Step Into the Nit de les Ànimes
It is the last night of October, and the narrow streets of a Valencian town are filling with costumed figures. Somewhere ahead of you, a tabal drum beats a low, steady rhythm while a dolçaina pipes over the top of it. You smell roast chestnuts and pumpkin before you see the stall selling them. This is the Nit de les Ànimes — the Night of the Souls — observed historically in many Valencian towns on the night of 31 October into 1 November, and dedicated to remembering the dead. Some towns are actively reviving it.
The 2025 edition in Foios is a good picture of what the revival looks like: a costume parade with traditional tabal and dolçaina music, a snack of roast chestnuts and pumpkin, and a haunted tunnel built by the local drama school. Towns stage these on their own schedules, so treat Foios as a template rather than a fixture — check what your chosen town is doing in the final week of October.
Eat Pumpkin in the Market Gardens
Just before All Saints' Day, the market-garden areas of Campanar and Benimàmet hold the Festa de la Carabassa — the Pumpkin Festival. In Benimàmet it takes the form of an afternoon event in Plaça Lluís Cano, with a display of local pumpkins, storytelling and a community snack. Benimàmet has its own metro station, so you can arrive without a car and walk straight into it.
This is the seasonal eating you came for, and it runs on two tracks:
- All Saints' sweets — buñuelos de viento, the light fritters, and huesos de santo, marzipan "saints' bones", sold in bakeries and pastry shops across the city.
- Street stalls — roast chestnuts and sweet potatoes return with the first cool autumn days, so follow your nose through the centre.
Get Lost in a Haunted House
Many towns in Valencia's metropolitan area stage their own haunted house or horror tunnel around 31 October, often free, with separate sessions for children and adults. In 2025 the locations included Picassent, Alaquàs, Paterna and Sueca, among others.
These are announced only a few days in advance, and details are typically confirmed in the last week of October. Build your trip so that the last few days are loose: pick a base, then choose your tunnel once the listings land.
Plan Around the Whole Week, Not One Night
Halloween itself is the night of 31 October, the eve of All Saints' Day — but Valencia's programme extends well beyond it. Parties, haunted houses and children's activities typically begin the weekend before 31 October and run through 1 November, All Saints' Day and a public holiday, and on into 2 November, All Souls' Day.
That gives you a coverage window from mid-October to 2 November. Aim to be in the region for the final week, when the town programmes, the haunted houses and the pumpkin festivals all converge — and when the bakeries are at full tilt on the All Saints' sweets.
Make the City Your Base
Valencia city puts you within easy reach of the market-garden festivals and the metropolitan towns staging horror tunnels, and it keeps you in range of the bakeries and street stalls selling buñuelos de viento, huesos de santo, roast chestnuts and sweet potatoes. Use the metro for Benimàmet and the surrounding towns, and keep your evenings free for whichever Nit de les Ànimes parade or haunted tunnel is confirmed that week.
Start by booking your dates for late October into 2 November, then leave the last week's evenings open. The specific 2026 programmes are confirmed only days ahead — so the plan you make now is the shape of the trip, and the details will fill themselves in once you're there.