The National Spanish Cheese Festival

From Saturday, 28th April 2018 to Tuesday, 01st May 2018

'Bienvenido' to The National Spanish Cheese Festival in Trujillo

This year, "La Feria del Queso", as it's known locally, is in its 31st year and the festival will take place in Trujillo from 28 April to 1 May 2018. The event attracts thousands of visitors who all agree that the city of Trujillo is the perfect food holiday destination.

The festival is now the largest cheese fair in the world. The Plaza Mayor, or main square, in Trujillo is transformed into a colourful cheese village. Hundreds of stands, displaying the finest cheeses, are awash with the tastes and smells of local and national cheeses. Many local cheese makers and farmers, who use milk from their goats or sheep, have developed and mature their own cheeses. Additionally, there are wine and beer stalls. Foodie heaven! 

A Great Event for Food Lovers

If you're planning to visit this rustic part of Spain as part of a foodie holiday, the National Spanish Cheese Festival in Trujillo offers mouth-watering treats for everyone. 

Spain has the fourth largest consumption of cheese in the world and this love of cheese is demonstrated through the hundreds of cheese makers who will be present at the Trujillo festival.

The festival offers visitors the opportunity to try many rare types of cheese not found anywhere else outside of the Extremadura region area. 

Cheese, Cheese, Cheese...

In Extremadura, cheese is mainly made from the milk of goats and sheep. There are 3 main regional cheese denominations: Torta del Casar, Torta La Serena and Los Ibores.

Torta del Casar

• Made from sheep's milk, this cheese is one of the most renowned in the festival's home region of Extremadura. Curdled with thistle, it is eaten by slicing the top off the round casing and using the creamy contents to cover thick crusts of bread. It's also used to top a meat cake of onion and minced beef, to produce a filling, local dish. 

Torta la Serena

• This sheep's milk is made from the milk of the merino sheep. It is another cheese that is sliced open at the top. It is more flavoursome when warmed slightly before being sliced as it brings out the nutty flavour.

Los Ibores

• This goat's cheese is made in the Ybor valley of nearby Cáceres. Produced since the 15th century and made from the milk of Serranas goats, this cheese has a mild taste with a slight spicy, salty flavour. It is perfect served with a sprinkling of paprika, then covered with oil alongside a simple salad. It is also delicious when cooked and served with roasted figs.

Manchego

• A national favourite, this cheese will be displayed in a number of stalls at the National Cheese Festival in Trujillo. It's made from sheep's milk with a well developed, but not overpowering flavour. When blended with cow's milk, the cheese is known as Manchego Iberico. It's a great accompaniment to a selection of tapas. 

Some cheesemakers produce their cheeses from one kind of milk, others from a mix. The results give a whole palette of gastronomic delights; soft cheeses you can easily eat with a spoon or cheeses that you slice for tapas that have a salty, piquant flavours.

At the fair there will be a large selection of cheeses on display that are produced in other regions of Spain, such as Asturias Cabrales cheese, Galician Tetilla cheese and Basque Idiazabal cheese. 

The festival welcomes a guest nation each year, previously Portugal, France, Italy, and Holland. The guest nation displays many typical cheeses and we're excited to discover which country will feature this year. Watch this space for more details! 

With more than 300 varieties of national and international cheeses to taste, visitors will be spoilt for choice.

Conde Nast Traveller has featured Trujillo Villas and the Spanish National Cheese Festival in their Best Festivals Around the World. 

Trujillo Food and Wine

Trujillo is also a fantastic place to enjoy some of the finest food Spain and Europe has to offer. Extremadura is famous for its dehesa forests which are vital for the region’s most famous export - iberico ham.

Iberico ham is made from black iberico pigs that eat the acorns from the dehesa oak forests. Iberico ham is famous for its delicate and beautiful taste and is often quoted as being the world’s finest ham. Delicious as part of tapas or on some locally baked bread with some wine.

In addition to this, Trujillo and the Extremadura region are also famous for producing paprika - Spain’s second most valuable spice after saffron. During the Spanish Cheese Festival, you will be able to enjoy many wonderful local dishes. You can read our recommendations for local restaurants here.

Trujillo Activities

Trujillo isn't just famous for its delicious cuisine and gastronomy; it’s also rich in history and culture. Birthplace of the Conquistadors, Trujillo boasts unique architecture with many palaces, churches and one of the finest main squares in Spain. 

The cheese festival is held in the Plaza Mayor (Main Square). Famed for its distinctive atmosphere and nightlife, the Square is also home to Trujillo’s most recognisable landmark - the magnificent statue of Francisco Pizarro, the Conquistador who conquered Peru in the 16th century. The square is lined with restaurants and bars - with many allowing you to eat on the square itself.

Other local highlights include the towns impressive castle at the top of the town, Santa Maria church and several 16th century palaces owned by esteemed Spanish families. Trujillo is also home to the famous 'nuns with buns' experience - cakes and biscuits are baked within the cloister of the San Jeronimas convent by a closed order of nuns and you can order them though a hidden turntable.

There are also several other beautiful cities just a short car ride away that are perfect for day trips. Guadalupe, Caceres and Merida. Extremadura is also famous for its beautiful flora and fauna with many rare birds to be found. Trujillo makes for a fantastic bird watching holiday in Europe where you can enjoy the warm weather and long hours of sunshine to your bird watching advantage.

Come Enjoy the National Cheese Festival in Trujillo, Spain

Every year the city of Trujillo in the Extremadura region of Spain, offers a warm welcome to visitors as they gather from far and wide to enjoy the National Spanish Cheese Festival.

