masiá on Plaza de la Merced, the Fiesta del Queso — Valencia’s cheese festival — has been extended this year with more exhibitors and more space. Admission is free.
And looking slightly ahead: Cuina Oberta returns from 9–19 April, with some of the city’s best restaurants — including several Michelin-starred kitchens — offering set menus at reduced prices. Tables sell out quickly; booking early is advised. The Proava wine festival, showcasing local wines and artisanal food producers in the Turia Park fairground, runs 9–13 April.
Sources:
Los ganadores del Concurso de Dulces de Pascua de Valencia de 2026 ya tienen nombre — Valencia Bonita
La Fiesta del Queso regresa a Valencia con más espacio y expositores llenos de cultura quesera — Valencia Bonita
Cuina Oberta — valenciacuinaoberta.com
36 Mostra Proava — proava.org
Music & Performance
Jesus Christ Superstar and music by the sea
For an alternative take on Holy Thursday, La Rambleta is hosting a sing-along screening of the 1973 film Jesus Christ Superstar, with a live band reinterpreting the soundtrack in Spanish and notes from film critic Daniel Gascó. On the same theme, Loco Club presents Dúo Caifás performing their Jesus Christ Superstar tribute — in Spanish — as part of their Gira Crucis XV anniversary tour.
Berklee Valencia’s open-air student concert series Un Lago de Conciertos continues this weekend, offering another free evening of emerging musical talent in the city. Also from the Berklee campus, Radio City Valencia hosts Zayb Mulla on 3 April — a blend of jazz, funk, and Hindustani sounds from Berklee’s international student cohort.
If you’re at the beach this weekend for Semana Santa Marinera, it’s a good time to explore the burgeoning seaside music scene: La Fàbrica de Hielo features Dixie Jumble Three playing swing and blues on Sunday. And Burning House in Cabanyal has folk from Nina Mae Harper alongside Cuban jazz and rhythms from Fabio Rivera and Modo Libre.
Sources:
Telón Bizarro rinde homenaje a ‘Jesucristo Superstar’ este Jueves Santo — La Rambleta
JESUCRISTO SUPERSTAR de SALÓN POR EL DÚO CAIFÁS. GIRA CRUCIS XV ANIVERSARIO — Loco Club
Un Lago de Conciertos: Spring 2026 — Berklee Valencia
Diumenges Turia — La Fàbrica de Hielo
Burning House — Entradium
Arts & Crafts
Artisan market at Plaza de la Reina and a Cassavetes retrospective at the Filmoteca
Beyond Easter weekend, the ARTEVAL artisan fair is running at Plaza de la Reina until 12 April, showcasing the best craftspeople from across the Comunitat Valenciana. Workshops and activities alongside the market stalls make it a good option for families over the Easter break.
Valencia’s Filmoteca has launched a new screening cycle dedicated to the work of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands — one of American cinema’s great creative partnerships. All screenings are in VOSE, with English audio and Spanish subtitles, making this a rare opportunity to catch classic independent films in the original language.
Sources:
Descubre las habilidades de los mejores artesanos de la Comunitat Valenciana con ARTEVAL — Visit Valencia
València – La Filmoteca — Institut Valencià de Cultura
Source of the week
Semana Santa Marinera — the official guide to Valencia’s Holy Week
The official website of Semana Santa Marinera has the complete programme for this year’s processions — routes, times, brotherhood profiles, and the history behind each of the maritime neighbourhoods’ traditions. If you are planning to watch the processions this week, this is the place to start. Available in Spanish and Valencian, with enough visual material to navigate even without full language fluency.
Visit: semanasantamarinera.org
