The Córdoba Flamenco Night is the most important free flamenco festival in Spain. Since 2008, one night every June, the city puts up eleven stages at its most iconic locations: the Patio de los Naranjos of the Mezquita, the Alcázar, the Plaza de la Corredera, the Torre de la Calahorra. For one night, the city belongs entirely to flamenco.
Eight hours, eleven stages
From 10:30 pm until dawn, the great flamenco artists perform in a marathon of back-to-back shows. The historic squares fill with palmas (hand-clapping) and the crack of heels on wooden stages, creating something between a concert and a mass gathering. More than 100,000 spectators move through the city that night, drifting from stage to stage as the mood takes them.
The Plaza de las Tendillas (10:30 pm) hosts the opening on the main stage with international headliners. The Patio de los Naranjos (midnight) is a different kind of setting — beneath the orange trees of the Mezquita, with the minaret overhead. The Plaza de la Corredera (3:00 am) runs a large popular stage. The Plaza del Potro (3:30 am) has a more intimate scale. The closing happens at dawn in the gardens of the Alcázar (5:00 am).
Practical notes
Shows run from 10:30 pm to 6:00 am. Get to the main stages (Tendillas, Corredera) early to secure a decent position. Wear comfortable shoes for walking between stages. Bring a light wrap — summer nights in Córdoba get cooler than you'd expect. Free entry throughout. Bars and restaurants in the centre stay open all night. Realistically, plan for 3–4 stages maximum — trying to see all eleven is a route to exhaustion.