This year “La Feria del Queso” as it is known locally, is in its 31st year and the festival will take place in Trujillo from 28 April to 1 May 2018. The event attracts thousands of visitors who all agree that the city of Trujillo is the perfect food holiday destination.

The festival is now the largest cheese fair in the world and the beautiful Plaza Mayor in Trujillo (main square), is the backdrop for the occasion, being transformed into a colourful cheese village. Hundreds of stands displaying the finest local and national cheeses are filled with the tastes and smells of traditional and contemporary cheese. The cheese is also accompanied by wine and beer stalls. Foodie heaven!

Are you a Foodie?

If you're planning to visit this rustic part of Spain as part of a foodie holiday or you're staying in the region, the National Spanish Cheese Festival in Trujillo offers mouth-watering treats for everyone.

Spain has the fourth largest consumption of cheese in the world and this love of cheese is demonstrated through the hundreds of cheese makers who will be at the festival.

Many stands at the festival are local cheesemakers and farmers who use milk from their goats or sheep and develop and mature their own cheeses. The local cheeses are both delicious and very rustic and the festival offers visitors the opportunity to try many rare types of cheese not found anywhere else outside the area.

Cheese, Cheese, Cheese...and More Cheese

In Extremadura, cheese is made mainly from the milk of goats and sheep. There are 3 main regional cheese denominations: Torta del Casar, Torta La Serena and Los Ibores:

• Torta del Casar; made from sheep's milk, this cheese is one of the most renowned in the festival's home region of Extremadura. Curdled with thistle, it is eaten by slicing the top off the round casing and using the creamy contents to cover thick crusts of bread. It's also used to top a meat cake of onion and minced beef to produce a local, filling dish.
• Los Ibores; a goat's cheese, Los Ibores is made in the Ybor valley of nearby Caceres. Produced since the 15th century and made from the milk of Serranas goats, this cheese has a mild taste with a slight spicy, salty flavour. It is perfect served with a sprinkling of paprika, then covered with oil alongside a simple salad. It is also delicious when cooked and served with roasted figs.
• Torta la Serena; a sheep's milk cheese, which is made from the milk of the merino sheep. This is another cheese to slice open at the top. It’s even more flavoursome when warmed slightly as a whole cheese before being opened as it brings out the nutty flavour even more.
• Manchego; a national favourite, which will be seen on a number of stalls in Trujillo. It's a firm sheep's milk and is a staple of the country. It is well-developed in flavour, but doesn’t have an overpowering taste. When blended with cow's milk, it is known as Manchego Iberico. It's a great accompaniment to a selection of small bowls of tapas. 

Some cheesemakers produce their cheeses from one kind of milk, others from a mix. The results give a whole palette of gastronomic delights; soft cheese you can easily eat with a spoon or round, plump and yielding pieces you slice for tapas or perhaps salty, piquant flavours.

The fair is not limited to Extremadura and there will be a large display of cheese from other regions of Spain.

Following the popularity of hosting a guest nation at the festival, previously Portugal, France and Italy this year the cheese festival will welcome an international country to take part. Watch this space!

With more than 500 varieties of national and international cheese to taste visitors will be spoilt for choice! 

Stay in Trujillo during the National Spanish Cheese Festival

If you don't want to miss a minute of the amazing National Cheese Festival in Trujillo, Spain the vest solution is to stay right at the centre of the action, in one of our beautifully restored villas. Our five beautiful rental villas are located in Trujillo itself, offering guests the unique opportunity to enjoy the festival on your doorstep. Steeped in history, the Trujillo villas offer a wealth of possibilities to suit all budgets. Choose from the perfect room with a view, a romantic getaway, a garden paradise or a unique historic palacio. The Palacio is one of Trujillo's most unique historic landmarks. Built in 1530, the house is located directly on the main square offering amazing views of the festival.

Trujillo Villas offers the best self-catering luxury accommodation in the area for beauty, history and wildlife. Coverage on the Trujillo Villas includes Sunday Times Travel on 1st Feb, featured in the Spain and Portugal Special under the Hottest Villas of 2015; Harpers Bazaar magazine, Woman and Home, Conde Nast Traveller, the Easy Jet in-flight magazine and in The Times Travel UK with "The 50 Best Holidays in Spain".

You'll leave with your tate buds tantalised, as well as bags full of wheels and slices of lovingly crafted food to take home as a keep-sake from your time in Trujillo.

Trujillo Accommodation

Our rental villas offer the perfect escape in authentic Spain. Steeped in history, the properties offer a wealth of possibilities to suit all budgets. Choose from the perfect room with a view, a romantic getaway, a garden paradise or a unique historic palacio. We offer our guests a unique range of luxury villa rental properties.

Villa Piedras Albas is situated on the Main Square itself and has an incredible loggia balcony overlooking the square - what better way to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the Trujillo atmosphere? As one of Trujillo’s most historic landmarks, it is a stunning example of 16th century Renaissance architecture. The loggia offers a fantastic view of the many celebrations, fiestas and festivals that happen during the year in Trujillo, including the cheese festival.

Villa Martires and the Garden Cottage, built in Roman times and extended in 12th century as military garrison to town’s castle, offer high end luxury in an elegant private estate. A dream destination with 180 degree spectacular views, private tennis court and stunning Roman style swimming pool.

Villa Moritos, originally part of a Conquistador’s mansion, is a private wonderland set within charming walled gardens with spacious living areas and spectacular views. The accommodation is elegantly presented on ground floor level throughout, opening on to secluded gardens, immaculate front and side terraces, a variety of outside dining and seating areas and an attractive swimming pool. 

The Artists Studio is perfect for couples. This quaint property is just a short walk from the Main Square and is ideal for weekend breaks away.