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Travel guide · Cities, coast and tapas

Travelling around Spain

Cities with centuries of history, picture-postcard villages, islands, mountains and the best food in the world (only a slight exaggeration). We tell you what to see in each place, when to go and what’s worth knowing before you set off.

Updated 19 October 2026 · How we make our guides

  • Best time: from September to June
  • Where to eat: the neighbourhood taberna
Photo: Unsplash

Spain in 30 seconds

  • The months with the fewest warnings to travel around Spain are from September to June.
  • Late mealtimes: dinner from 9 pm.
  • To eat like a local: the neighbourhood taberna. Don’t leave without trying: Valencian paella, Cocido madrileño, Pulpo á feira (Galician octopus).

Spain in November

Yes: November is a good time to travel around Spain. Our data shows no weather or seasonal warnings that month.

More destinations for November

When to travel around Spain

The months with the fewest warnings to travel around Spain are from September to June.

  1. Jan no warnings
  2. Feb no warnings
  3. Mar no warnings
  4. Apr no warnings
  5. May no warnings
  6. Jun no warnings
  7. Jul with warnings
  8. Aug with warnings
  9. Sep no warnings
  10. Oct no warnings
  11. Nov no warnings
  12. Dec no warnings

More destinations for those dates: where to travel in January · where to travel in February · where to travel in March · where to travel in April

  • July, August

    Heat in the south and the interior

    In July and August Seville, Córdoba, Granada, Madrid and Toledo easily top 40 °C.

    What to do: Sightsee first thing in the morning and at dusk; in summer, the north, the coast or the mountains are better bets.

Festivals and special moments

  • March

    Fallas in Valencia

    Monuments, mascletà and the Nit del Foc. The whole city vibrates.

  • July

    San Fermín

    Bull runs and partying in Pamplona. Book well in advance.

  • March, April

    Holy Week in Seville

    Historic processions. The streets are packed: allow plenty of time to get around.

  • December, January

    Christmas lights in Madrid

    Gran Vía, the Plaza Mayor and the markets. Ideal for an evening stroll after dinner.

  • January

    Epiphany parades

    Parades and a family atmosphere in many European cities.

What to see in Spain

The cities and areas most worth your time, with their highlights. Open each one for all the places, where to stay and its day trips.

  • Madrid

    Madrid

    First-rate museums, the Retiro, neighbourhoods for tapas and a street life that never switches off: the capital, at Christmas too.

    • Prado Museum
    • Retiro Park
    • Plaza Mayor
    • San Miguel Market
    Madrid guide
  • Barcelona

    Barcelona

    Gaudí on every corner, the Gothic Quarter, a beach in the city and La Boqueria: Barcelona is best explored on foot and by metro.

    • Sagrada Família
    • Park Güell
    • Gothic Quarter
    • La Boqueria Market
    Barcelona guide
  • Seville

    Seville

    The Alcázar, the Giralda, Triana and the Plaza de España: the city of flamenco, orange blossom and sunny terraces.

    • Alcázar of Seville
    • Cathedral and Giralda
    • Plaza de España
    • Triana
    Seville guide
  • Valencia

    Valencia

    The City of Arts and Sciences, the old town, the beach and paella where it was born: a city to explore by bike.

    • City of Arts and Sciences
    • Silk Exchange (La Lonja)
    • Central Market
    • Cathedral · Holy Chalice
    Valencia guide
  • Málaga

    Málaga

    The Alcazaba, Picasso, a beach in the centre and Calle Larios lit up at Christmas: the capital of the Costa del Sol.

    • Alcazaba and Roman Theatre
    • Picasso Museum
    • Málaga Cathedral
    • Muelle Uno
    Málaga guide
  • Granada

    Granada

    The Alhambra, the Albaicín and the Mirador de San Nicolás with Sierra Nevada behind, plus a free tapa with every beer.

