Spain in Fall: The Best Places to Visit

 

When you’re daydreaming about visiting Spain, I bet you see yourself in sunglasses, sipping sangria, and strolling along the boulevard in shorts and flip-flops. Am I right?

Why should you visit Spain in fall?

While summer is absolutely great in Spain, there are various reasons why fall is also pretty amazing. First of all, it rains a lot less and it’s still warmer than many Northern countries in Europe, as well as many places in the USA. As if that’s not reason enough, here are a few more:

• There are fewer tourists. That means more open tables, shorter lines, and fewer crowds.
• Spaniards love their seasonal foods, so instead of the refreshing gazpacho, you get to dig into crema de calabaza (cream of pumpkin soup) or caldo gallego (Galician soup) with fall veggies. And what about cozying up with churros con chocolate?
• A lot of these seasonal dishes include mushrooms. Of course, these have to be picked, and fall is the perfect season. Many towns hold mushroom picking and tasting events, with workshops on cooking mushrooms and more.
• The wine harvest usually takes place in early September, but fall is a fantastic time to tour vineyards for a glimpse into the age-old wine-making traditions without the baking sun bearing down on your head.
• We love mushrooms, but we love chestnuts just as much. A variety of dishes includes them, and that’ll be clear during the Chestnut Festival in Pujerra, where you can taste up to 50 dishes with chestnuts.

Ok, that’s just a couple of reasons why you should visit during fall.

But where to go and what to do?

Val d’Aran

Val d’Aran in the Catalonian Pyrenees is a popular ski area in winter, but perfect for other activities in fall. The dramatic landscape and picturesque villages make it a paradise for hikers, but the area is also ideal for bicycling and even as a wellness destination.

Penedès Wine Region

I already mentioned the vineyard visits, and the Penedès wine region is perfect for it. It’s where cava—Spain’s answer to champagne— is produced. Penedès is less than one hour by car from Barcelona, so you could even make a day trip out of it and base yourself in the city.

You can combine Penedes with Montserrat with our tour of Montserrat & Codorníu Wine Cellars. In the middle of vineyards you will see the Codorníu cellars, where the cava is produced and the bottles are stored, in about 20 miles of tunnels that you can ride through on eletric train cars.

Cartagena

Personally, I love all four seasons. But if you’re not a fan and you’re looking for summer in fall, try Cartagena. The temperature can rise to 20°C (68°F) in November and has over 2,000 years of history, plus a jazz festival taking place through most of November.

Montseny Natural Park

For those who love fall nature as much as I do, you’re going to adore the Montseny Natural Park. It was declared a Biosphere Reserve by Unesco in 1978 and the forest is just insanely beautiful. The best thing? It’s only about an hour outside of Barcelona, so I can go as often as I want. But if you want to know what really makes Montseny beautiful in Autumn, this is the mosaic of yellow-red colours with the autumn leaves and what’s unique is that it’s very rare to see deciduous trees and fir trees so far south.

And then, of course, Barcelona can’t be missed off a list like this. Two out of four destinations I mentioned are near, but Barcelona is great if you’re not venturing out too.

On top of our famous weather, architecture, museums, and history, there are a bunch of fall festivals in Barcelona, such as Catalonia’s ‘National Day’ on September 11th, La Castanyada at the end of October to welcome fall season, and All Saints Day on November 1st.

If you want to know more about what to do in Barcelona, you might like this blog about unmissable things to do in Barcelona in the fall we wrote a while ago.

Ready to start planning your fall trip? Fill in this short form and we’ll get the planning process started.