Escaping yet another prolonged Canadian winter a couple of years back, I decided to visit Spain in spring. And it didn’t take long for this fascinating Southern European country to become one of my favorite travel destinations in the world. (Why it took me so long to come here, I’ll never know.)
As I wandered through its cities and towns in the warm spring air with the scent of spring flowers in full bloom, I knew this was the perfect destination for springtime European adventures. Here are five reasons why I’d recommend adding Spain to your spring Europe travel plans…
1) Picture-perfect weather
Famous for its blissful sunny skies, Spain is one of the most popular places to visit in Europe at any time of year. If you’re looking to experience its weather at its best, though, I’d highly recommend timing your Spain itinerary for spring.
In fact, I would say that spring is the absolute best time of the year to visit Spain!
Unlike the hot & humid summer and the cooler winter months, weather in spring is comfortable and pleasant throughout much of Spain. (Especially coming from my frigid northern quarters.)
As spring rolls into Spain, popular beach towns along the Mediterranean like Malaga and Marbella start kickin’ up as both the water and air temperatures rise. Still, I never found the crowds stifling (yet!), at least not compared to the summer high tourism season.
Elsewhere in Spain, late spring marks the end of the cooler months. Destinations like Madrid and Barcelona begin to awaken from their winter slumbers. Daytime temperatures start to inch into the twenties (ºC), with plenty of sunny days at hand to experience the cities without the thick summer crowds. (Which, I can attest, are not pleasant in these two cities!)
On top of that, the summer months in Spain are hot, hot, hot. (Wait, did I mention it’s hot?)
As much as I love the heat, summer in Spain tests my limits. In Madrid, for example, the average temperatures from June to August hover between 30-34ºC. And that’s not even accounting for the extreme heatwaves that often sweep through. Yikes!
2) Exciting Festivals
Along with the great weather, spring marks the beginning of the festival season in Spain. Starting in March, interesting festivals pop up all over Spain.
Some popular spring festivals in Spain I’d recommend checking out include:
- Las Fallas Festival (Valencia): Mid-March
- Feria de Abril (Seville): April
- Feria del Caballo (Jerez): May
- Feria del Queso (Trujillo): Late April
- Primavera Sound Festival (Barcelona): May
- San Isidro Festival (Madrid): May
- WOMAD World Music Festival (Caceres): May
3) Smaller crowds
Like much of Europe, the summer high tourist season brings with it hordes of visitors to Spain. If you want to avoid the worst of the crowds, I’d highly recommend visiting Spain in spring!
On top of shorter queues, the lower spring tourist numbers mean better accommodation availability and cheaper prices.
(Let’s be honest: The crowds in Spain—and, indeed, around most of Europe’s most popular destinations—in summer are stifling. And after traveling throughout the continent during every season, I must say it’s not at its best when you need to elbow your way through endless crowds to see things!)
4) Spring blossoms
Okay, so I can’t claim that spring in Spain is as famous as, let’s say, cherry blossom season in Japan. But I’d be remiss not to recommend adding Spain’s spring blossoms to your spring Europe travel plans!
With more than two million cherry trees blooming, the Jerte Valley in the Extremadura region is a fantastic spot to catch the spring cherry blossoms in Spain.
Like elsewhere, the cherry blossoms here are short-lived, only spanning a period of about 10 days in March. If you’re interested, I’d suggest checking out the regional Cherry Blossom Fiesta, a festival held in Jerte to mark the occasion.
Besides the cherry trees, I fell in love with the almond blossoms in Andalusia in southern Spain. Travel around Andalusia in late winter and early spring to witness the blossoms punctuating the olive-tree-dotted hills of the region.
One of my favorite places in Andalusia to catch the spring Spanish almond blossoms is in Las Alpujarras. This picturesque mountainous region sits on the edge of the Sierra Nevada and is peppered with traditional Andalusian villages. Las Alpujarras is most easily reached as a day trip from Granada.
5) Wine + tapas
Okay, so I’ll admit: drinking wine and eating tapas isn’t exactly a spring-only activity in Spain. Truthfully, every Spain travel plan I’ve ever created is heavy on wine and tapas. (Naturally.)
No, I wouldn’t say no to this at any time of the year. But there’s something special about enjoying wine and tapas in Spain in spring!
With the coming of spring, the cool night breezes of winter give way to warmer evenings throughout Spain. As the weather warms and days lengthen, I love seeing more & more patios begin to open up in Spanish cities, creating a more festive atmosphere than in the winter months.
For the most memorable experiences, throw Granada and Seville, two of my absolute favorite cities in Spain, into the mix. I can hardly think of a place I ate and drank better in Spain than these two amazing Andalusian cities, which are home to some of the country’s finest wine & tapas bars.
Another excellent spring destination choice for wine lovers is Jerez de la Frontera, located south of Seville and north of the seaside city of Cadiz.
Jerez is one of Spain’s most famous wine-making areas. It’s widely considered (and contested as) the birthplace of fortified sherry wine.
(To be honest, tempranillo is more my jam, but not gonna turn down a good sherry either.)
