We're able to get away to Europe for a week in January. Where would we find the warmest and driest spots for sightseeing? We're considering Crete, Sicily or Andalucia.
You can go to http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp, input the location of interest and your time span, for example: Jan 10 to 20, and it will summarize the weather for the last 15 years during that time span at that location.
I'd try to find a destination that has lots of indoor sights and doesn't involve much traveling. There's just no way to be sure you won't get caught in a spell of cold, wet weather. Malta comes to mind, as being in the area you are thinking of, being quite small, yet packed with so many, varied sites. Another place I'd consider is Rome - not too far north, likely to have milder weather, and offers lots of indoor and outdoor sightseeing - including lovely day trips, if it's sunny (Ostia Antica, Tivoli, Hadrian's Villa, even Orvieto or Pompeii).