Dobleve

When we first came to Spain we always wondered where everyone was.  Sure there were people around but none of the social life Spain is famous for.  The rhythm of the day in Spain, especially in Granada, is not the same as in the US; if you stick to a US schedule you’ll find yourself at best eating dinner in a completely empty restaurant, at the worst not able to find a restaurant that is even open when you want to eat.  If you come visit we’d recommend you get on the spanish schedule, you’ll enjoy your time here more and hopefully also come away with a better sense of what life here is like.

The daily hours for most shops and workers is 10am-1:30pm and 5pm-9pm.  From 2pm-5pm is a siesta time, many people go home for lunch and a nap.  If you’re not inclined to a nap then head for a restaurant or bar for a leisurely lunch and drinks; 2 hours is a good amount of time to plan for a nice relaxing meal.

Dinner starts at 9:30pm or so and goes until 11:30pm or midnight.  After that many people go out for a drink with friends to a tapas bar; officially tapas bars close around 2am but often are open much later.  After tapas if you’re in the mood for cocktails or dancing you can go to a cocktail bar or dance club until 8 or 9am if you want.

The time of the year is important too.  Late April through early June are the months of the ferias, the week-long fiestas held in the larger towns to celebrate the saint associated with the town.  Within a region they generally don’t overlap, eg here in Andalucia the feria season starts in Sevilla and ends in Cordoba, with Granada falling in between.  Take a hint from the Spanish on the timing of the ferias; May and June are beautiful times of the year here, warm and sunny but not too hot yet.  

By late July and August it is incredibly hot in southern Spain, normally reaching 100F by 11am or so and often near 120F by 3pm.  Most people go on vacation during this time of the year and many shops and restaurants are closed.  Again take a hint from the Spanish – head for the coast, its noticeably cooler at the beach and often breezy; the Mediterranean is a great place to cool off in the heat of the day.  On the hot days in August we often drive to the beach to escape the heat in Granada for the day even if we’re not on vacation.

By early September things have cooled off remarkably quickly from the August highs and the weather is once again very nice and remains that way through mid-October.  From mid-October to April it really varies what you’ll get for weather, sometimes rain, sometimes sun, sometimes snow.  Today its about 70F and a clear sunny day here in Granada but last year around this time it was more like 45F and raining so its hard to say what you might get.