I am attempting to plan a trip to Madrid and Seville the first week of December while trying to work around the holiday stretch to avoid Madrid that weekend. Can someone tell me if Seville will be jam packed the 3rd - 7th? I expect more people to be buzzing around in general because of the Christmas season, but should I avoid Seville and Madrid altogether? I would go to Madrid before Seville but would have to get back to the Madrid airport on the 7th. Thanks for any advice!
Posted by
Bilbao
858 posts
Dec 6 and 8 are bank holidays all over Spain, so expect a busy weekend, not only because it´s close to Christmas, but also because of this long weekend.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks & Yes! I saw videos of Madrid during the holiday weekend and it worried me! I am wondering how the days leading up to it are? I am hopeful they are less crowded than the actual weekend, as I am finding myself weary of booking. I have to make my decision by this evening.
Posted by
Bilbao
858 posts
The previous days are working days, so expect business as usual in a city like Madrid, with over 3.5M inhabitants. Seville is smaller, always busy, always a great place to visit, no matter the time of the year. Expect quite cold temperatures in Madrid.
Posted by
North Italy
459 posts
It's difficult to give advice without knowing your preferences. How do you cope with crowds? Have you visited Spain before? Will you go again in the future? Madrid and Sevilla are both fantastic but I'd choose somewhere quieter just for the holiday weekend. Maybe stay in Cordoba which is on the train line between Madrid and Sevilla? A couple of nights there would be nice.
On the other hand if you leave from Madrid on 7th it would make more sense to be there already and the big long weekend will be 6/7/8, so just one of your dates considering you fly out on 7th. Stay in Madrid and go a day trip that day?
Also, a lot of the historical centre of Sevilla has narrow streets which quickly get crowded - there might be more people in the centre of Madrid but many will be concentrating on shopping and there are wide spaces - Paseo del Arte, Parque del Retiro etc
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2025/02/madrid-in-january-trip-report.html
In January yes it was cold first thing in the morning but soon warmed up and there are indoor things to see
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks for that info. My husband and I will be visiting with our moms. I don’t typically like very large crowds, but enjoy a little buzz around town - it’s the holidays and that is part of the excitement. I prefer to make reservations when dining out because I like to look ahead and research different options. We get into Madrid on the first (early morning time), so I figured we could stay a night or two there and then head to Seville until the 7th. We fly out of Madrid on the 8th. We typically enjoy mostly wandering and relaxing in cafes/restaurants when traveling, basic sight seeing, shopping. We visit landmarks, and enjoy architecture, but don’t foresee visiting too many museums on this, our first trip to Spain. I have our flights on hold - but started to worry when I researched the impact of the holiday on crowd size. We don’t have a lot of time, I understand, but we will surely visit sometime again.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
That is a relief to hear, as we are booked for travel! I appreciate your reply.