Sant Pere Patron Saint Festival

Canet does its patron saint properly. Around the feast of St Peter at the end of June, the streets get dressed in myrtle and oleander, and the day runs on a rhythm of sound: the town band out early, the reedy wail of dolçaina and the thump of the tabal, then a midday mascletà that you feel in your chest before the smoke clears. In the afternoon the saint is carried through, followed by a fireworks "castle" after dark.

This is also a bull town, so expect bous al carrer — bulls let loose in barricaded streets, including the embolats with flaming horns after nightfall. Stand well back, or watch from a balcony. Evenings drift into verbenas: dinner at the bars and clubs, then concerts and dancing till late. The street events are free, and it's the kind of fiesta where locals do the heavy lifting and you just turn up.