    • Alhambra and Generalife
    • Albaicín
    • Mirador de San Nicolás
    • Cathedral and Royal Chapel
    Granada guide
  • Bilbao

    Bilbao

    The Guggenheim, the Casco Viejo and its pintxos, the estuary and a city that has reinvented itself without losing its character.

    • Guggenheim Bilbao
    • Casco Viejo
    • La Salve Bridge
    • Artxanda Funicular
    Bilbao guide
  • San Sebastián

    San Sebastián

    La Concha beach, a Parte Vieja packed with pintxos and the Comb of the Wind: elegant, green and all about food.

    • La Concha Beach
    • Parte Vieja
    • Monte Igueldo
    • Comb of the Wind
    San Sebastián guide
  • Alicante

    Alicante

    Santa Bárbara Castle, the Explanada, city beaches and Tabarca island a short boat trip away.

    • Santa Bárbara Castle
    • Explanada de España
    • Tabarca Island
    • Guadalest
    Alicante guide
  • Toledo

    Toledo

    The city of three cultures on a bend of the Tagus: the cathedral, synagogues, mosques and El Greco.

    • Primate Cathedral
    • Alcázar
    • Synagogue of El Tránsito
    • Mirador del Valle
    Toledo guide
  • Girona
    Costa Brava

    Girona

    Colourful houses above the Onyar, the cathedral, the Jewish quarter and the city walls: a stone’s throw from the Costa Brava.

    • Barri Vell
    • Girona Cathedral
    • Call (Jewish quarter)
    • City walls
    Girona guide
  • Córdoba

    Córdoba

    The Mosque-Cathedral, the Jewish quarter, the Roman bridge and courtyards full of flowers: one of the great jewels of Andalusia.

    • Mosque-Cathedral
    • Courtyards of Córdoba
    • Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos
    • Roman Bridge
    Córdoba guide
  • Santiago de Compostela

    Santiago de Compostela

    The end of the Camino: the cathedral, the stone-built old town and the Mercado de Abastos, with the rain as part of the charm.

    • Santiago Cathedral
    • Mercado de Abastos
    • Hostal dos Reis Católicos
    • Monte do Gozo
    Santiago de Compostela guide
  • Santander

    Santander

    The Magdalena Palace, the Sardinero beaches and the Centro Botín: Cantabria’s capital faces the sea.

    • Magdalena Palace
    • Sardinero Beach
    • Centro Botín
    • Mercado del Este
    Santander guide
  • Cádiz

    Cádiz

    One of the oldest cities in the Western world, surrounded by the sea, with La Caleta beach and the La Viña quarter.

    • Cádiz Cathedral
    • Torre Tavira
    • La Caleta Beach
    • Central Market
    Cádiz guide
  • Salamanca

    Salamanca

    The Plaza Mayor, the university and its golden-stone cathedrals: a student city that glows at night.

    • University
    • Plaza Mayor
    • Salamanca Cathedral (Old and New)
    • Casa de las Conchas
    Salamanca guide
  • Segovia

    Segovia

    The Roman aqueduct, a fairy-tale Alcázar and roast suckling pig: a short hop from Madrid.

    • Aqueduct
    • Alcázar
    • Cathedral
    • Royal Site of La Granja
    Segovia guide
  • Vigo

    Vigo

    Gateway to the Cíes Islands, with a seafaring old town and one of the most famous Christmas light displays in Spain.

    • Casco Vello
    • Cíes Islands
    • Monte do Castro
    Vigo guide
  • Cuenca

    Cuenca

    Hanging houses above the Huécar gorge, an old town perched on top and the Ciudad Encantada a few kilometres away.

    • Hanging Houses
    • Cuenca Cathedral
    • Museum of Abstract Art
    • Ciudad Encantada
    Cuenca guide
  • Ronda

    Ronda

    A town split in two by the Tajo gorge and joined by the Puente Nuevo, between the mountains and the white villages.

    • Puente Nuevo
    • Bullring
    • Arab Baths
    • Mirador de Aldehuela
    Ronda guide
  • Almería

    Almería

    The Alcazaba above the sea, the Civil War shelters and Cabo de Gata close by: sunshine almost all year round.

