Visiting Spain in January
 

I am planning to visit Spain in third week of January 2017 with family (4 persons). The tentative itinerary is Madrid (4 days), Granada (2) and Barcelona (3) with a total of 8 to 10 days, with a day trip to Toledo, if possible. All trips by train.

Is it too cold and rainy in January and will any tourist attractions (like museums etc) be closed ? Any changes required in the number of days planned? Kindly advise.

I have never been in Madrid or Barcelona in January, but Granada and the Costa del Sol are lovely (and generally quite sunny) in January.

"Is it too cold and rainy in January"? It might be. Alternatively it could be sunny. Weather is just not predictable this far ahead. If you trip is clear of the Christmas and New Year closures, everything will be open as normal in all of those locations.

The only thing I might add is to take one day from Madrid and add it on the Barcelona, there's much more to do and see in Barcelona IMHO.

Our daughter and I took a short city break to Madrid this year, arriving on 1 January, happy to find that markets and stores (but no museums) were open and lively! Perhaps the weather was uncharacteristic, but we enjoyed mostly sunny skies and temperatures around 15°C each day. We also took day trips to Segovia and Toledo; in Segovia we had sunshine and similarly mild temperatures, while in Toledo it was overcast but still mild. In all cities, museums were open after 1 January, but do check the websites of museums and attractions of interest, as they may have special hours.

For Madrid, we felt we could have used two full days (we had one full day and anything leftover from the day trips) to get a good sample of the city at a reasonable pace. One day each in Toledo and Segovia were enough, we felt, to see the main sights, enjoy a lunch, and wander a bit before catching the return train to Madrid.

We also took a city break to Barcelona of four days, but in the month of October so I can not speak to January weather. The city used all four days of our itinerary to see the main sights and markets, a modicum of Gaudi, enjoy Park Guell and the Miro museum, and to sit along Los Ramblas and people watch over wine and tapas.

I hope this is helpful.

I've been to those cities in January and found the weather to be very pleasant. We were in shirtsleeves in Granada during the day.

All museums and all activities as normal in January in all these cities.

Weather statistics second half of January says

Madrid, average highs 52F, five hours sun/day and rainfall one in every five days.

Barcelona, average highs 58F, 4 hourssun/day and rainfall one in five days.

Granada, 56F, six hours sun/day, rainfall one in evety four days.
(wetteronline.de)

Your itinerary is fine as is, and you'll probably have pleasant weather. Enjoy yourselves !

Thank you very much for all the responses. Much appreciated. Just one more query ... Granada .. Is it worth a trip ?

Granada is "worth" more than Barcelona !! Be sure to get your tickets to the Alhambra now.

Granada's Alhambra is, IMO, one of the world's gems (not just Spain's).

Given that many things in Spain are closed on Mondays and often part of Sundays, too, and that many things will be closed for a very long mid-day break, and that daylight hours will be short when you are there, I would call your plan overly ambitious. You might consider dropping Barcelona from this trip, adding a day or even two for Toledo, maybe adding time to Madrid so you can take a day trip to Segovia.... It really depends on what YOU want to see and experience.

You'll see some wonderful things no matter what you choose!

Just my two cents but I do think you are spening too much train time balanced against actual exploring time in the various cities, espcially if your total visit is only 8 days.

If it were my trip, I would eliminate either Madrid or Barcelona and save the eliminated one for a time when you can spend more time and do daytrips. One January we combined Madrid and Granada and had just enough time to scratch the surface of Madrid in a trip that was one-week long, coming from the US.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...k-in-spain.cfm

We covered northern, central and southern Spain from mid-January to mid-February this year (Pamplona, San Sebastián-Donostia, Bilbao, Rioja, Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, Málaga and back to Madrid). The weather was near perfect, clear and bright (and dry) in Donostia for the Tamborrada, warm and sunny in Málaga for Carnival, with cooler evenings in Madrid. Very comfortable.

Packed for somewhat cooler weather, so had to go shopping in Madrid for something lighter to wear. We had umbrellas, but used them sparingly.

We were in Barcelona and Valencia this March and it was a lot cooler than we had expected. Being from Upstate NY, we thought we were tough enough to handle the expected average temps. We had to scramble for jackets - especially in the evenings. Valencia ended up cooler than BCN. So, don't chance it because garments are relatively expensive there.

Wow ! very informative responses. Thanks a lot. We might drop Barcelona most probably. Ekscrunchy - your tour report is fantastic.

If you drop Barcelona, it should only be to come back and spend some serious time here later. Medieval and modern, tons of things to see and do and fabulous and very different districts right in the city center, like "wandering through a dream": https://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/barcelona

Madrid is totally different and as fascinating as Barcelona. Granada is of course the spectacular Alhambra and the cathedral etc, but I find Córdoba, Sevilla, Málaga and the Andalucían countryside much more interesting if you plan for a longer trip here in the future. http://www.andalucia.com/

Dropping Barcelona from THIS trip makes a lot of sense to me. I hope to hear that you make it there on another trip. :-)

With 8 to 10 days in January, I would head to Andalusia (skipping Madrid and surrounds), as kimhe seems to suggest, but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't focus on Madrid and Granada if that's your preference -- there certainly are some wonderful things to see there.

Of course, there is the argument (which I've often made) that if you have to shortchange something, you should shortchange the city or cities that have international airports, as they are the places you can most easily visit on a second trip. That argument would suggest that you fly into Madrid and leave ASAP for points south. With 8 or 10 days, you could visit Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba, and (depending on pace and preferences) maybe even one other destination -- all by public transportation. If you haven't already booked your flights, you could fly out of Sevilla (probably with a connection in Madrid); if you have already booked your flights, you could take a train back to Madrid for the night before your flight. Just something to consider....

IMO, no bad choices, just difficult ones.

Thanks Kimhe and Kja. Will update shortly on my final itinerary. Since I can't increase the number of days, it will be Madrid, Granada and few other surrounding places most probably.

I visited Madrid, one of my favorite cities, in mid-December and while cold (about 40F),one can still dress for it and be comfortable. Also, you'll warm up fast with all the walking you'll be doing! Temperatures got up into the 50s by mid-day or so. I was there for 10 days and enjoyed sunny skies for 9 of them. There are plenty of things to do indoors, on that one rainy day I went to the fantastic Thyssen Bornemisza museum, a fine collection that runs the gamut. Don't miss it if you enjoy art.


Winter light is the best for picture-taking IMHO, I have some beautiful photos from that trip. However the days are shorter, but on the plus side the city is very peaceful.


One negative for me was not being able to see the gardens in full bloom, but you can easily go south by train for that. I cannot speak for Andalucia in the winter though, have never been.

Dennis - Glad to hear you've eliminated BCN. Nearby Granada is Cordoba. Try to get there. It is a major site like Granada. Fabulous city with the magnificent Mezquita.

I agree with Bedar -- Cordoba's Mezquita is another of the world's gems, IMO.