Madrid 's carnival may not be the most raucous, but it certainly finishes in style see also hotels Madrid. Takes place in February.

The carnival action in Madrid remains centred around venues including the Casino and the Circulo de Bellas Artes. It's an opportunity for Madrilenos to dress up, show off their traditional costumes and parade the streets in horse-drawn carriages. The main event is a huge parade along the Paseo de la Castellana. The most popular characters at the carnival are 'Don Carnal', who represents 'excess' and 'Dons Cuaresma', representing 'abstinence', who enter into combat on the streets of Madrid. On Saturday, there is a masked black tie ball at the Circulo de Bellas Artes, where dancers wear beautiful dresses and tuxedos. Sunday is dedicated to children with a selection of activities and games.

The Madrid carnival

SARDINE BROTHERHOOD
Madrid 's castizos, a kind of local version of London 's cockneys, jazz up the occasion of the burial of the sardine with a healthy dose of the burlesque. Some 60 or so members of the Burial of the Sardine Brotherhood, get clad head-to­ toe in their funeral finery, complete with top hat, a jaunty walk and a glint in the eye, an event preceded by a vast feast of soon-to-be-forbidden pleasures.

All the participants carry a cardboard sardine in a coffin, which is theatrically and mournfully buried at the Neoclassical temple of San Antonio de Florida, famed for its wonderful murals painted by Francisco de Goya depicting the miracles of San Antonio of Padua.