La Tomatina, Buñol 2023

La Tomatina, Buñol 2023

Buñol is a small town, just under a half-hour drive from the city of Valencia and in August becomes the home of the World’s biggest food fight.

Thousands of visitors from Spain and beyond make the pilgrimage to the ancient town of Buñol to party long into the night, in between dodging the odd tomato or two! Over a hundred thousand tomatoes flying through the air over the course of an hour is, without a doubt, a sight to behold.

La Tomatina 2023

• First off, arrive early as roads to the town are closed off from lunchtime. We recommend staying in Valencia and taking a rideshare or bus to Buñol.
• Wear White! Everyone does as they make their way down the hill to the centre of the town square, Plaza del Pueblo; you will find street vendors galore selling drinks as music plays over speakers. The atmosphere is one of hype and mayhem as people prepare for the main event.
• The fight takes place in what is known as “The Mosh Pit”. Trucks carrying 40 tonnes of tomatoes will have arrived earlier that morning, and that’s over 150,000 tomatoes! Get your ticket and pick up your tomato ammunition and start throwing them at everyone and anyone. Afterwards, you can pay locals a small fee to hose you down with water, which is highly recommended. You may not want to see a tomato for a while after your experience in the pit, but you certainly will have a unique memory of your trip to Spain.

Tips for the event

• Bring a change of clothes and wear something you won’t want to wear again. Bring goggles as, believe it or not, tomatoes sting. Avoid flip flops, so pack some trainers you don’t mind destroying.
• This is a ticketed event, limited to 20,000 visitors to avoid overcrowding. Tickets cost EUR 12 approx.
• The food fight begins at 11 am and lasts for one hour, and takes place on the last Wednesday in August each year.

Other Activities

The tomato fight, which dates back to 1945, is the highlight of a week-long celebration full of fireworks, music and dancing held in honour of Buñol’s Patron Saint, San Luis Bertrán.

How La Tomatina began

• La Tomatina started in 1945 during a parade of Giants and Bigheads. Some local youth decided to participate in it, and some of the party members got angry. There was a minor dispute near where there was a vegetable stand, and the argument became a tomato toss between both sides until the police ended the “conflict.”
• The following year and successive years, the same scenario was repeated until the authorities saw a high demand at the party. Due to this, the City Council took over the organization in 1980. Since then, La Tomatina has become popular every year. Now it is a festival that attracts thousands of tourists, making it one of the festivals with a significant international impact.
• The town has few hotels, so Valencia makes an ideal base to explore the region. If you want to stay in the town, or close by, prepare to book well in advance 

Where to stay?

Here are the hotels we recommend that have good reviews and keep you close to all the action

Hospes Palau,    Zenit Valencia,    Vincci Palace,    Catalonia Excelsior