April Fair, Seville

Spain in spring

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One of the best times to explore Spain


Do you know what they say in Spain? The sap rises in the spring! This season begins around 20 March and ends on 21 June, during which the temperatures become milder, flowers start to bloom and the terraces of bars fill up with people eager to leave the winter behind and enjoy the extra hours of sunshine. We will tell you about some perfect activities for this season. Get your camera ready to capture countryside with the most impressive cherry and almond trees in our country, beautiful waterfalls in the national parks and balconies decorated with flowers, such as geraniums. And you won’t need to take a coat.

Photograph spectacular blossoms

Have you ever experienced what it means to have a million and a half cherry trees in blossom around you? This “landscaping wonder”, which turns everything white, takes place in the Jerte Valley (Extremadura) in March or April depending on the weather and it is worth seeing at least one in your life.Do you want more blossoms, so that you can plan a journey? During these months, over 50,000 cherry trees also “wake up” in the Las Caderechas Valley in the Burgos and in the Sierra Mágina in Jaén. For its part, the Riojan town of Nalda celebrates the Fiesta del Ciruelo en Flor (Plum Blossom Festival) and visitors come to the countryside around Cieza (in the region of Murcia) to see the fruit trees in bloom.At the end of April, shift your focus to Asturias and its famous Cider Region if you want to see the apple trees flowering. Between May and June, the Northern Gredos (Ávila) becomes the World Capital for Spanish Broom in Bloom, which colour the landscape yellow. And now jumping forward to the summer, the Lavender Festival in Brihuega (Guadalajara), which takes place in July, is becoming increasingly famous. This is when the town’s fields turn purple, which no instagramers can resist.

 Path through the cherry trees in blossom in the Jerte Valley (Extremadura)

Nature full of life in the National Parks

The 16 Spanish National Parks appear to experience an explosion of life during this time. Landscapes, such as those in Ordesa and Monte Perdido (Huesca) and the Lakes of Covadonga (Asturias) at the heart of the mountain become spectacular. This is also a time to watch the birds, deer and lynxes in Doñana (Andalusia) or to go hiking around the different routes.

See waterfalls at the height of their splendour

It is also the best time to see waterfalls up close and you will find some striking ones, such as the Pozo de los Humos waterfall in the Arribes del Duero (Salamanca), the Salto de Nervión waterfall (between Álava and Burgos), the Streams of the Mundo River (Albacete) and the origin of the Cuervo River (Cuenca).

Aigues Pases Waterfall in Benasque (Huesca, Aragón)

Experience the most colourful festivities

Flowers are also the guests of honour at some of the most colourful festivals in Spain. Perhaps the best known is the Courtyears in Cordoba held in May (declared as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO), when you will be able to stroll around the city’s most beautiful courtyards, which compete to have the most eye-catching decorations with flowerpots containing geraniums, carnations and jasmine. Also in May, Girona celebrates the Temps de flors (time of flowers), and the patios, monuments and corners of the city fill up with plants and flower boxes.On the subject of flowers, in June we have the Corpus Christi in places such as Toledo, San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife), Sitges (Barcelona) and Ponteareas (Pontevedra) when the streets are adorned with enormous carpets made out of petals.

Temps de Flors Festival in Girona (Catalonia)

Take part in Easter Week, Sant Jordi or the April Fair

Beyond flowers, these three are excellent festivals to enjoy during this season. Easter Week (between March and April) is religious in nature; the processions organised have centuries of tradition and the outpouring of emotion will be sure to surprise you.Barcelona’s quintessential festival, Sant Jordi, takes place on 23 April and tradition stipulates that gifts of books and roses be given.Between April and May, it is Seville’s turn with its Feria de Abril, when its fairgrounds and stands are full of people dancing “Sevillanas” and enjoying themselves.

The April Fair in Seville (Andalusia)

Visit a city: the time for terraces and urban gardens

Enjoy the fact that the high summer temperatures have not yet arrived and delight in strolling around Spanish cities in spring. Dust off your sunglasses and try the most innovative tapas on the terraces on the hotels’ rooftops or in the renovated gastro markets.Another activity that is perfect for spring is exploring the famous urban parks, such as the Retiro in Madrid or Park Güell in Barcelona or botanical gardens, such as those in Marimurta (in Blanes, Girona), with impressive sea views and considered to be one of the best botanical gardens in all of Europe.

Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid

Climb aboard a tourist train

Spain’s most famous tourist trains run between the months of April and May. There is a multitude do choose from: the Transcantábrico around northern Spain, the Al Andalus around Andalusia, the Tren dels Llacs around the lakes in the Pyrenees (in Lleida), the train devoted to the writer Cervantes, which runs from Madrid to Alcalá de Henares. Most of them are vintage railways and there are examples of veritable palaces on rails, such as the Transcantábrico Gran Lujo. Travelling Spain in such a different way is a real experience.

Transcantábrico Train
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