Thinking about late/Nov early Dec trip to Spain. Have done Christmas markets around Europe - Germany, Austria, Prague, France - but never Spain.
Thinking Madrid, Cordoba, Sevilla, and Grenada. Any hotel, dining, market, etc. recs? Unique or out of the way experiences and/or sights?
Our Spanish travels have been limited to Barcelona, Costa Brava, and San Sebastián. TIA
Hi Lori - My recommendations are a bit adjacent… I was in Porto, Jerez de la Frontera, Barcelona, and Granada in mid-December of 2023. Jerez de La Frontera had a small Christmas market; but they had tons of Nativity scenes; it seems like almost every other storefront in the Old City had one (as did the Lustau Sherry tour). Even the Carrefour was playing actual Christmas hymns. Porto had a small Christmas market. I wasn’t in Granada long enough to look for one.
In Granada, Restaurante Cala was fantastic. I forgot how many courses I had. So good! And the local wine pairings were great! I expect them to get a Michelin star soon. Note: the restaurant is quite a hike from the old city; I walked there (about 40 mins downhill) and had them call a taxi for the ride back.
LMK if you want more info on Porto or Jerez. It’s a nice time of year to go because most of the tourists are gone.
Appreciate this! As this will be a quick trip I don’t think we’ll have time for Jerez but will reach out if that changes. The restaurant rec looks great - thank you!
You’re welcome! It was really excellent. The chef was so creative. As an example, one of the desserts was orange with biscuit, cocoa, vanilla, sweet potato puree, and al dente sweet potato. At first glance, I could see the dot of sweet potato puree, but the chef used a green herb to hide the al dente sweet potato. It was a nice surprise on the palate! As always, reservations required.
we were in spain during the christmas holiday a couple years ago. Don’t really remember any elaborate markets in madrid/Barcelona/San Sebastian tho.
Alfonso XIII in Seville one of my all time favorite hotels. Liked it even better than the Maria Christina in San Sebastian.
Restaurants in Granada - Bar FM is amazing, went twice in 4 days (seafood).
Restaurants in Seville - Canabota is amazing, went twice in 4 days (seafood), just like Bar FM
Jaylu (also seafood) is very good.
El Rincon de Beirut is a Lebanese restaurant one block from the Alfonoso XIII and good if you are looking for vegetarian food or want a break from Spanish food.
Granada sites:
We thought it was exceptional to see the Alhambra garden in the day and go back for the palace at night (we had a few days so did it on different days).
Seville sites (Much bigger than Granada):
The Real Alcazar is awesome. Definitely get tickets in advance, the lines to get in can be long.
Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija has the most amazing personal collection of art and the house itself is stunning with more Roman mosaics then I’ve seen anywhere else outside the Vatican and San Marco in Venice.
Casa de Pilatos was another stunning home of nobility that is now open to the public (though occasionally used by the family). The wealth in Seville after the discovery of the New World was amazing and reflected in homes like this.
Plaza de Espana in the Parque de Maria Luisa is a beautiful building and space in a beautiful park.
The Metropol Parasol is the largest wooden structure in the world and you can go to the top for great views of Seville. While I found it somewhat overrated, it is very close to Canabota, and worth a visit if just to give you another place to stroll to.
Thanks so much! Very helpful!
We’ve been in Bilbao (x2), Pamplona, SS and Santander over the festive period and whilst all had a small market none were very interesting.
Thanks! I think I’m going to plan on doing other things than the markets. Appreciate the insight!
