Spain can be visited at any time of year. The months considered ideal are May, June and September, and in the south also April and October: the weather is good, the days long and you avoid the stifling heat of July and August inland. Winter is an excellent time for coastal Andalusia, the Costa Blanca and above all the Canary Islands. For forecasts, the reference is the state weather agency AEMET.
Climate zones
Broadly speaking, Spain has five types of climate.
Atlantic (oceanic) climate, on the north coast: Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country. It is cool, humid and rainy, with mild winters and pleasant summers, rarely above 25-26 degrees. The sky is often cloudy even in summer and the sea is cool, around 18-21 degrees. In return the landscape is lush green and the large wild beaches are one of the country's surprises. In recent years, however, the north has also seen heatwaves.
Continental climate, on the Meseta and inland: Castile, Madrid, Aragon, Extremadura and La Rioja. Winters are cold, with frequent frosts in Burgos, Soria, Ávila or León, and summers very hot and dry: Madrid easily tops 35 degrees. The heat is dry and nights, especially at altitude, are cooler. A Madrid saying speaks of "nine months of winter and three of hell".
Mediterranean climate, on the eastern and southern coasts and in the Balearics: mild, relatively rainy winters and hot, dry summers, with breezes that cool the days and humid nights. Some areas, such as Almería, sheltered by the Sierra Nevada, and Alicante, have very little rain and lots of sun; the Tabernas desert, near Almería, is Europe's only true desert. In autumn the Mediterranean coast can see violent rainstorms, the so-called DANA (cut-off low), which in October 2024 caused the tragic Valencia floods.
Inland Andalusian climate: the Guadalquivir valley is the hottest area in Europe, with summers when Seville and Córdoba often exceed 40 degrees. Granada, at almost 700 metres, has scorching days but cool nights. Between Gibraltar and Almería the sea is cooler than elsewhere in the Mediterranean because of Atlantic influence.
Mountain climate, in the Pyrenees, the Sierra Nevada and the other ranges: colder and snowier as you climb, with major ski resorts such as Baqueira-Beret, Formigal and Sierra Nevada, the southernmost in Europe.
Finally, the Canary Islands have a subtropical climate, with temperatures between 18 and 28 degrees all year, tempered by the trade winds: hence their name, the "islands of eternal spring".
When to go
- Inland and Andalusian art cities (Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Córdoba, Granada): spring and autumn; in summer visit early in the morning and in the evening.
- Beach: June to September on every coast; May to October in Andalusia, the Balearics and the Costa Blanca; all year in the Canaries.
- Atlantic north: June to September, when it rains less.
- Mountains and skiing: December to April.
Festivals in every season
Many of the most spectacular festivals are in spring: the Fallas in Valencia in March, Holy Week, Seville's April Fair. Summer brings San Fermín in Pamplona and hundreds of village festivals; autumn the grape harvests and the Pilar festivities in Zaragoza. See also Spanish festivals and the geography of Spain.