My husband and I are headed to Spain for 3 weeks March 8-April 2nd. Fortunately or unfortunately we will be there for Semana Santa (Easter). While I love the idea of being able to witness something incredibly unique, I am not a fan of huge crowds. Right now I have us flying into Barcelona and out of Madrid but that could be switched depending on any suggestions here. Does anyone have any suggestions for a smaller village or town that might be fun for the holiday without being overwhelming? Any help will be appreciated. Warmly, Stacy
Posted by
1 posts
We loved Semana last year. We were in both Seville and Granada for it all. It is BUSY. In Granada the parade for one church had us in our accommodation for the night and watching from the window. Crowds can be avoided if you pick up a guide for the city you are in. They have EVERY parade listed. Not sure exactly what your itinerary is but we loved Almeria in the south. It had a different vibe for Easter. For reference, our 3 1/2 week trip was Seville - Granada - Almeria - Malaga - home.
Posted by
la rioja
590 posts
Will you have a car?
A easy, no car plan would be Barcelona, train to Zaragoza, and on to Madrid. Zaragoza is a bit of of an after thought in general, but if you search the forum, you will find that most people who have visited were happy with the stop.
Posted by
Phoenix, AZ
333 posts
We were in Madrid and Barcelona for Easter a few years back. The only disruption was two (that we noticed) processions where people and floats came down a street. They didn't last long, 20 min max, and were actually quite fascinating. Other than that, and some Easter decor in shops, you hardly noticed a thing. Actually we were in Madrid for Easter and that's where we saw the processions. A few days later in Barcelona there was zero sign of a holiday.
I hear Seville is quite different, but we had no interruptions besides a pleasant view of the processions. Maybe some churches may be closed for services? Go and enjoy and don't worry about major issues in these cities!
Posted by
OP
San Francisco
7 posts
Thank you very much for this. We will also be in Madrid for Easter and this t reply is just what I wanted to hear. I'm so excited and we will thanks to people as kind as you, be able to relax and enjoy.
Posted by
Bilbao
743 posts
Madrid and Barcelona do not have a deep Holy Week tradition as other towns and cities in Spain. If you want to watch processions in these two cities, you may be disappointed.