Every April, the Los Remedios district of Seville transforms into a bustling fairground, hosting the renowned Seville Fair. This annual event is a spectacle of Andalusian culture, attracting visitors from across the globe.
Rooted in ancient Roman traditions, fairs were initially days of rest dedicated to festivities and divine worship. Seville's fair began as a commercial and agricultural market, where traders from diverse regions convened to engage in commerce. Established in 1846, it was initially a livestock fair, evolving into a week-long celebration set to fixed dates to avoid clashing with other regional fairs.
Today, the Seville Fair is a vibrant fusion of history and festivity, featuring flamenco dancing, traditional attire, and the finest Andalusian cuisine. It's a time-honoured tradition that continues to captivate the hearts of all who partake in its joyous revelry.
The origins of the fair of Seville date back to the year 1846 due to two entrepreneurs from Seville, who asked permission to celebrate an annual fair during the month of April. This permit wasn’t easy to get hold of as there was already an existing fair nearby on the same month which was the oldest in Andalusia (1441) celebrated in Mairena del Alcor.
The fair had a great success and gradually got bigger over the years and it was as from the year 1920 when the fair began to look like the current fair of April of Seville, and already since 1850 they separated the area of fun and entertainment from the area orientated to the cattle commerce in the fair.
In 1973 the fair was relocated in Los Remedios, although there are plans for a future relocation due to the constant growth of this annual celebration.
This fair begins on a night where the typical dinner is fried fish with the typical wine to then go on to the lighting of the fair and ends with the turning off of the light bulbs at the entrance together with fireworks.
The fair huts that we’ll find are descendants from the old stables or improvised tents that were found in the old cattle fairs that were put there to watch out for the public order. These fair huts gradually transformed and offered gastronomic products, dances and other activities.
The more than a thousand fair huts today must be built in rows, but the decoration is completely up to the organisers of the fair hut and every year the town hall prizes the most attractive fair huts. Some of the fair huts are private property and the owners invite all their family and friends during the days of the fair. Many of the fair huts are not free to get in, but there are a great amount of them that do not require invitation so they can be enjoyed by anyone who decides to visit the April fair of Seville.
The fried fish night which precedes the opening of the fair is only for the members of the fair huts, this dish is accompanied by other typical elements of the Mediterranean diet, like the Iberian cured ham, the sherry and the “Rebujito”, which, as we have previously mentioned in other Andalusian fairs, is sherry mixed with lime.
The several different fair huts offer a daily typical dish that may vary, amongst those different dishes we can find chickpeas with cod, fried fish and many other typical dishes from the south of Spain like the Spanish Potato Omelette and the ‘Salmorejo’.
Typical elements of the fair are the sweet pastry puffs known as ‘buñuelos’ with either white sugar powder, chocolate or vanilla, as well as the ‘churros’ with hot chocolate.
One can visit the fair of Seville as from about 1 pm to enjoy the music, a pleasant horse ride or something to drink before lunch...at night the people tend to start arriving as from 9 pm onwards.
The only traditional way of transport that can be used inside the fairground is the horse and carriage.
There are great amount of mechanical rides for adults as well as for children, some of them are the traditional rides that we can find in any of the other fairs: The big wheel, the Viking ship, the twister, the merry-go-rounds and carrousels for the kids, etc...
If you go by car during the days of April that the fair is on, they authorise plots of land near the fairground to be used as parking lots, although getting near the fair in your vehicle and even more during the day can get pretty exasperating, which is why we recommend to park further away from the fair and use the public transport to get to the fairground if necessary.
Below is a detailed map outlining the journey from Malaga Airport to Mairena del Alcor in Seville, the annual host of the vibrant fair. The route provides a scenic drive through Andalusia's picturesque landscapes, leading you to the heart of the festivities.
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