My husband and I live in the rainy NW and try to get away every winter for a couple of weeks. Usually we pick warm and/or sunny climes, but we also love museums,food and wine, so the plan for this coming winter (Jan-Feb 2008)is to spend 2+ weeks in Spain: Madrid, Bilbao and the Canary Islands. Any comments, suggestions? Jan vs Feb? Fly or train to Bilbao?

hi, mrscoyote,

we spent a long weekend in Madrid last month [feb] [alright, it's april ,but you know what I mean]

it was reasonably warm and we could sit outside in the bsunshine from about 11am to 4pm. [not that we did much sitting but it was nice to be outside when we did].

Feb is bound to be warmer than Jan, but if you started off in the Canaries, that might not matter.

Canaries, fly to Madrid, train to bilbao would be good.

regards, ann

We spend a lot of time on the Basque coast, but you'll find that the Mediterranean coast, from Valencia to Barcelona and beyond, will be a lot nicer than Madrid, Bilbao or the rest of the Basque country in January and February. The Basque country’s weather is a lot like the weather in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

This year was unusual, but it was bright and sunny in Begur on the Costa Brava and it rained (briefly) only once in 5 nights in Barcelona.

Last year it as a balmy 60 F on the beach in Valencia on New Year's Day.

In 2000, I was in Madrid for a month and enjoyed it very much. I live in the non-rainy NW (Spokane), and I found it to be very comfortable, but then--let's face it--if you live in Spokane, the comfortable-weather-bar isn't very high. Most of the time I didn't even button my coat, though the Madrileños seemed to find it quite nippy.

Last year (2006) my husband and I visited Madrid at the end of February/early March. It poured rain and was bitterly cold! Totally unusual. And when we drove south to Granada we encountered snow and hail! Even so, it was beautiful and we had a great time. The moral is: there's always a chance of horrendous weather, so just be sure you build in some flexibility to do indoor activities (and bring layered clothing just in case you need to bundle up!)

I have been COLD in Madrid in March. We experienced flurries and rain. Did not see the sun for three days.

That trip we wore coats in Segovia and tank tops in Sevilla.