Drafting up a spring European itinerary? No country belongs on your radar more than Spain. On top of being one of the best travel destinations in Europe, Spain is undoubtedly one of the continent’s top spring escapes.
Need a push to draft up the perfect Spain itinerary this spring? Here are five reasons why you need to add 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 the weather in Spain at its best, though, visiting Spain in spring might be the answer.
In fact, for many travellers, spring is the best time to visit Spain!
Unlike the hot & humid summer and the cooler winter months, weather in spring is at its most comfortable and pleasant throughout much of Spain.
As spring begins to roll into Spain, popular beach towns along the Mediterranean like Malaga and Marbella start kickin’ up as both the water and air temperatures rise.
Elsewhere in Spain, late spring marks the end of the cooler months. Destinations like Madrid and Barcelona begin to awake from their winter slumbers as daytime temperatures start to inch into the twenties (ºC) with plenty of sunny days at hand.
2) Exciting Festivals
Along with the great weather, spring marks the beginning of the festival season in Spain. Starting in March, you’ll see interesting festivals popping up all over Spain.
Some of the most popular spring festivals in Spain 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 in Spain brings with it hordes of visitors. If you want to avoid the worst of the crowds, visiting Spain in spring is a great idea.
On top of shorter queues for some of the top places to visit in Spain, the lower tourist numbers of spring means better availability for your accommodations and cheaper prices.
4) Spring blossoms
Although hardly as famous as cherry blossom season in Japan, checking out the spring blossoms in Spain is a colourful detour for your spring Europe travels.
With more than two million cherry trees blooming, the Jerte Valley in the Extremadura region is one of the best places in Spain to catch the spring cherry blossoms.
The cherry blossoms are short lived, only spanning a period of 10 days in March. There’s even a regional Cherry Blossom Fiesta to mark the occasion.
Besides the cherry trees, Andalusia in southern Spain is famous for its almond blossoms. Travelling around Andalusia in late winter and early spring, you’ll get to witness the blossoms punctuating the olive-tree-dotted hills of the region.
One of the best 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, any Spain travel plan worth its salt will have wine and tapas featuring heavily.
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, 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 the cities of Granada and Seville into the mix. These two amazing Andalusian cities are home to some of the finest wine & tapas bars in Spain.
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 and is widely considered (and contested as) the birthplace of fortified sherry wine.
