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Spain in Late January?

Posted by on

Hello!
My husband and I (both 30s) will be traveling to Spain in late January. We have arranged our flights around some business he has in Barcelona for four days. We are arriving in Madrid and will have the first 6.5 days to ourselves and I'm trying to figure out what we should do during that time! This is not our first trip to Europe but I am not as familiar with Spanish geography and culture as I am with other countries I've visited. Our interests are local food, craft cocktails and wine, hiking & scenic vistas, weird history and art, and live music. My husband really wants to do a day or two in Ibiza because of its clubbing reputation (he does not actually like dancing, he just likes A/V technology and some EDM) and I have heard there is nice hiking there but I expect it to be pretty quiet that time of year? I am leaning towards 3 days in Madrid for a couple museums and food (maybe a day trip to Avila or Segovia?), then 3 days in Granada for the Alhambra, Sacromonte culture and dancing, and some lower Sierra Nevada hiking. Am I missing somewhere that would be a better fit? Is Ibiza a must see for the music scene, even in January? Thanks very much for any advice or tips you have to offer!

Day 1) Land in Madrid in the morning
Day 2-7) ?
Day 8-12) Travel to Barcelona, husband working during day
Day 13) Fly out of Barcelona

Posted by
5541 posts

There will be no point in going to Ibiza in January as all the clubs will be closed. The club scene only runs during the summer months, starting in May and finishing in October. If you'd still like to go for the hiking then I would recommend Mallorca instead as it has much better hiking and there will be more to see and do compared to Ibiza.

Posted by
4180 posts

An interesting puzzle...

I agree with JC, I think Ibiza and the Balearic Islands in general are going to be cold, windy, and generally dead in January.

I probably wouldn't go down to Andalucia with such short time as you have to make your way back up to Barcelona. I'd say 4 nights in Madrid and then 3 nights in Zaragoza, conveniently halfway between Madrid and Barcelona on the AVE high speed train line. Then take the AVE to Barcelona for the 4 nights, simplicity itself.

Madrid has a lot in terms of food and nightlife scene and it's not dependent on the tourist season as it's mainly for locals (https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/the-best-electronic-music-clubs-in-madrid). Just outside of Madrid are many mountainous areas local Madrileños love to go hiking in that not many foreigners know about like Cuenca Alta del Manzanares (https://www.comunidad.madrid/en/servicios/urbanismo-medio-ambiente/parque-regional-cuenca-alta-manzanares), even during winter there is skiing in those mountains close to Madrid! (https://puertonavacerrada.com/en/)

Zaragoza, although being a major city, is a hidden gem in the heart of Spain and not well known to foreigners, I think it ticks a lot of your boxes, this is where Goya was from. Zaragoza has Roman ruins, a Moorish palace, and one of the greatest cathedrals in Spain (https://www.spain.info/en/route/zaragoza-in-two-days/). You mention craft cocktails, well Zaragoza has an excellent hipster cocktail bar called Moonlight Experimental Bar, with cocktails based on different historical eras like Rome, Egypt, revolutionary France, and Edo Japan.

Hope this helps :)

Posted by
4180 posts

@justsweetjs - and not to mention it has an up-and-coming foodie scene too, El Tubo district is a tapas hotspot!
https://www.spain.info/en/places-of-interest/el-tubo-quarter/

They also just recently completed renovations of the old central food market in Zaragoza, set in a beautiful wrought iron building from the turn of the century - https://www.goaragon.eu/what-to-see-the-central-market-of-zaragoza-a-modernist-treasure-in-the-center-of-the-city/

Posted by
28082 posts

Should you decide to include Granada in your itinerary, it will be critical to stay on top of the Alhambra-ticket situation. Even in the low season Alhambra tickets sell out early. As of today, there are no regular entry tickets available until November 20. (There may be some higher-cost options available for some of the intervening dates.)

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