San Miguel de Salinas Patron Saint Festival (San Miguel Archangel & Virgin of the Rosary)

For ten days from late September into October, this hill town above the Torrevieja salt lakes throws everything it has at honouring Saint Michael. The centrepiece is a giant paella cooked up at midday and shared out to whoever turns up, plus a tapas route that sends you wandering from bar to bar comparing the local kitchens' best efforts.

Evenings revolve around the barraca, the big fair tent where the music runs late. There's a daft homemade go-kart race down the streets, a procession of decorated floats and people in fancy dress, and a children's fair to keep younger ones busy. The solemn end is the religious side: flower offerings, a sung mass, the procession itself, and fireworks over the town. It closes with a pilgrimage for the Virgin of the Rosary. Mostly free, and gloriously local rather than polished for tourists.