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Spain during Easter (March 20-29, 2016)

I'm planning to spend 8 weeks traveling in Spain from mid March to mid May. Holy Week and Easter this year are March 20-27. I'm interested in comments about what happens in Spain during Easter. Is there a city that would be an especially wonderful place to be during Easter (i.e. Granada or Seville)? Or maybe a smaller town? Would 3-4 days there be enough or should I plan to stay for the whole week? Are there places to avoid because of crowds? Might there be service disruptions or limited services during the holiday? Do hotel charges increase during this week?

I'd appreciate any and all comments.

Thanks,
Mari

Posted by
984 posts

'Is there a city that would be an especially wonderful place to be during Easter (i.e. Granada or Seville)?' - Almost everyone could/would say Seville, but whether this - http://www.exploreseville.com/events/semana-santa.htm- is a wonder to you I would not know.

'Would 3-4 days there be enough or should I plan to stay for the whole week?' - Plenty to see and do for most, without Easter parades, for three or four days.

'Are there places to avoid because of crowds?' - As above. Obtain the itineraries for the parades and go elsewhere.

'Might there be service disruptions or limited services during the holiday?' - Almost certainly no, but what do you want to accomplish?

'Do hotel charges increase during this week?' - Certainly - and you possibly will not find, at this late stage, your 1st or 2nd choice accommodation, but I do not know what you budget for.

Posted by
15773 posts

I'm going this year too! From my research (without personal experience . . . yet):

The celebrations are almost all in Andalusia and begin on Palm Sunday. The biggest are in Malaga and Sevilla. There are websites that list the celebrations - mostly processions - for each town. The last processions are on Friday night, with little or nothing happening on Saturday. There is a very special procession in Granada on Easter Sunday morning. Semana Santa ends with Easter Sunday on March 27. Easter Monday is not a holiday in Spain.

During festivals, it's hard to get rooms and prices are usually high season. There will be crowds (especially in Sevilla), but it's a special time to visit.

I will also be in Valencia from March 15-18 for Las Fallas. The festival ends on the 19th, but prices for 18th-19th were too high for me.

There is a lot more going on after Semana Santa. Another huge festival in Sevilla is Feria, about 3 weeks after Easter. There's a horse fair in Jerez (not anything like an American county fair), April 30-May 7; Cordoba Patios May 2-16. If I were going to be in Spain then, I'd try to see them all.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks for your comments. That wiki page article was wonderful. I'll check out the fair in Jerez.