When to visit Barcelona? Are you ready to choose the dates of your trip to Barcelona? Let us guide you with some helpful advice on the weather and when to visit the city.
Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate, with well-marked seasons. The summer has high temperatures – an average of 28ºC (82ºF) maximum temperature in August; while the winter is milder than in the interior of Spain, with an average of 4ºC (39ºF) minimum temperature in January. Nevertheless, the temperatures don’t vary extremely.
Since the city is located by the sea, the Barcelona weather usually has a high moisture content, with an average of 70% all year round. At the same time, the sea breeze helps to soften the temperatures.
The rainfall is quite irregular and well distributed throughout the year. August, September, and October usually record the highest rates when storms occur more frequently. During this period a phenomenon known as gota fría (literally “cold drop”) can happen, which causes torrential rains in a very short period of time.
In Spain national holidays are the same all over the country. However each region (comunidad autónoma) enjoys 10 days a year to celebrate its own festivals. On top of that, each city or town enjoys 2 days for local holidays.
Usually, on these days almost everything closes (banks, shops, official institutions).
Sometimes, some of the holidays turn into puentes (extended weekends). During puentes it will be more difficult to find accommodation, the city will be packed with national tourists and prices might rise (especially for lodging and eating).
It is very common in Catalonia, the region where Barcelona is, to have a holiday on Monday if the real holiday was the Sunday before.
Below is a list of national, regional and local holidays:
On top of those bank holidays you should always bear in mind the dates of the tourist high season in Barcelona: Semana Santa (Easter). Make sure you find out the exact dates of this period (they change from one year to another) as it’s one the busiest periods of the year in Barcelona.
The good thing about Barcelona is that you can visit it all year round. Of course there are months more interesting than others, but in general don’t worry too much about choosing a particular month, you will enjoy Barcelona anyway.
Our favorite periods of the year to visit Barcelona are late spring (June) and late summer (September). The days are long, the temperatures are pleasant enough and you will enjoy Barcelona at its best.
While theoretically you could visit Barcelona all year round, there are three key periods of the year when Barcelona is problematic (Easter and summer) or simply best avoided (Christmas season):
Apart from holidays and seasons, international conferences also cause hotel rates to skyrocket. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know when a big conference is coming to town, as dates change every year.
One of the conferences that you should definitely avoid is the Mobile World Congress which is commonly held in February. If you plan to be in Barcelona over Mobile World Congress dates, book your hotel way in advance.
This article is part of a complete guide about Barcelona where you can read all the information you need to plan your trip to this popular destination in Spain.
Here is a complete summary of all the guide:
1. When to visit Barcelona
2. How many days to spend in Barcelona
3. How to get to Barcelona
4. How to move around Barcelona
5. Barcelona hotels: where to stay in Barcelona
6. What to eat in Barcelona
7. What to do in Barcelona
8. Tips to visit the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
9. How to buy tickets to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
10. Tips to attend a FC Barcelona match
11. How to buy FC Barcelona tickets
12. Day trips from Barcelona
‘Barcelona In 15 Walks’ is a complete 160+ pages guide featuring exclusive content, relevant websites, rich designed maps and dozens of photos, allowing you to explore Barcelona before you set a foot in Spain.
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