Name: Espelette Pepper Festival
Start: 2026-10-25
End: 2026-10-25
Location: Espelette (Ezpeleta)

The big annual Espelette pepper festival at the end of October, with a mass to bless the peppers and cultural events.

This edition is over. We'll add the dates of the next edition as soon as they're officially announced. We were there: scroll down for our photos.

Every year, at the end of October, Espelette (Ezpeleta) celebrates its pepper. In 2026, the festival takes place on Sunday 25 October. It is organised by the Espelette pepper and axoa brotherhood (Confrérie du piment et de l’axoa d’Espelette), and entry is free.

2026 programme

All day: food and craft fair in the village streets, bandas (brass bands) and musicians, free activities at the pepper interpretation centre.
10:00: solemn mass in the church with the Espelette choir and the Ezpeletarrak banda, followed by the blessing of the peppers and the parade of the brotherhoods.
12:00: induction ceremony and presentation of the ‘2026 pepper prize’.
12:30: lunch in the village’s bars and restaurants.

Programme to be confirmed with the tourist office (05 59 93 95 02) before you travel.

The 2026 edition in pictures

A few photos taken in the streets of Espelette during the edition of 25 October 2026: the stalls of the food fair, with strings of PDO Espelette peppers, ewe’s milk cheeses and cured meats.

Stall of an Espelette cured-meat producer under a black marquee: vacuum-packed pieces of ham and charcuterie laid out on straw

Wheels of pure ewe’s milk cheese stacked on a stall, with their chalkboard price tags

Cured-meat and cheese stall under red and white parasols, in front of a white house with red shutters decorated with peppers

Ewe’s milk cheeses, saucissons and chorizos on a stall draped with an ikurriña, the Basque flag

Sources

Dates and times can change: always check the official website before you travel.