Palamos Annual Town Festival (Festa Major)

For nine days each June the old fishing town of Palamós hands its streets over to its own party. The programme runs to roughly seventy events, most of them free, spilling across the town centre from morning into the small hours. Expect open-air concerts, family workshops, traditional Catalan dancing and the sort of late-night street gatherings where half the town seems to know the other half.

You won't need much Catalan to enjoy it. Find a spot near the harbour, order something cold, and let the evening drift past. The full day-by-day schedule goes up at lagorga.cat closer to the time, so it's worth a glance to see what lands on your dates. Bring a bit of patience for crowds and a willingness to stay out later than you planned.