Sant Zenon Festa Major (Summer Town Festival)

For five days each July, Arenys de Mar hands its streets over to a proper Catalan town party. It opens with the town bells and a concert by the church, then settles into a rhythm of open-air music, sardana dances and the botifarrada, a communal sausage supper where rows of locals tuck in to live music and a round of musical bingo. The gegants, those towering giant figures, come out to show off new costumes, and there are castellers building their human towers.

The two evenings worth planning around are the fireworks down by the seafront and the correfoc, when drummers and fire-runners chase sparks through the old streets after dark. Wear cotton, keep your distance if you'd rather watch, and let the dancing run on as late as you like. It's all free, and easy to wander into.