La Tomatina

La Tomatina

When the Valencian town of Buñol honours its patron saint, San Luis Bertràn, it’s all about food, fireworks and La Tomatina – your chance to do exhilarating battle with 30,000 berserk fruit warriors. Every year, on the last Wednesday in August, most of the 9,000 townsfolk, plus two or three times that many visitors, wait for the signal at 11h, and then proceed to lob great big ripe tomatoes at one other. La Tomatina has very few rules: you’ve got to squish the fruit before you chuck it; no catapult or equivalent device is allowed; and nothing else can be thrown. An hour or so later, it’s all over and an industrial-scale clean-up begins, with fire trucks hosing down the streets, and happy ketchupy people washing in the river. How did such a strange festival come to be? Apparently some locals got carried away during a food fight in a restaurant in 1945 and the town never looked back…

Highlights

The whole of Buñol parties the night before, in bars and out on the streets. If you get to the main square for 09h, you can help yourself to a delicious spread of wine and snacks laid on to sustain those who have been up all night. The mixture of elated exhaustion and pre-fight excitement makes for quite an atmosphere – a weekday morning unlike any other.

In The Know

Head Count

Up to 30,000 people visit Buñol and neighbouring towns for the festival.

Meeting Point

The caged area in the centre of the square where the water hoses are kept is a good central spot to locate friends before and after (but not necessarily during…) the fight.

Best View

If you'd rather be a spectator, best to sweet-talk a local who might let you view the festivities from a window close to the fountain.

Packing Tips

Most people wear white, which makes the spectacle even more dramatic, but don’t bring anything you’ll ever want to wear again – it’ll be a miracle if you get the stains out. (There are more than 500 temporary showers put up around the city for the event, so you will be able to wash some of the slush off immediately.) Many participants choose to wear safety goggles, but they can actually make you more of a target.

Escape

Valencia Cathedral houses what is believed to be the Holy Grail (another one…), as well as a chalice from the Last Supper – oh, and the mummified arm of martyred St Vincent. For a look at some startling sci-fi architecture, visit the nearby City of Arts And Sciences museum (www.cac.es).

Dos and don'ts

• There is always concern here about drunken participants hurling dangerous objects, and police will confiscate any glass containers.
• Don’t tear T-shirts. Some more rowdy participants have taken to ripping and throwing these at the end of the food fight, but this is frowned upon by police and locals.
• If you love paella (and this is the region to visit if you do) then go along to the paella cook-off the night before the fight.
• Take a change of clothes – and keep them safe in a plastic bag! There’s a public shower in Buñol, or the Buñol river nearby, or do as the locals do and allow the town shopkeepers to hose you down.

Need To Know

Children

Lots of older kids join in, but the mayhem is a bit much for the younger ones.

Parking

Parking spaces are difficult to come by in the centre of Buñol – it’s much easier to get the train into town. Watch out for anyone on board wielding a bag of tomatoes and a naughty smile, though: pre-fights are common.

Disability Access

The fight bit isn’t much fun for those requiring mobility assistance, but watching from the sidelines is still exciting, and partying before and after is no problem.

Food & Drink

For what is considered the best paella in the world, visit the Restaurante Vinatea in the HotelAstoriaPalace on Plaza Rodrigo Botet (+34 96 398 10 00). For cutting-edge gourmet cuisine (maybe foie gras with peaches, or a salad of salmon, shrimp, avocado, potatoes and mushrooms), try Restaurante Sergio Alarco on 23 Calle Marino Blas de Lezo (+34 96 355 22 80).

Sleep

Though locals in Buñol do rent out rooms in private houses, we’d recommend staying in nearby Valencia. Hospes Palau de la Mar (+34 96 316 28 84; www.hospes.es) is central and palatial (literally – it’s a 19th-century stately residence). If you’re flying into Madrid, stay overnight at the refined Casa de Madrid, or the parkside Palacio del Retiro – for details and bookings, go to www.mrandmrssmith.com or ring 0845 034 0701.

VIP

This is a relatively small community festival that doesn’t really call for a VIP angle, but there are inclusive tours available through various agents. Try Forocio (+34 91 522 56 77; www.forocio.com), PP Travel (020 7930 9999; www.pptravel.com) or Tim the Tourman (07919 891587; www.timthetourman.com).