    • Alcazaba of Almería
    • Cathedral of the Incarnation
    • Civil War Shelters
    • Cabo de Gata
    Almería guide
  • Huelva

    Huelva

    The gateway to Doñana and the Columbus sites, with long beaches and the best white prawns.

    • Muelle del Tinto
    • Barrio Reina Victoria
    • La Rábida Monastery
    • Wharf of the Caravels
    Huelva guide
  • Jaén

    Jaén

    A Renaissance cathedral, Santa Catalina Castle above the city and a sea of olive trees all around.

    • Jaén Cathedral
    • Santa Catalina Castle
    • Arab Baths of Jaén
    • Úbeda and Baeza
    Jaén guide
  • Zaragoza

    Zaragoza

    El Pilar on the Ebro, the Mudéjar Aljafería and El Tubo for tapas: Aragon’s capital.

    • Basilica of El Pilar
    • La Seo
    • Aljafería
    • Central Market
    Zaragoza guide

Day trips and activities

What’s most worth booking from each city. We take you straight to the best-rated tour on GetYourGuide, with its reviews and dates.

Some links are affiliate links: if you book through them, Bagintravel may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

What to eat in Spain

To eat like a local: the neighbourhood taberna, and order the set lunch menu (menú del día) or tapas at the bar. And don’t leave without trying:

  • Valencian paella

    The real thing has chicken, rabbit, garrofó beans and green beans; in Valencia it’s eaten at lunchtime.

  • Cocido madrileño

    Chickpeas, meats and vegetables served in courses: first the soup, then everything else.

  • Pulpo á feira (Galician octopus)

    Boiled octopus with olive oil, coarse salt and paprika, served on a wooden plate, as at Galician fairs.

  • Salmorejo

    A cold cream of tomato, bread and olive oil from Córdoba, topped with ham and chopped egg.

  • Pintxos

    Bar-top bites that, in San Sebastián and Bilbao, are a way of going out: one or two per bar.

  • Ibérico ham

    Acorn-fed and hand-carved: Jabugo, Guijuelo, Los Pedroches and the dehesa of Extremadura.

The typical dish of Spain, at home

Spanish potato omelette (tortilla)
Photo: Tamorlan · CC BY-SA 3.0

Spanish potato omelette (tortilla)

The most Spanish dish there is: potato and egg, with or without onion (the eternal debate). It’s eaten everywhere: as a pincho mid-morning, for dinner or cold the next day.

  • Serves 4
  • 45 min

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs
  • 700 g potatoes
  • 1 onion (optional)
  • Extra virgin olive oil (about 400 ml for slow-frying)
  • Salt

How to make it at home

  1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices or small irregular pieces. Slice the onion thinly.
  2. Slow-fry the potato and onion in plenty of oil over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, until tender but not browned. Drain them well and keep the oil.
  3. Beat the eggs with salt, add the hot potato, mix and leave to rest for 5 minutes so it soaks up the egg.
  4. In a frying pan with a spoonful of the oil, pour in the mixture over a medium-high heat and let it set for 2 or 3 minutes, loosening the edges.
  5. Flip it over with a plate or a lid and cook the other side for 1 or 2 minutes more. Best left juicy in the middle.

The trick: Letting the potato rest in the egg is what makes it juicy and firm at the same time.

The typical food of each city, with a recipe

Curious facts about Spain

What guidebooks don’t tell you and will help you understand the country better.

  • Spain has around fifty UNESCO World Heritage Sites: one of the highest totals in the world.
  • Fifteen cities make up the group of World Heritage Cities of Spain, including Salamanca, Segovia, Toledo, Córdoba, Cuenca and Santiago.
  • In 1987 the Camino de Santiago became the first European Cultural Route.
  • The Teide, on Tenerife, is Spain’s highest peak and one of the tallest volcanoes in the world when measured from the ocean floor.
  • Work on the Sagrada Família began in 1882 and it’s still under construction.
  • Spain is the second most visited country in the world by international tourists, behind only France.

