Spain in December

Christmas lights and markets; the 6–8 December long weekend (puente) fills hotels. The Christmas lottery on 22 December stops the country for a morning.

• Madrid and the central plateau · Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, Cuencacool

  Dry, sunny and continental: frost on winter nights, 35–40 °C in July and August.

• Andalusia · Seville, Córdoba, Granada, Málaga, Cádizfine

  Seville and Córdoba are Europe's hottest cities in summer (40–45 °C). Winters are mild and sunny on the coast; Granada is colder.

• Mediterranean coast and Balearics · Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Mallorca, Ibizacool

  Beach season June–October; humid in August. Autumn DANA storms can bring flash floods.

• Green north · San Sebastián, Bilbao, Santander, Asturias, Galiciarainy

  Atlantic weather: green because it rains. The best escape from summer heat; pack a rain jacket in any month.

• Canary Islands · Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palmabest weather

  Mild all year (20–28 °C); winter is high season. Calima dust storms blow in from the Sahara a few times a year.

Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.

• Constitution Day and Immaculate Conception

  6 and 8 Dec

  The 'puente de diciembre' long weekend: city hotels and trains busy.

• Christmas Day

  25 Dec

  Everything closed; the family meal is on the 24th.

• Christmas and New Year

  Dec 24–25 and Jan 1 · Madrid

  Most restaurants and shops closed on the evening of Dec 24 and Dec 25.

Crowds · Spain

Medium

Prices · Spain

Medium

• Layers: a fleece or light jacket
• A rain jacket or umbrella and shoes that dry fast

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Rated best or good this month

• Canary Islands

  Best weather of the year (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma)