When to visit Granada
When to visit Granada? Are you ready to choose the dates of your trip to Granada? Let us guide you with some helpful advice on the weather and when to visit the city.
When to visit Granada: weather
As most of Andalusia, Granada is known for a lot of strong sunlight combined with a relatively temperate and dry weather.
While summer is characterized by a persistent dry heat, spring and autumn are usually pleasant with some increase in rainfall. Nevertheless, winter is infrequently frigid and, unlike every other city in the region, there is a chance it will snow in Granada!
When to visit Granada: holidays and festivals
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 Andalusia, the region where Granada 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:
- 1st of January – New Year’s Day
- 2nd of January – Conquest of Granada
- 6th of January – Reyes Magos
- 28th of February – Andalusia Day
- 1st of May – Labor Day
- 15th of August – Assumption Day
- 12th of October – Spain National Day
- 1st of November – All Saints’ Day
- 6th of December – Constitution Day
- 8th of December – Immaculate Conception
- 25th of December – Christmas Day
On top of those bank holidays you should always bear in mind the dates of the tourist high season in Granada: Semana Santa (Easter) and the Feria del Corpus (the most important local festival). Make sure you find out the exact dates of both periods (they change from one year to another) as they are the busiest periods of the year in Granada.
When to visit Granada: the best period of the year
Our favorite periods of the year to visit Granada are spring (May and June) and fall (October to December). The days are long, the temperatures are pleasant enough and you will enjoy Granada at its best.
While theoretically you could visit Granada all year round, there are three key periods of the year when Granada is problematic (Easter and the Feria del Corpus) or simply best avoided (ski season):
- Semana Santa (Easter). Unless you have a keen interest on experiencing what Easter in Granada is like, you should avoid the dates. It is high season in town, everything evolves around the Easter processions and Granada is packed with tourists – so much so that finding a place to eat becomes an ordeal.
- Feria del Corpus. The Feria del Corpus is the most important local festival. If you want to avoid the most expensive accommodation prices of the year, choose another date for your trip. However, the fair takes place at the Recinto Ferial, removed from the center of the city, and attracts mostly locals. The main tourist sights in Granada do not attract large crowds of visitors during the period.
- Above all, we encourage you to avoid the ski season, because of the proximity of Sierra Nevada ski station located only 35km away from Granada. Both locals and people from the rest of Andalusia visit Granada from November to March and will stay in the city if they don’t find an accommodation next to the ski station. So expect higher prices in lodging during that time of the year. This is particularly true in Christmas, when the city is completely packed.
Do you need more information on Granada?
This article is part of a complete guide about Granada where you can read all the information you need to plan your trip to this amazing destination in Spain.
Here is a complete summary of all the guide:
1. When to visit Granada
2. How many days to spend in Granada
3. How to get to Granada
4. How to move around Granada
5. Granada hotels: where to stay in Granada
6. What to eat in Granada
7. What to do in Granada
8. Tips to visit the Alhambra in Granada
9. How to buy tickets to the Alhambra in Granada
10. Alhambra tickets sold out. What can you do?
11. Is the Alhambra night visit worth it?
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