Traditions of Spain

Customs and celebrations that will help you experience the country like a local.

  • November Magosto and Castanyada

    Roast chestnuts to celebrate autumn: magosto in Galicia and the north, castanyada with panellets in Catalonia.

  • 31 December New Year’s Eve grapes

    Twelve grapes with the twelve chimes at midnight, watching the clock in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol.

  • 20 January Tamborrada

    San Sebastián celebrates its patron saint with 24 hours of drumming all over the city.

  • April or May Seville April Fair

    Seville builds its own town of casetas: sevillanas, rebujito and horses.

  • May Courtyards of Córdoba

    Residents open up their flower-filled courtyards, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

What not to do in Spain

First-trip mistakes that are easy to avoid.

  • Don’t go to the Alhambra without tickets: they sell out weeks in advance, especially on bank holidays and in school holidays.
  • Don’t leave the Sagrada Família, Park Güell or the Alcázar of Seville to the ticket office: you need to book a time slot.
  • Don’t drive into the centre of Madrid, Barcelona and other cities without checking their low-emission zones.
  • Don’t underestimate the summer heat inland and in the south: save the middle of the day for the shade or a siesta.
  • Don’t head into the mountains in autumn or winter without checking the forecast: it gets dark early and the weather changes fast.
  • Don’t leave your phone on a terrace table or anything visible in the car in the most touristy areas.

Before you go

Entry requirements depend on your passport and change: always check them with official sources before travelling.

  • Entering the country

    Visas, electronic authorisations and health requirements for Spain depend on your nationality. Check your government’s official travel advice and the embassy before you book.

    UK: foreign travel advice (GOV.UK) US: travel advisories (travel.state.gov)
  • Traveller tips

    Late mealtimes: dinner from 9 pm.

    Buy Cercanías and AVE tickets from Renfe or Omio.

    In summer, a city siesta and tapas at dusk.

Tickets worth booking ahead

  • Sells out · 60 days ahead Sagrada Família · Barcelona

    Tickets go on sale about two months ahead and sell out fast at Easter and in summer. Beware of websites imitating the official one: this is the basilica’s own.

    Official ticket office
  • Sells out · 14 days ahead Park Güell · Barcelona

    Capacity in the monumental zone is limited and mid-morning slots sell out days ahead.

    Official ticket office
  • Long queues · 7 days ahead Casa Batlló · Barcelona

    A week ahead is enough, but buying in advance saves you the queue on Passeig de Gràcia.

    Official ticket office
  • Sells out · 21 days ahead Alcázar of Seville · Seville

    Only about fifty tickets a day are left for the ticket office. Book two or three weeks ahead and you’ll be fine.

    Official ticket office
  • Sells out · 90 days ahead Alhambra and Generalife · Granada

    Tickets go on sale three months ahead and sell out. This is the ticket that ruins the most trips: without it you can’t get in, and there’s no last-minute ticket office to save you.

    Official ticket office
  • Long queues · 14 days ahead Mosque-Cathedral · Córdoba

    Individual tickets are only sold within the current month. Buying online saves you the queue in the Courtyard of the Orange Trees.

    Official ticket office

Closing days

  • Prado Museum · Madrid

    Open every day; free for the last two hours.

  • Reina Sofía · Madrid

    Closed on Tuesdays. Free Monday to Saturday from 7 to 9 pm.

  • Sagrada Família · Barcelona

    Open every day.

  • Casa Batlló · Barcelona

    Open every day of the year.

  • Alcázar of Seville · Seville

    Open daily; closed on 1 and 6 January, Good Friday and Christmas Day.

  • Picasso Museum · Málaga

    Closed on Mondays. Free on the first Sunday of the month.

  • Alhambra and Generalife · Granada

    Open every day except 25 December and 1 January.

