We’ve decided to escape our winter season in Virginia and spend 5 weeks in Southern Spain.
I don’t expect warm weather, as I know it is the winter season and we are o.k. dressing accordingly to visit . We like cultural things, good food and wine, older buildings and in particular getting a feel for how people live. We therefore have a tendency to stay in an area for several days/nights to a week at least, so that you develop a rhythm for daily life.

We will be coming from Morocco and so will spend our time no further North than Valencia, Madrid, and focusing our time in between. Although much has been recommended I’m wondering whether some areas/towns are going to be more “closed up” in the winter than other areas?
Any thoughts, ideas, would be greatly appreciated!

Well I suppose seaside resorts on Costa del Sol maybe somewhat slow but not closed up as many retirees live there too. Regular towns will be like regular towns - the must sees like Cordoba, Malaga, Granada, Ronda, Seville, etc. will have fewer tourists no doubt than in high season but count this as a blessing. Jerez-de-la-Frontera is an easy day trip from Seville and the home of sherry with Sherry Houses and Caves to tour and taste the product. ('sherry' being a British corruption of 'Jerez' and Brits once dominated the market as old ladies in U.K. often sipped sherry they say). Alicant' is a splendid old seaside town between Malaga and Valencia.

Traveling by car I presume or train and bus? to really mix with locals public transports are great and for cities like Cordoba, Valencia and Seville and especially Madrid cars are useless once there - for lots on trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeturopetravel.com and www.ricksteves..com. Booking tickets weeks early can mean serious discounts over full fare.

I don't think of Madrid or Valencia as being southern Spain -- I think of them as central Spain and I think of southern Spain as Andalusia. Given that your thread title refers to southern Spain, you might not get as much information about Madrid, Valencia, or anywhere in between with this thread as you might want. You might consider re-posting with a more accurate title. Just a thought.

Thanks PalenQ.
We’ll wait on deciding where we’re going to decide on transport. We like to travel without a car when possible, depending on train and bus. We’re happy to rent a car as well for certain areas where we might be covering more ground.
We’re looking forwards to enjoying Spain as it has been years since I’ve been there. We are food and wine conscious, having been in the business for 25 years, and know that Spain will not disappoint.
I’ll post again as things start to settle down with other questions, ideas.

KJa,
Posted again as your point is well taken. I’m basically drawing a geographical line from Valencia to Madrid to indicate the approximate limit of northern travel we think we’ll make. Still open for all ideas though within our confines.

I'm glad you did repost! I don't know enough to comment on what places will / will not be "shut down" (except, of course, to note that the major cities will be alive and vibrant). I hope that this more accurately titled post will afford you input from people who know much more than I.

Far from five weeks, but a few years ago we spent a week or so (don't recall) at that time of year in the area between Gibraltar and Tarifa. I'm among something of a minority, or so I gather, that really enjoys Gibraltar - I like the history, the juxtaposition of British institutions with a decidedly Mediterranean society.

We used a quite wonderful hotel outside Tarifa, the Hotel Hurricane (website currently down apparently) which is set on the beach a bit north of Tarifa, on the way to Cadiz. It was a terrific base from which to explore some of the Andalusian villages in the area. Tarifa is a big wind- and kite surfing destination, and it was warm enough for actual beach-sitting while we were there.

We were very taken with a couple of villages in the area, Vejer de la Frontera and Medina-Sidonia. These are quintessential Andalusian villages, with whitewashed buildings, palm trees and orange trees (full of oranges in the winter) lining the streets, and enough wee alleys and passageways to explore for years. We also happened to be in Medina-Sidonia as they were getting ready for Carnival, with a large witch in the town square being prepared for her fiery end.

There are Roman ruins, hill and forest drives... it's really a terrific area. Gibraltar, Seville and Cadiz are an hour... highly recommended.

Vejer de la Frontera



Medina-Sidonia



Baelo Claudia Roman ruins



Kite surfers, Tarifa

There are plenty of Northern Europeans who head to southern Spain for the winter, so many places will be quite lively, and possibly already booked.

Well Spanish trains are neat - no longer is 'the pain in Spain mainly on the train' like years ago - some of best fastest trains anywhere but book your own tickets way early to score neat discounted fares at Renfe or www.trainline.eu as mentioned above. Buses can be about as fast on some routes and are always cheap without advance booking.

My sister and her partner were looking for the very same thing and settled on a week or two in Sevilla (they've been before), a few days in Cadiz, and a week or so in Vejer de la Frontera. You might consider those places. They go to wander around, draw and paint, and write.

I chose Sevilla and Cadiz for my own visit, just two weeks or so in length, late February. None of the three places I mentioned will be at all closed up.

If you've not been to Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, and or all of those would be great places to start. We were in t-shirts during the day in January in Granada a few years ago.