We've been playing with the idea of going to Barcelona or Madrid immediately after Christmas and staying through New Year's. The flights from NY are priced in the mid 700's. Will the weather be nice enough to enjoy the trip? We've been to Paris in February (and June and November) and enjoyed it, though it was cold and gray. What will it be like in either of these cities? Is one preferable over the other? And is it worth it to spend seven days in one city or should we think of a few days elsewhere? We are complete Spain-novices.

Also, we're not wedded to the idea of Spain. If anyone has other suggestions, we're open to them.

You can get weather history information at www.weatherunderground.com .

I can only speak about Madrid. Based on its location far from the sea, it will be colder than you might expect for Spain. If you go to Madrid for a week, there are lots of daytrips you can take (or you could go to Salamanca for a couple days, etc.). As I posted elsewhere, I think Toledo (about 1/2 hour by train from Madrid0 is worth more the typical daytrip time allotted to it.

Anyway, I love Madrid, and if I got a chance to go in any month (even August, and I really hate heat, but that's when I saw Madrid first), I would go. So I guess you need to hear from a more unbiased person.

Basically the weather will be variable.
everyone will have a preference over the other, so it will be down to your personal likes and dislikes, what are they?
7 days sounds fine, especially if you relax and do not fly around and see everything in a few days, thus leaving you with an idea of what to do now.

If the sun comes out it will be very very pleasant and very chilly.

Madrid will be cold, Barcelona cool, but not as cold as Paris in February. In both cities, you can have rainy or sunny days. Pack winter coats and raingear.

In both cities, you will enjoy museums, bars, restaurants and nightlife.

trekker2 writes: "We've been playing with the idea of going to Barcelona or Madrid immediately after Christmas and staying through New Year's. The flights from NY are priced in the mid 700's. Will the weather be nice enough to enjoy the trip? "
You should be able to do better than mid-700's from the NYC area in that time frame (Continental out of Newark or Delta out of JFK).
Madrid is usually cold and dry then; if you get some bad (i.e., snowy) weather, a 2.5 hour train ride will get you to Sevilla.
Madrid is múy divertido for New Year's eve.

" ... we're not wedded to the idea of Spain. If anyone has other suggestions, we're open to them."

Have you considered Lisbon, Portugal??

We did think about Portugal, but since this will be our first trip to the Iberian Peninsula, we thought Spain would be a better introduction. We also just had friends come back from Barcelona who raved about it.

Still undecided on pursuing this...any other suggestions?

I enjoy winter holidays myself.. I find it is more pleasant to bundle up and than to sweat under the sun and pray the air-conditioning works.

i hear NYE in madrid is pretty awesome. they gather in puerta del sol and ring in the new year. we were in madrid and barcelona in november. it was blustery cold in madrid, so we needed coats. in barcelona all we needed were light jackets. i would imagine december would be comparable, if not a bit colder.

Well, we have been to Madrid a couple of times in the last few years and in Dec. and Jan. We plan to go again this Jan. "Cold"...well, it's a heat wave compared to Wisconsin! We never bring winter coats..usually spring-fall will do. And I remember cold-sunny more than anything, but it's certainly not "on the beach in Puerta Vallarta".

As far as the calendar, remember Christmas Eve-Christmas Day largely religious and family. Dec. 28 is April Fool's Day, a minor holiday indeed. NYE eating 12 grapes in the Puerta del Sol or watching on TV. New Year's Day, another holiday.
BUT Jan 5 is a parade for the Kings who will bring gifts to the children that night. Jan 6 is a holiday..Kings' Day and Jan 7 the sales begin...so if any of this influences your dates....use it.

Hi; Go to kayak.com and key in your dates. I just brought up $520 to Barcelonia on Iberia from JFK, leaving on the 28th and returning on the 5th of Jan. Richard

The last time my sister and I went to Spain in the winter (early January), it was gorgeous! We were there for a little over a week and hit Barcelona, Figueres, Pamplona, San Sebastian and Bilbao and all were bright, sunny and chilly (SUPER chilly when the sun went down) except for Pamplona, which was shrouded in fog and got a bit of frost. No precipitation at all, but we could've gotten lucky.

Being from Southern California, the weather felt very comparable for that time of year.

Sure, a trip to Barcelona is worth it in any month of the year! The days will be short, and it will be cold at night, daytime temps can be chilly, or pleasant if it is sunny, its always a gamble. Just wear layers and your will be all set. Last year at the end of Jan it was extremely windy, we had a very scary flight landing and Barcelona lost many trees,etc. in the storm.