Tips for travel week before and after Easter from Madrid and toledo South. What to expect as far as crowds at sites and for travel?
Thanks in advance for help for first timers in Spain.
Holy Week (Semana Santa) is huge is Seville. Sounds like a fabulous time to be there, but book rooms as soon as possible as they sell out. I loved Andalusia. Search for Brad's reports and threads about Spain. He was there around the that time of year and his advice was a terrific help when I planned my trip there (though I went in February).
My best day, maybe best travel day ever, was Holy Thursday in Zaragosa. Processions went all day and all night (26 community groups put them on) - they were loud, fun and the crowd was 100 percent local. I went to Good Friday in Pamplona, really subdued procession - not bad but nothing like Zaragosa.
Barcelona is the worst in Spain. They are the least religious city, in the least religious area of the country, and have no processions through the week. They have one procession on Friday (started by some people from Seville) that isn't connected to the Church. Unfortunately, I spent most of Easter Week there.
I knew Brad would be helpful!