I first attended the Feria de Sevilla, in Andalusia, Spain, with my parents as a child. It was unforgettable, and I returned with my reluctant husband to convert him into a passionate lover of the Feria. It was understandable why he wasn’t enthusiastic about going. I mean, what’s the big deal about a week long all night city wide party?

You just have to go to see it for yourself. Even if you don’t really want to. It’s an unforgettable experience.

The Feria de Sevilla is a once-a-year event that puts all other parties to shame. It traditionally starts two clear weeks after Semana Santa (Holy Week), in a large 5 acre fairground in Los Remedios, south-west of the city, next to the Guadalquivir river.

All of Sevilla’s residents turn out to celebrate life with traditional flamenco dresses and shows of dance and horsemanship. Men and women, of all ages and walks of life, dress in their best garb, traje de gitano for women and traje corto for men, to come out to celebrate. Party tents, where drinks flow and tapas are served from early afternoon to the next morning’s dawn, play the music of the Sevillanas, the official folk music genre and dance for the week of the Feria.

The origin of the Feria lies in tradition. Yes, it’s a week of serious dancing, drinking, eating and socializing into the wee hours, every year. The spectacle is extraordinary. Beginning around noon until early evening - especially on Sunday, the first official day - Sevilla’s society parades around the city in carriages or on horseback. Shops are mostly closed, but restaurants and public monuments are open.

How to get there? We flew Norwegian and Air Iberia. Where did we stay? We like to pretend we’re local, and I speak Spanish, so we booked a cute apartment with AirBnb in the Los Remedios district. Although we rented a car, we didn’t use it to drive around Sevilla, since parking is precious and hard to come by. Everything is walking distance. We loved our long walks through all the neighborhoods, and it helped us burn off the calories from all the delicious food.