My family and I are heading back to Europe next Spring. I teach school, so we are planning our trip around my Spring Break (the week before my break and the break week itself). Our initial choice is Spain (it's next on our list). Specifically, we want to go to Barcelona and Andalucia (my wife did a semester abroad in Sevilla and wants to return). Of course, as you can tell by my thread name choice, it turns out the actual week of my Spring Break is Holy Week. We know that Sevilla will be slammed and we either won't be able to find accommodations or won't be able to find one for a price we want to pay. So here is our question - is the week before Holy Week just as bad? Could we do Sevilla first and then go other places where Holy Week is important but not quite the festival? Or are we just going to be frustrated by prices and crowds no matter where we go in Spain for those two weeks? We have other destinations we can look at, but I thought I'd ask the forum before we just assumed that things are going to be crowded and pricey to mess with.
Posted by
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
As a general rule I would avoid any holy week anywhere.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12315 posts
My favorite for Holy Week was Zaragosa. They had amazing processions on Holy Thursday (a total of 26 processions that went from afternoon through the night). Zaragosa wasn't touristy in the least. We had a great room, with a balcony overlooking one of two procession routes, for under 100 euros (it was insulated enough that we could sleep through later processions).
If you want almost no Holy Week activity, you can visit Barcelona. The churches have some extra masses. Other than that, you wouldn't know it was Easter Week at all. There is only one procession - and it's put on by Seville expats (not connected to the church) because there aren't any activities.
The other place that seems to be famous for their extensive Holy Week processions, but not on tourist radar, is Valladolid. Almost every town has something going on, usually lower key affairs. We watched a Good Friday procession in Pamplona. I'm glad we saw it but it was sedate compared to Zaragosa.
Posted by
OP
Pacific Northwest
347 posts
Thank you for the information. Is Seville a madhouse the week before Holy Week?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
See also ongoing discussion at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/musing-possible-holy-week-trip.