Greetings everyone! I'm new at this so please forgive me if this question is not approriate for this page. I have been reading on the forum (and also in the Rick Steves books) and I'm a little confused about proper attire to wear while visiting churches in Spain. I will be in Madrid, Granada, Seville, Cordoba and Toledo in late April and would like to pack my golfing shorts (walking shorts) but I'm not sure if knee length shorts are allowed in churches in Spain. Besides churches I will be visiting the Alahambra in Granda and the Mezquita in Cordoba so the question applies to these also. Some of the postings I have read seem to indicate that knee length shorts are not allowed and a few seem to say that it's OK. Once again, please forgive me if this question should not go here. Thanks for clearing up my confusion.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7360 posts
Welcome to the travel forum, and hope your Spain trip next month is good. Your question is certainly appropriate, although arguably you could use the Spain section rather than General Europe.
The Alhambra will not have any restrictions regarding exposed knees, so there you should be good to go.
Many Italian Catholic churches have strict modesty policies, where knees and shoulders are expected to be covered. It's never been an issue when I've stepped into a Spanish church, as I always had knees covered, but I'm not sure about a Spanish dress standard. In a pinch, if you have a jacket or sweater to wrap around your legs, that's what some folks did in Venice to gain access to the Cathedral and Treasury there. It looked goofy, but their knees were technically covered.
Stores like REI also sell convertible pants with zip-off lower leg sections, so you can have long pants that convert to shorts and back in a jiffy.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thanks 'CYN' for your reply and I will certainly follow your advice in the future in regards to the SPAIN page. I just wasn't sure which page to use for questions like mine. You commented about the Alahambra, but do you know about the Mezquita in Cordoba? I have went back several pages on the forum pages and it's unclear about the dress code for the Mezquita. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated and have a great day! Thanks!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
I responded on the Spain site. That is a problem with double postings.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I think the Barcelona Cathedral is the only place I've seen a sign explaining the dress code, knees covered, shoulders covered, midriff covered. Italy is the only place I've seen it actively enforced. You don't have to dress nice, it's about modesty. Flip flops or sandals are fine. Capris and a short sleeve t-shirt are fine - just cover the knees, shoulders and midriff.