Plan your 2027 trips to Las Palmas around the most spectacular events
Experience incredible Canario celebrations like Carnival, The Burial of the Sardine and La Noche de San Juan
Our calendars have now flipped over into July 2026, and the savvy flight hunter is already too painfully aware that return flights to Gran Canaria have spiked in cost, at least for the rest of the year.
£29.99 EMA > LPA es bien, £800+ LPA > EMA no es bien. ¡Es comedia!
Gran Canaria's official holidays in 2027 have been agreed by the government of the island, Gobierno de Canarias. Twelve regional and island holidays have been announced, and there's room for two more mandated holidays to be scheduled into the year.
Public holidays in the Canary Islands in 2027
These are the official holidays planned for the entire archipelago in 2027, this list doesn't include Carnival or la noche de la San Juan because they're not public holidays, but they are included on this page as they're huge events that bring thousands to the city.
I flew into the madness of Carnival 2016 on my first trip to Las Palmas, wow, that was mental. I flew in a couple of weeks back, just for the celebrations around la noche de San Juan, and with a huge free concert, giant fireworks display and an amazing time had, am pleased I did!
Some events are simply worth travelling for, see which ones make the best fit with your travel plans for 2027.
- 1 de enero, Año Nuevo, viernes.
- 6 de enero, Epifanía del Señor o Día de Reyes, miércoles.
- 25 de marzo, Jueves Santo.
- 26 de marzo, Viernes Santo.
- 1 de mayo, Fiesta del Trabajo, sábado.
- 30 de mayo, Día de Canarias, domingo
- 16 de agosto, Asunción de la Virgen, lunes.
- 12 de octubre, Fiesta Nacional de España, martes.
- 1 de noviembre, Todos los Santos, lunes.
- 6 de diciembre, Día de la Constitución Española, lunes.
- 8 de diciembre, Inmaculada Concepción, miércoles.
- 25 de diciembre, Navidad, sábado.
Sources: La Provincia / Gobierno de Canarias
If you're going to Las Palmas, you need to get used to reading and speaking a little bit of Spanish. It's not all "English Breakfasts" and "Sky Sports", it's more culturally immersive than that!
The city, la ciudad, is different from the tourist resorts in the south of the island, if you really want to immerse yourself in the most authentic experiences the capital of the archipelago has to offer, a little bit of Spanish, un poco de español, will go a long way!
You'll be amazed at how knowing just a few essential words and phrases unlocks a totally different level of experience. "The Essential Surviving to Thriving Spanish Language Guide" is in the pipeline.
Subscribe to the LPA Pulse Newsletter to find out more.
1) Año Nuevo: January 1st
New Year's Day.
2) Epifanía del Señor o Día de Reyes: January 6th
Three Kings' Day is celebrated with gifts, sweet baked treats, candied fruit, street parades, and old traditions. Kids leave their cleaned and polished shoes out before going to bed, in the hopes of waking to find them filled with sweets and presents.
Think of the Tooth Fairy, but with shoes filled with candy, which will no doubt lead to a visit from the Tooth Fairy... I can walk 150 kilometres a week in Las Palmas. Forgive me, but I'm not eating anything that's been in my shoes!
The fun starts on the 5th when Three Kings arrive into the city by boat, this is followed by a parade from the port area and Calle Juan Rejón all the way down to Parque San Telmo.
The Three Kings' Day parade route:
- Calle Juan Rejón
- Calle Albareda
- Parque Santa Catalina
- Calle Presidente Alvear
- Calle León y Castillo
- Calle Muelle Las Palmas
- Parque San Telmo
During this time look out for Roscón de Reyes, a sweet brioche-style cake, made with flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and yeast. It's decorated with glazed fruits and sprinkled with orange blossom water. It's traditionally eaten around Christmas and Epiphany, and if you've been walking around the city, running or surfing, don't feel guilty about a little indulgence: you've earned that scrumptious sugar hit!
3) Jueves Santo: March 25th
Holy Thursday.
4) Viernes Santo: March 26th
Good Friday.
5) Fiesta del Trabajo: May 1st
Labour Day is a public holiday where you might see some workers demonstrating on the streets and in plazas. Protestors share many of the same gripes that we do: rising costs in living, work contracts and employment rights, as well as how tourism affects them, as locals on a daily basis.
