Buñol City

Where: The mountainous interior of Valencia province, about 40 km west of the city, Spain.

Getting there: Roughly 45 minutes from Valencia by Cercanías train (line C-3) or bus.

Don’t miss: La Tomatina on the last Wednesday of August, and the hilltop castle looking out over the gorge.

Best time: Late August for the festival; spring and autumn for mild weather and quiet streets.

Buñol sits in the rugged interior of Valencia, straddling a gorge carved by the Buñol river. Its skyline is dominated by the Castillo de Buñol, a well-preserved castle with roots in the 13th century, and the old town of steep, narrow streets that climb around it.

For fifty-one weeks of the year Buñol is a working Valencian town of cement works and paper mills, largely off the tourist trail. Then, on the last Wednesday of August, it erupts into La Tomatina - a one-hour street battle in which some 20,000 people pelt each other with over a hundred tonnes of overripe tomatoes, turning the centre a vivid red.

Outside festival week, the surrounding countryside rewards a visit: the nearby Cueva Turche waterfall and the gorges of the Buñol and Cabriel rivers offer walking and swimming spots away from the coast’s crowds.

Buñol is an easy day trip from Valencia. The Cercanías C-3 train runs from Valencia’s Estació del Nord to Buñol in about 45 minutes, and regional buses serve the town too. By car it is around 40 minutes on the A-3 motorway towards Madrid.

For La Tomatina itself, come early: extra trains and shuttle buses are laid on from Valencia, but they fill fast and the town closes to traffic. Many visitors base themselves in Valencia and travel in for the morning.