# Santa Tecla long weekend from Tarragona: getaways for 23 September Three getaways with a night away and four day trips for 23 September, Santa Tecla, Tarragona's main festival: what can be done when the city is full and outside it is a working day, from a cellar in harvest to the Irta coast and the Guara canyons. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/tarragona/getaways/santa-tecla-long-weekend · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Tarragona - [Two nights at the Cava & Hotel Mastinell, in Vilafranca, with the cava cellars of Sant Sadurní by train](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/penedes/itineraries/two-nights-in-a-cava-winery-by-train-penedes.md) (2 nights, Penedès): At the end of September the Penedès is finishing its harvest, and the 23rd there is a working day: the Sant Sadurní cellars receive fewer people than at a weekend. Watch out for dinner: the hotel menu is served Friday, Saturday and the eve of holidays, and in Vilafranca the 23rd is not one. - [Devinssi, Buil & Giné and Cal Llop](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/priorat/itineraries/two-wineries-and-a-night-in-gratallops.md) (Day itinerary, Priorat): In the last week of September the garnacha is harvested in Gratallops, and on a working day the wineries have time to show it. Tastings are not held on Wednesdays: if Santa Tecla falls that day, go on the 24th or earlier. - [Penedès: a walk through the vines and an aperitif at the winery](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/penedes/itineraries/penedes-wine-walk-and-aperitif-from-barcelona.md) (Day itinerary, Penedès): In September the Camí del Vi passes between vines in full harvest, and the family winery's terrace opens for the aperitif. It is a half-day plan: you set off after the morning castells and are back for the evening. - [A weekend in Peñíscola and the Sierra de Irta, an hour from Castellón](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/valencian-community/peniscola/itineraries/peniscola-sierra-de-irta-weekend.md) (1 night, Peñíscola): At the end of September the Sierra de Irta no longer requires the summer track booking, the water is still warm and Peñíscola regains its calm. Casa Jaime only takes phone bookings: call before setting out. - [A weekend in Alquézar: canyoning, walkways and Somontano wine](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/alquezar/itineraries/alquezar-canyoning-walkways-somontano-wine.md) (2 nights, Alquézar and the River Vero): September is a good time for canyons in Guara, with summer's warm water, and the 23rd is a working day in Aragon. Do the getaway the weekend before or the one after: book the guide and the walkways. - [A getaway to Prades: the red town, the forest and a night of stars](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/catalonia/prades/itineraries/prades-night-of-stars-from-tarragona.md) (1 night, Prades): After the equinox it gets dark before eight and the Prades telescope session starts at a good time. Book the astronomical park session and check the moon; the oak forest, by then, is starting to change. - [Valderrobres and the Parrizal](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/valderrobres-and-matarrana/itineraries/sunday-in-valderrobres-castle-and-parrizal.md) (Day itinerary, Valderrobres and the Matarraña): At the end of September the Parrizal returns to the mid-season ticket and the river runs calmly, without August's crowd. Buy the ticket with a time; if you go on a Sunday, avoid the last of the month, when El Salt closes. ## The festival when Tarragona does not leave Santa Tecla, 23 September, is Tarragona's main festival and its local holiday. The city spends the week in the street: castells in the Plaça de la Font, the popular procession with its fire beasts, the processions and the correfocs of the Part Alta. Many people from Tarragona do not leave that day for anything in the world, and visitors fill the hotels. That is why this long weekend works in two ways: stay for the 23rd and escape before or after, or leave precisely on the big day to have everything quiet outside. Outside Tarragona the 23rd is a working day. If it falls on a Monday or Friday, it joins the weekend; if it falls midweek, it is a single day, and the plan is there and back. ## A working day in the Penedès and the Priorat The advantage of a holiday that is only yours is that everyone else is working. Wineries that on a harvest Sunday have the terrace full show you the vineyard unhurriedly on 23 September. In Gratallops, an hour away, the garnacha is being harvested those days. In the Penedès, fifty minutes away, the Camí del Vi passes among vines being cut, and at aperitif time you are on a terrace in Sant Sadurní. The disadvantage is the same: what closes on a working day, closes. Check the day of the week, because many Priorat wineries rest one day midweek and Gratallops does not hold tastings on Wednesdays. ## With three days: the Irta coast or Guara When Santa Tecla falls at a weekend, there is time for a night away. The Sierra de Irta, to the south, has at the end of September water still warm and the track without booking. On the other side, Alquézar is a good time for canyons, with summer's water; there too it is a working day. ## Prades after the equinox The autumn equinox falls a few days before Santa Tecla, and from then on night wins. In Prades, an hour away, the telescope session starts at a time that allows children, and the red-stone village is seen in the low afternoon light. ## If you go, a bed outside; if you stay, a table If you go, book outside, because inside Tarragona the hotels fill: Prades, Gratallops and Peñíscola have few beds. If you stay, book a table in the Part Alta weeks ahead. Harvest visits are requested with a time. ## September, still hot At the end of September it is still hot at midday and nights begin to cool. It is the season of the first strong storms of the Mediterranean autumn: if there is a warning, leave the canyon for another day. ## Zip lines at Prades while the city dances with fire The Parrizal is flat and under-sixes go free. In Prades, the Roca Foradada arch and the zip lines among the trees. Tarragona's correfocs, on the other hand, are not for the very young: look in the programme for children's events. ## Leaving and returning with the city full In Santa Tecla week there are traffic closures in the centre and the Part Alta. To leave, use the A-27 or AP-7 and avoid the Rambla. If you return on the night of the 23rd, leave the car outside the centre: the events finish late. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Is Santa Tecla a holiday outside Tarragona? No, it is the local holiday of the city of Tarragona. Outside it is a working day. ### What day are the Santa Tecla castells? The big day is 23 September, with castells in the Plaça de la Font. Check the council's programme.