If you live in a university town, or somewhere plagued by AirBnB rentals that have snatched homes from locals, you'll understand: houses and flats in my birth-town, and the place where I grew up are exorbitant, all thanks to holiday rentals, and in the housing scene around the UK town where I made my home for twenty years, locals are being out-priced by outsiders.
Maybe watch the demonstrations near Catedral de Santa Ana from a slight distance, understand what they're about and know that we're globally all in the same boat, we're just in different ports during these storms.
May the first is a good day to take a walk along Primero de Mayo, there's never a more appropriate day for it! You could even take the opportunity to scale a little higher up for better views, and to immerse yourself more in the real local vibes.
6) Día de Canarias: May 30th
The official Day of the Canaries. Politically speaking it marks the anniversary of the first session of an autonomous local government back in 1983, it's the birthday of their parliament. For the locals it's the most important celebration of what makes life in the archipelago as a native Canario so special.
The main event in the city is a vibrant parade called Paseo Romero de Santa Catalina. It starts in the city's main park, Parque Santa Catalina, then goes along Calle Luis Morote, turns right onto Calle General Vives and continues up Calle Sagasta, passes by the water then goes onto Calle Tenerife, before wrapping up at Plaza de Nuestra Señora de La Luz in La Isleta.
Expect it to be packed with energetic performances, lots of songs, folk dancing and music.
Locals are encouraged to dress in traditional clothing as they follow a procession of carts loaded with fruit and veg, all of which gets donated to la Iglesia de La Luz, Our Lady of the Light Catholic Church at the end of the parade.
With this procession passing through the narrowest bottleneck in the city, expect delays, road closures and Guaguas running behind on an already limited timetable.
7) Asunción de la Virgen: August 16th
A celebration of the Catholic belief in the Virgin Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven. Officially marked on Sunday the 15th, but moved to the 16th to enable a three-day weekend of festivities.
Expect street parties and gatherings on the beach from the Friday evening onwards, it's a long weekend in August where the shopping centres are closed, and masses are held at Cathedral Santa Ana in Vegueta.
8) Fiesta Nacional de España: October 12th
The National Day of Spain. Also known as Columbus Day, and sometimes El Día de la Hispanidad, the Day of Hispanicity. A name given during the Franco regime back in 1958, and since changed officially to Fiesta Nacional de España.
It's a holiday to celebrate la cultura de España, marking the anniversary of when Christopher Columbus, Cristóbal Colón, first moored in the Americas, though some now view this as a negative, think of it as Colón-isation and refrain from celebrating.
Columbus Day falls on a Tuesday in 2027, so many in Spain will take the Monday off, something they refer to as puentes (bridges) which create a four-day long weekend.
Look out for festivities around Casa de Colón in Vegueta, it's the place Christopher Columbus stayed in 1492. It's a charming historic building with some interesting displays, artefacts and a pretty garden.
It is free to enter every Sunday and October the 12th.
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Plaza de España and Avenida José Mesa y López will be home to flag-raising ceremonies and military tributes to the island's fallen.
For a more fun vibe and to sample some tasty street-food, head down to Plaza del Pilar in the Guanarteme district to experience the great, popular paella, gran paella popular!
9) Todos los Santos: November 1st
All Saints' Day.
10) Día de la Constitución Española: December 6th
Spanish Constitution Day.
11) Inmaculada Concepción: December 8th
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
12) Navidad: December 25th
Christmas Day!
They're all the official holidays for the island, as agreed by the Government, and below are the core events that make people fly into the city from all over the world!
Las Palmas Carnival 2027: ¡La Música!
Carnival in Las Palmas is the biggest, city-wide, open air party I've even been to.
It's bright, colourful, vibrant and loud. The ultimate fiesta!
What to expect from Carnival in Las Palmas?
Amazement. Excitement. Awe. Equal senses of WOW and WTF.
It's incredible, it's surreal. You can walk through Parque Santa Catalina, sandwiched between a live show on a huge stage setup, and the big-screen televisions of the bars, all showing the live broadcast of what's happening on stage.
You really feel like you're in the middle of something special.
It's an immersive, incredible, wild fiesta that fills the city with music, fun vibes and laughter for an entire month. The last night of Carnival in Las Palmas is especially worth a spot on your travel bucket list.
- A giant stage show setup in Parque Santa Catalina.
- Live music and performances.
- A Carnival Queen Gala.
- A Drag Queen Gala.
- Street Parties and popup events.
