Olive Oil Harvest Festivals of Europe: The 2026 Season Calendar

When the olives come in, the mills run day and night and the new oil flows green and peppery. The lesser-known olive oil festivals of Europe, from November to December 2026.

From late October, across the Mediterranean, the olive harvest begins. Nets are spread under the trees, branches are shaken or combed by hand, and crates of olives are driven to the mill the same day. What comes out is the year’s first oil: cloudy, bright green, grassy and peppery, with a flavour that fades within weeks. In Italian it is olio nuovo, in Spanish aceite nuevo, in Greek agourelaio, the “unripe oil”.

Few foods are so tied to a moment. That is why the olive regions of Europe celebrate it: with open mills, tastings on bread straight from the press, markets and village feasts. Some of these festivals are well known in their own country. Almost none are known abroad.

This is the second article in The Harvest Calendar, our series on Europe’s seasonal harvest events. Read the first: Chestnut Festivals of Europe.

At a glance: the 2026 calendar

Dates are as announced by the organisers in autumn 2026, where available. Check before you travel.

November: the mills open

Frantoi Aperti, Umbria, Italy · 17 October–15 November

For a month every autumn, the olive mills of Umbria open their doors. Frantoi Aperti, “open mills”, is now in its 29th year, and it runs across fifteen olive areas of the region, from the Valnerina and Spoleto to Lake Trasimeno and Orvieto. Visitors can watch the olives being crushed, taste the new oil on warm bread, and walk among the olive groves on the hills below the medieval towns.

It is the best introduction to the olive harvest in Italy, and one of the most authentic: this is not a show, but the busiest weeks of the mills’ year.

Festivol, Trevi, Umbria, Italy · early November

Trevi, a hill town of pale stone surrounded by olive groves, is one of the heartlands of Umbrian oil. Each year, usually at the beginning of November, it celebrates its new oil with Festivol: tastings and guided tours of the mills, a market of producers in the main square, bruschetta drizzled with oil straight from the press, walks and even horseback rides through the olive groves, with music and art in the old town.

OliOliva, Imperia, Liguria, Italy · November

On the Italian Riviera, close to the French border, Imperia celebrates the Taggiasca olive, the small, sweet olive of western Liguria. For a few days in November, the streets of the old town fill with producers and mill owners, tastings and workshops, served alongside Ligurian focaccia, pesto and cheese.

Late November: Istria’s young oil

Young Olive Oil Days, Vodnjan, Croatia · 20–22 November

Istria, the green peninsula shared by Croatia and Slovenia, produces some of the most highly rated olive oils in the world. Each November, its growers present their new oils for the first time in Vodnjan, a quiet hill town north of Pula. The weekend brings tastings, masterclasses and lectures on oil production, with chefs, pastry chefs and even bartenders showing what young Istrian oil can do.

Koper and Marezige, Slovenia · late November–early December

Across the border, in Slovenia’s short stretch of Istrian coast, the restaurants of Koper hold their own Days of Young Olive Oil, with special menus built around local oils. In 2025 the event closed with the opening of something entirely new: the world’s first olive oil fountain, in the hill village of Marezige above Koper. It offers tastings of oils from local producers and the season’s best young oils, every day of the year.

December: the first oil of Spain and Provence

Fiesta de la Aceituna, Martos, Spain · 19 November–12 December

The province of Jaén, in northern Andalusia, is the largest olive-growing area in the world, a sea of olive trees that stretches to the horizon. In the town of Martos, the Fiesta de la Aceituna, held since 1981 and now in its 46th edition, is one of Spain’s most important olive festivals, recognised as a festival of National Tourist Interest.

For three weeks, the town hosts more than 40 events: exhibitions, olive oil workshops, visits to mills, flamenco, theatre, walking routes and a market of local products. The heart of it is 8 December. In the main square, the season’s first oil is pressed by hand, using a traditional screw press, and the town serves the hoyo marteño, bread with new oil, olives and salt cod, free to everyone. In 2025, around 11,000 portions were handed out.

Mouriès, Provence, France · early December

In the Alpilles, between Arles and Avignon, Mouriès is the olive capital of the Vallée des Baux, whose oils carry their own protected designation of origin. Each December, the village celebrates the new oils of the valley with tastings and local events: a small, very Provençal festival, far from the summer crowds.

Greece: the harvest itself

Greece produces some of Europe’s finest olive oil, from the Koroneiki olives of Crete and the Peloponnese to the groves of Lesbos and Mani. Here the harvest is less a festival than a season. From November to January, whole families go out to the groves, and the village mills, the liotribia, work from morning to night.

For travellers, this is the best way to see it: stay in a village during the harvest, visit a working mill, and taste the agourelaio, the first green oil of the season, on bread with salt. Many family producers now welcome visitors for a day of picking or a visit to the mill, especially in Crete, Messinia and Lesbos.

Tips for the olive harvest season

• Go to the mill. The best moment is the oil coming out of the press. Most mills welcome visitors who ask politely and buy a bottle.
• Taste it on bread. New oil is best on warm, plain bread with a pinch of salt.
• Buy it young, use it fast. New oil is at its peak for a few weeks; store it away from light and heat.
• Dress for the weather. November and December in the hills can be cold and wet, especially in Umbria and Istria.
• Combine regions. Istria’s festivals in Croatia and Slovenia are less than an hour apart; Umbria’s mills are within a short drive of each other.

Frequently asked questions

When is the olive harvest in Europe? Usually from late October to January, depending on the region and the type of oil. The earliest harvests, for the greenest and most peppery oils, start in October and November.

What is olio nuovo? The first oil of the season, pressed from freshly harvested olives. It is cloudy, bright green and intensely fresh, and it is traditionally tasted on bread straight from the mill.

Where can I see olives being pressed? At festivals like Frantoi Aperti in Umbria, where mills open to the public, or by visiting a working mill in any olive region during the harvest. In Martos, Spain, the first oil is pressed by hand in the main square on 8 December.

Can visitors take part in the olive harvest? Yes. Many family farms in Greece, Italy, Spain and Croatia offer harvest days or stays during the picking season, usually from November to December.

Beyond the map

The olive tree is the oldest companion of Mediterranean life, and its harvest is one of the few rural rituals that still involves almost everyone in a village. Go this winter, stand in a mill as the new oil runs green from the press, and taste it on bread while it is still warm. It is one of the simplest and most memorable experiences in Europe.

The Harvest Calendar series

• Chestnut Festivals of Europe
• Olive Oil Harvest Festivals of Europe (this article)
• Potato Festivals of Europe (coming in 2027)

Carry the season with you: Beyond the Map Field Guides

Hidden Europe — The Beyond the Map Map Every olive town in this calendar, and hundreds more places, on one map of the Europe most travellers never see.

Autumn Photography in Europe — The Beyond the Map Premium Guide Silver olive groves in low winter light, mills at work, villages at harvest time.

→ Browse all Field Guides

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