Step Back to the 19th Century Near Madrid: Goyesco Market and 1808 Mutiny Festival Come to Aranjuez (Sept 3-6)

The Fiestas del Motín de Aranjuez (Aranjuez Mutiny Festival) hosts the 16th Mercado Goyesco from 3 to 6 September, alongside the famous historical re-enactments of the 1808 popular uprising.

Aranjuez's festivities have held International Tourist Interest status since 2014. The Fiestas del Motín de Aranjuez run from 2 to 6 September, bringing together concerts, a period market and historical re-enactments.

Other markets in the Community of Madrid have medieval or baroque themes, but Aranjuez's is set in a later era — that of painter Francisco de Goya, who lived from the mid-18th to the early 19th century. The 16th Mercado Goyesco takes place from 3 to 6 September along the side promenades of the Jardín de Isabel II and the El Brillante area.

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The Goyesco fair, organised by Carpetana Mercados Temáticos with Aranjuez Town Council and Patrimonio Nacional, opens on Thursday 3 September at 19:00 and stays open until midnight. On the 4th, 5th and 6th it opens from 11:00 to 14:00 and 19:00 to 00:00.

The market will include "activities for the whole family", with period music and animation shows as well as historical re-enactments.

Its stalls will showcase old trades and offer traditional crafts and gastronomy.

The historical re-enactments of the Fiestas del Motín de Aranjuez

Residents pull their period costumes out of the wardrobe to symbolically re-enact the 1808 mutiny that led to Godoy's arrest, Charles IV's abdication and Ferdinand VII's accession to the throne.

The historical re-enactments begin on Friday 4 September at 21:30 with the assault on Godoy's house. The rioters (and anyone who wants to join them) set off from the Plaza de la Constitución, through the streets of Stuart and del Príncipe, to the old Godoy Palace.

On Saturday 5 September at 22:00 the re-enactment of the Aranjuez mutiny takes place in the Plaza de Parejas, in front of the Royal Palace, where more than 170 residents recreate the chronicle in Galdós' Episodios Nacionales.

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Other activities at the Aranjuez festivities

On Sunday 6 September the 45th Descenso Pirata del Tajo (Pirate Descent of the Tagus) takes place, with participants parading in themed boats. It's not a race — the ten prizes go to the most creative and original boats. The descent starts at 11:00, between the vanished Puente Colgante and the Puente de Barcas.

Residents and visitors can also enjoy several free concerts. The headline acts include La Pegatina, Coti and Jaime Urrutia (ex-member of Gabinete Caligari), performing between Friday 4 and Saturday 5 September.