- Vibrant and colourful Parades.
- Spontaneous outbursts of happiness around the city!
When does it take place?
Thursday January the 22nd to Sunday February the 28th, 2027.
What is the Burial of the Sardine?
El Entierro de la Sardina. Sunday February the 28th.
Alright, hear me out on this, it's going to sound a little bit crazy, un poco loco: they get a giant replica of a sardine, parade it through the city in a procession of song and dance, then they get it onto the beach, and out onto the water where they blow it to bits with explosives, and finish the night with a huge fireworks display.
Yes, they blow up a fish, it's mad and it's awesome!
See the Las Palmas Carnival 2027 Official Calendar and subscribe to LPA Pulse for more details, closer to the event.
monica
CarnivalVibez
Ruth González
La Noche de San Juan and Fiestas Fundacionales: the city's 549th Birthday
I've experienced la noche de San Juan in Las Palmas twice now: each time was incredible.
How would I describe it to a mate over a café solo?
Probably like this:
There's about 60,000 people on a warm June night, all just vibing and getting along, everyone's having a good time, friends and families are gathering on the beach for drinks and food, there's folks playing live music, big artists doing free concerts, a huge firework display, loads of locals go for midnight swim to wash away bad luck, then run back to the sands seconds later, all shivering and saying está frio!
Beach parties from early evening to early morning!
Yeah, late at night and 23° Celsius on the beach: nice.
LPA Pulse
Concerts down Plaza de la Música
A couple of Álvaro de Luna tracks from that night, Las Palmas is the kind of city where you go for a walk and music discovery happens!
Fuegos Artificiales: a giant fireworks display
A midnight swim (bañarse) to wash away bad luck
It's a local tradition to go for a midnight swim to wash away bad luck and welcome in summer. Thousands dash into the waters of Playa de Las Canteras as fireworks fill the sky.
Gran Canaria's Island Festival: Festivo Insular
Each island has its own set of unique festivities, Gran Canaria celebrates Festivo Insular, the Island Festival, on the 8th of September 2027.
"En Gran Canaria, el día festivo insular será el 8 de septiembre, festividad de Nuestra Señora del Pino.
What to expect on National Holidays in Las Palmas
For tourists and day-trippers, expect festivities and fun, for locals and those living there expect street closures, diversions, delays, changes in bus timetables, and even more difficulty finding a decent parking spot than normal.
- Life slows to an even more chilled out pace.
- Or, it ramps it up a notch into loco mode!
- Government offices, banks and many businesses take a break.
- Department stores (El Muelle, Las Arenas, and El Corte Inglés) close.
- Limited operation on Guaguas Municipales yellow bus routes.
- Check Global blue bus times to LPA well ahead of your departure.
- Expect delays so leave early for any essential travel.
- The beaches are filled with locals enjoying their time off work.
- Sometimes it can take two or three times longer to walk up the beach.
- Restaurants thrive and might need booking in advance.
- Potentially some road closures and delays to travel.
- And very likely, a lot of fun!
A hat tip to the city's cleaning crew. No matter how huge the celebration, or how many thousands of people are bouncing around on la playa or paseo at night, it's always clean by morning. They earn their breakfast coffees at Bar Calle de Los Gofiones. A great place to watch the world wake up.
Subscribe to the LPA Pulse Newsletter, it goes down well with a café solo!
Remember: all plans in Las Palmas are written in sand, not carved into volcanic rocks!
Even when posters are printed, banners are hanging from street lights and flyers are distributed, even the greatest plans in Las Palmas are written by finger in the sands of Playa de Las Canteras: everything is subject to change.
Birthday Celebrations postponed in 2026
In June 2026 some of Las Fiestas Fundacionales, the city's 548th birthday celebrations, were cancelled in solidarity with the people of Venezuela to commemorate the loss of lives in the earthquakes that had rocked the country.
I, like others, were expecting a symphonic concert in the gardens of the Castillo de la Luz that night, then I heard about what had happened. There were some folks dressed for such an event, sharing the look of "err, I thought there was a concert happening here tonight".
The next morning I had coffee with a loco Venezuelan girl I know, she said "Venezuela es kaputt" and carried an evident deflated vibe.
The physical tremors were far away but the emotional aftershocks will be felt in Las Palmas for some time.
If you know of an event or celebration that you think should be included on LPA Pulse, please get in touch and share your expertise.
Sources:
Mar Molina
