The Benidorm Bulletin — Issue 69 | 19–26 July 2026

From the Editor

A slightly different view from the desk this week. As it happens, I’m writing this one from Benidorm itself, out here with the family, sand still between the toes and a cold drink going warm beside the laptop. There’s no substitute for being on the ground, and it’s a fine week to be here.

It’s the town’s own week, too. Saturday the 25th brings Sant Jaume’s Day, when Benidorm sets the sunloungers aside to honour its patron saint with parades, a solemn mass and fireworks after dark. We’ve the full running order below.

We’re also starting something new: a short weekly round of venue picks, the cheap pint, the cocktail, the special meal and the live music, one honest recommendation apiece. Consider it the bit you screenshot before you head out.

Sant Jaume’s Day: Benidorm Honours Its Patron, Saturday 25 July

The town sets the sunloungers aside for a day to honour Saint James, and you’re all invited.

The 25th of July is the feast of Sant Jaume, Saint James, one of Benidorm’s two patron saints, and the town marks it properly. The morning opens with a parade from the Casa del Fester to the church, the bells rung and a daytime firework barrage let off over the Plaça de la Senyoria. Come the afternoon, a second procession brings out the fiesta queens and their ladies in full regalia.

There’s a civic flourish this year. At a quarter past seven, the town unveils the poster for its grand Festes Majors Patronals and names the Unió Musical de Benidorm, marking its centenary, as the festival’s abanderada, or flagbearer. A solemn mass follows, the queens perform the traditional “peuet” dance in the Plaça de Sant Jaume, and the day closes as these things should, with fireworks and an open-air verbena in the Plaça de Castelar.

If you’ve only ever seen the Benidorm of the strip, this is the other one, the Valencian town going quietly about its oldest traditions. The grand patronal fiesta itself comes in November. The 25th is its curtain-raiser and the saint’s own day rolled into one.

What this means for you:

• Head for the Old Town and the Plaça de Castelar after dark for the fireworks and the verbena
• Expect parades and a daytime firework barrage around the church from late morning
• It’s free, it’s local, and it’s a side of Benidorm most holidaymakers never think to see

☀️ What’s On This Week

The saint’s day is the centrepiece, but the town hums all week in high summer.

Away from the fiesta, the tiered amphitheatres in the Parc de l’Aigüera run open-air concerts and shows on many summer evenings. It’s worth a look at the local listings board for whatever’s on the night you fancy it.

Coming Up: The beach stays the main event right through the school holidays, and the city’s grand Festes Majors Patronals arrive in November.

🍺 Where to Wet Your Whistle

Four picks, one per category, and where we couldn’t stand a detail up we’ve said so plainly.

The cheap pint: The lowest prices still live up in English Square, in the Rincón de Loix, where a pint sits around €1.50 and two-for-one happy hours are the norm. Start there while it’s cheap, then drift down towards the Old Town when the atmosphere matters more than the price.

Cocktail o’clock: NOVA, in the heart of the Old Town by the Sant Jaume church. Classic cocktails with a modern turn, and two of the same for €12 between 4 and 7pm.

A table for a treat: Llum del Mar at the Villa Venecia, up in the Old Town. Author Mediterranean cooking, floor-to-ceiling sea views, and exactly the place for a proper celebration. Book ahead.

Live music: The Pig n Whistle on Calle del Pal, deep in the Old Town. A proper music pub going since 1971, live acts most nights, darts and pool, real ales and Brewdog on the bar. You may know it as the “Manhole” from the telly. Pop your head in to see who’s on tonight.

☀️ Weather Watch — Late July 2026

The hottest stretch of the year, and behaving exactly as you’d hope.

What to pack: Light everything, a proper hat, and more sun cream than feels sensible. The midday sun is punishing now, so take the local approach and seek shade in the worst of it rather than fighting it. The sea at around 25°C is bath-warm, so swimming is a joy from early morning. Carry water whenever you’re out.

❓ You Asked…

Q: Is Sant Jaume’s Day worth building an evening around, or is it just a church service?

Worth it, and it’s far more than the mass. The parades, the fiesta queens, the fireworks and the verbena in the Plaça de Castelar make for a proper night out, and it costs nothing. Get down to the Old Town for the evening, find a terrace on one of the squares, and let it happen around you.

Q: We’re up in the English zone. How do we get down to the Old Town for the fiesta?

Easily. It’s a pleasant walk along the front if the evening has cooled, a short hop on the number 1 or 2 bus, or a cheap taxi if you’re a group. On a fiesta night the Old Town fills up, so head down earlier than you think you need to and make an evening of the tapas streets first.

🔥 Hot Topic

The Best Night You’ll Have Here Won’t Cost You a Penny

Benidorm sells itself on the paid stuff, the tribute shows, the cabaret, the all-in bar crawls, and there’s nothing wrong with any of it. But the best night on offer this week is free, and it belongs to the town rather than the tour operators.

Sant Jaume’s Day is the genuine article: a Valencian town honouring its saint the way it has for generations, with its own queens, its own band, its own fireworks over its own square. No wristband, no cover charge, no act flown in for the season. Just a place being itself, and happy to have you watching.

You can do the strip any night of the year. You can only do this on the 25th. My advice, for what it’s worth from a sun-lounger this week, is to skip one packaged night and take the real one instead.

💡 Tip of the Week

Claim Your Spot Before the Fireworks

The Plaça de Castelar and the Old Town’s narrow streets fill quickly on fiesta night, and there’s nothing worse than watching fireworks over the back of someone’s head. The trick is to go early and eat there. Grab a terrace table on one of the Old Town squares an hour or two before things kick off, work your way through a few plates of tapas, and you’ll have both your dinner and your view sorted while everyone else is still jostling for a gap. A slow evening beats a scramble every time.

🤔 Did You Know?

The Benidorm of forty-storey towers exists largely because of one determined mayor. In the 1950s, Pedro Zaragoza pushed through a town plan that turned a modest fishing village into Europe’s holiday high-rise capital. When the Church threatened to excommunicate him for allowing the bikini on his beaches, the story goes that he rode a Vespa the length of Spain to Madrid to win Franco’s personal blessing for it.

He got it. Whether you consider the result a triumph or a warning rather depends on your view from the balcony, but the town you’re standing in was, to a remarkable degree, one man’s idea.

Community Noticeboard

⭐ Sant Jaume’s Day — Saturday 25 July. Fireworks and a verbena in the Plaça de Castelar after dark.

⭐ New: Where to Wet Your Whistle — our weekly venue picks start this issue. Tell us the spots we’ve missed.

⭐ Join the chat — our Facebook group is the friendliest corner of Benidorm online. Come and say hello.

A good week to be here, with the town in a celebrating mood and the sea warm enough to swim from dawn. Next week the holidays roll on and the beach takes over, so we’ll point you at the best of it.

Thanks for reading. Pass it on to anyone with Benidorm on their mind.

Until next time — keep the sun on your face and the sangria cold. ☀️

— The Benidorm Bulletin Team