  • Mosque-Cathedral · Córdoba

    Open daily; entry is free Monday to Saturday from 8.30 to 9.30 am.

  • San Julián de los Prados · Oviedo

    Open every day; free for the last two hours.

Frequently asked questions about Spain

What people search for most before travelling around Spain.

What’s the best time to travel around Spain?

The months with the fewest warnings to travel around Spain are from September to June.

What to see in Spain in a week?

The essentials of Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Málaga. How many places fit into your days, and in what order, depends on your dates and how you get around: the Bagintravel app plans your trip day by day in a minute.

What to eat in Spain?

Valencian paella, Cocido madrileño, Pulpo á feira (Galician octopus), Salmorejo, Pintxos, Ibérico ham. To eat like a local: the neighbourhood taberna.

What is the typical dish of Spain?

Spanish potato omelette (tortilla). The most Spanish dish there is: potato and egg, with or without onion (the eternal debate). It’s eaten everywhere: as a pincho mid-morning, for dinner or cold the next day.

What should you not do in Spain?

Don’t go to the Alhambra without tickets: they sell out weeks in advance, especially on bank holidays and in school holidays. Don’t leave the Sagrada Família, Park Güell or the Alcázar of Seville to the ticket office: you need to book a time slot. Don’t drive into the centre of Madrid, Barcelona and other cities without checking their low-emission zones.

Where to travel in Spain in November?

November is a good month for cities and villages with fewer people: Seville, Córdoba or Granada with mild temperatures, the Canary Islands if you want sun and beach, and the forests of the north in autumn (the Irati Forest, the beech woods of Navarre and La Rioja). On the Mediterranean coast many beach hotels and beach bars have already closed.

Where to see the Christmas lights in Spain?

Vigo is famous for its gigantic light display; Madrid, Málaga (with Calle Larios) and Barcelona (with Passeig de Gràcia) also fill their streets with lights. They’re usually switched on between mid and late November: check each city’s date every year.

What are the most beautiful villages in Spain?

There’s an association, The Most Beautiful Villages in Spain, with more than a hundred villages. Among the best known are Albarracín, Santillana del Mar, Frigiliana, Cudillero, Peñíscola and Cadaqués, plus small towns such as Ronda and Cuenca.

Which Spanish cities are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

Fifteen make up the official group: Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Baeza, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, Mérida, Salamanca, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona, Toledo and Úbeda.

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More guides

Guide reviewed 19 October 2026. Seasonal data, places and areas: the same ones the Bagintravel app uses. Sources and method.

Photos: cover, Unsplash. Madrid, Álvaro Ibáñez from Madrid, Spain (CC BY 2.0). Barcelona, M McBey (CC BY 2.0). Seville, Ingo Mehling (CC BY-SA 4.0). Valencia, Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 3.0). Málaga, Kiban (CC BY-SA 3.0). Granada, Brett Hodnett (CC BY-SA 2.0). Bilbao, kallerna (CC BY-SA 4.0). San Sebastián, Gordito1869 (CC BY 3.0). Alicante, Bfoto.ru (CC BY-SA 3.0). Toledo, Diliff (CC BY-SA 3.0). Girona, Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Pirineu de Girona (CC BY-SA 3.0). Córdoba, Benjamin Smith (CC BY-SA 4.0). Santiago de Compostela, Fernando Pascullo (CC BY-SA 4.0). Santander, Fernandopascullo (CC BY 3.0). Cádiz, fuente: COVT (CC BY 3.0). Salamanca, xiquinhosilva from Cacau (CC BY 2.0). Segovia, Carlos Delgado (CC BY-SA 3.0). Vigo, Mário José Martins (CC BY 2.0). Cuenca, Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0). Ronda, kallerna (CC BY-SA 4.0). Almería, Jebulon (CC0). Huelva, Jose A. (CC BY 2.0). Jaén, Fernando (CC BY 4.0). Zaragoza, Turol Jones, un artista de cojones from Villanueva del Cascajal, República Indep (CC BY 2.0).