February is Spain’s second-cheapest month and its loudest winter one. Carnival peaks in the week before Ash Wednesday – 10 February 2027 – and Spain stages two of the biggest in the world, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Cádiz. Away from those, the cities are still empty, the almond blossom opens across the south and the Balearics, and Andalucía is comfortably warm in the sun.
Carnaval 2027
Carnival ends on Shrove Tuesday, 9 February 2027, with Ash Wednesday on the 10th, and the run-up is the event. Spain’s two great versions could hardly be more different:
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife – the largest in Spain and one of the biggest anywhere: an elected Carnival Queen in enormous costumes, all-night street parties, and the Entierro de la Sardina, a mock funeral for a giant sardine, on Ash Wednesday. Flights and hotels to Tenerife sell out for it.
- Cádiz – satirical rather than spectacular. The chirigotas – costumed choral groups – perform biting topical songs about Spanish politics in the streets and in the Gran Teatro Falla competition. It is funnier if you speak Spanish and still worth it if you do not.
Smaller and stranger ones are worth seeking out: Sitges near Barcelona, Bielsa and Villanueva de la Vera in the mountains, and Lanz in Navarre, which is closer to pagan than carnival.
Weather: the turn begins
- Madrid and the interior – around 13°C by day and 3°C at night, with about 35 mm of rain. Still cold at night, but the daytime sun has real warmth in it by mid-month.
- Barcelona and the Mediterranean – about 15°C and relatively dry at roughly 33 mm.
- Andalucía – Seville and Córdoba reach the high teens and can touch 20°C on a good day. The orange trees in Seville are in fruit.
- The Atlantic north – mild and wet; Galicia and Asturias remain the rainiest part of Spain.
- The Canaries – around 21–22°C, dry, and in high season.
The daylight is the real change. By the end of February, sunset in Madrid is an hour later than on 1 January, and Spanish evenings begin to function again.
Almond blossom
February is almond season, and it is one of the quiet pleasures of a Spanish winter. The valleys of Mallorca turn white and pink from late January into February, and the same happens in the Alpujarras below the Sierra Nevada, in inland Alicante and across parts of Extremadura. It is short, weather-dependent and completely free.
What February is good for
- The great museums and monuments. The Prado, the Reina Sofía, the Alhambra and the Alcázar of Seville are at their quietest, and short-notice tickets are actually available.
- Price. With January, the cheapest stretch of the Spanish year, outside Carnival destinations.
- Andalucía on foot. Seville, Córdoba, Ronda and the white towns are comfortable by day and empty.
- Skiing. The best snow of the Spanish season in the Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada.
What February is not good for
The Mediterranean coast and the Balearics, where much of the tourist infrastructure is still closed until Easter – and in 2027 Easter is unusually early, on 28 March, so the reopening comes sooner than normal. Sea temperatures are at their annual low everywhere, including the Canaries.
Prices and crowds
Low, with two sharp exceptions: Tenerife during Carnival, where flights and hotels sell out and prices multiply, and the ski resorts during the Spanish school half-term. Everywhere else, February is a bargain.
See what a trip to Spain costs.
What to pack
Layers and something waterproof. Seville can give you 21°C and sun or 11°C and rain in the same week, and Madrid nights are cold. Churches and cathedrals are unheated. If you are going to Carnival, add something you do not mind being in a crowd in until dawn. See what to pack for Spain.
The February 2027 calendar
- Early February – almond blossom in Mallorca, the Alpujarras and inland Alicante.
- The week to 9 February – Carnival peaks in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Cádiz and Sitges.
- Tuesday 9 February – Shrove Tuesday, the last day of Carnival.
- Wednesday 10 February – Ash Wednesday; the Entierro de la Sardina in Tenerife.
- Mid February – Spanish school half-term lifts ski-resort prices.
- Late February – ARCO, Madrid’s international contemporary art fair; Andalucía Day on the 28th, a regional holiday.
- All year – the Xacobeo 2027 Holy Door is open in Santiago de Compostela.
Read alongside
- Spain in January – Reyes and the winter sales.
- Spain in March – Las Fallas, and an early Holy Week.
- Best time to visit Spain – all twelve months compared.
- Spain trip cost – low-season daily numbers.
- Best time to visit Seville – the city February suits best.
- Spain travel guide – regions, routes and how to combine them.
- What to pack for Spain – the winter list.
Frequently asked
When is Carnival in Spain in 2027?
It peaks in the week before Ash Wednesday, which falls on 10 February 2027, with Shrove Tuesday on the 9th. The two biggest are in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Cádiz.
Is February a good time to visit Spain?
For cities, Andalucía and skiing, yes – it is among the cheapest and quietest months, and the great museums and monuments are genuinely easy to visit. For the coast and the Balearics it is too early; most of that reopens around Easter.
How warm is Spain in February?
Madrid averages about 13°C by day and 3°C at night; Barcelona around 15°C; Seville and Córdoba reach the high teens; and the Canary Islands sit at 21–22°C.
Where is the best Carnival in Spain?
Santa Cruz de Tenerife for spectacle – one of the largest carnivals in the world – and Cádiz for satire, where costumed chirigota choirs perform topical songs in the streets. Sitges near Barcelona is the best-known smaller one.
When is the almond blossom in Spain?
From late January into February, most famously in the valleys of Mallorca, and also in the Alpujarras below the Sierra Nevada, inland Alicante and parts of Extremadura.
Is Spain cheap in February?
Yes, apart from two exceptions: Tenerife during Carnival week, when flights and hotels sell out, and the ski resorts during the Spanish school half-term.
Can you swim in Spain in February?
Not comfortably. Sea temperatures are at their annual low across the mainland, the Balearics and even the Canaries. February is a cities, mountains and countryside month.
Is the Alhambra easy to book in February?
Easier than at any other time of year. It still sells a fixed number of timed tickets and still sells out on some days, so book ahead – but February is when short-notice availability actually exists.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
