Hello Friends, My friend and I will be visiting Madrid from March 8-13 and then moving on to Marbella. I've checked the boards for info on weather in March but couldn't find anything. I have checked the current temps on weather.com. How warm does it get in Madrid during the day? Is it too cold for sandels in the evening? Any sight seeing tips? This board is great, I've printed out a ton of info for our trip. I'm looking forward to spending a week in Spain. Gracias!
Posts: 18 | Location: Boston, MA USA | Registered: 03 March 2002
If you live in Boston, you are going to find this warm. But you never know, wheather is changing everyday. I recommend you visit www.bbc.co.uk/weather. You'll find a five day forecast in English, and both in F and C degrees. And, in spite of forecasting for Madrid from England, they are rarely wrong.
Posts: 399 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 05 July 2001
Hey zekieboo, welcome to the board, great screen name!
MAX is right, the weather here in Madrid is nuts in March. There is a very fomous Spanish saying that goes...
"Hasta el cuarenta de mayo, no te quites el sayo".
Loosely translates it means that until the 40th of May, do not take off your warm clothing
Although April is warm here and the beginning of "sandal season so to speak" (say that 5 times fast ) and it gets warm near the end of February, March is unpredictable and is usually cold (although and MAX has stated above, not as cold as Boston). I have been to your city a few times as I am from NY and even was there once in winter, I can tell you that in March here it can go from 40� up to 80� (�F). At night it can even get below 40�. Right now it is 41� and is almost 11am.
Bring layers so that you can add on to or take away from what you are wearing depending on the temp.
I think I can safely advise you to leave your sandals at home. Apart form maybe one day where you may be able to wear them, considering the space shoes take up in a bag or suitcase it is probably not worth it.
Besides, if I am way off and we have a heat wave you can always buy some here, as my girlfriend would tell you, Madrid has some great and inexpensive shoes :D
As for sightseeing, check out the right hand "Madrid photos" column of my homepage for some of the best places to visit.
Saludos & have a great trip, jer...
p.d. If you want to get together for lunch one day or tapas & brews, drop me an e-mail to jeremy@onspanishtime.com or a private message using the PM icon above ( ) and I can send you my phone # here in Madrid.
Hello Max & Jer, Thanks so much for your posts. Every bit of info helps! I'll check out the weather info website. Now I have an excuse to buy new sandals! I'll definitely check out the Madrid photo section, thanks for the tip. The weather in Boston is also unpredictable, especially in the spring. We got an April Fool's Day snowstorm one year, over 1 foot of snow! I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb (i.e. a poorly dressed American) in the evening so that's why I was asking about the sandals - I meant the dressier type that you would wear for evening, well not you Jer but you know what I mean! Thanks for offering to meet us Jer, that would be great. I will drop you an email in a few days, once we have our itin planned. Looking forward to meeting all of the wonderful people in Spain! Zekieboo
Posts: 18 | Location: Boston, MA USA | Registered: 03 March 2002
More about the weather: it was snowing in Madrid's Northern suburbs last Sunday.
And about which clothes to take with you for the evening: I'm 29, and I usually go out with shoes (they're a must: you won't be allowed to enter any places wearing sport shoes), and regular pants (they can be jeans, if the colour is dark), shirt, and sweater (no signs on it, and no very bright colours) and coat if needed. But I think you won't have to worry about it: I've been to Pittsburgh a year ago, and I didn't see too much difference. Just remember: no sport shoes, and try to avoid signs in your sweater and extremely bright colours. And keep on asking, may be you get better feed-back than mine!
Posts: 399 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 05 July 2001
Hi Max, Thanks for the info on evening-wear. I'll be sure not to wear sneakers & logo covered clothes in the evening! Every bit of info helps so thanks again!
Posts: 18 | Location: Boston, MA USA | Registered: 03 March 2002
HI Jer & Max, I wanted to thank you for all of your info for our trip to Spain. We had a wonderful time and absolutely loved the people and city of Madrid. We enjoyed Marbella as well but not as much as Madrid. Everyone we met was kind and helpful. The restaurants and shopping were great and of course the clubs & discos were fabulous! We're planning to come back next year to vist Madrid & Barcelona. I'll be checking out the webcam whenever I feel lonesome for Madrid!
Posts: 18 | Location: Boston, MA USA | Registered: 03 March 2002
I am visiting Madrid this march as well, I was thinking about April, but it seems that I have decided for March.
. To be honest, I am from Southern California, and cold weather is very rare to us, so I dont mind if it is in the 40's or 50's. What concerns me is if it will rain or be cloudy, I prefer to explore Madrid and all its neighbors with some sunshine, even if it is cold, just as long as there is some sun, or at least pleasant over-cast.
On the otherhand, yesterday morning, I compared the temperature of my current location in S. Cali, to that of Madrid (in the evening remember) and it was actually a few degrees warmer there than here........
Posts: 15 | Location: LA, California, USA | Registered: 12 February 2003
You have the perfect example of the spring traveler's dilemma: airfares are a lot lower, sites and lodgings aren't as crowded, but will the weather cooperate?
My early spring travel philosophy is this: I think the risk is worth it because live in a place with sunny, warm (albeit windy) spring weather. So, knowing I will return to that, I'm not too concerned about weather on my vacation. You also will be returning to predictably nicer weather (although we both know that's the rainy season; I was born and raised in San Diego).
With some planning, I think you should do just fine... Even if the weather isn't very cooperative, you have a great time in Madrid because there are so many things to do. Your challenges will be lower temperatures (especially mornings and evenings) than you are used to, wind and possible rain (although in two early spring trips in 3 years, we had no rain in Spain).
Depending on where you go in Spain, the weather might be cooler or warmer than Madrid. Avila and Segovia should be colder, as are cities in the north like Burgos, Salamanca and Leon. Toledo should be about the same as Madrid. If you are going to Andalucia or lower-altitude places in the east (Zaragoza, Barcelona, Valencia), it should be warmer. (Granada does get cold because of its location at the base of the mountains).
We've gotten by with:
A compact umbrella (although we never used it.)
Layers to add/shed; our outerwear is lightweight and compact enough to fit in a daypack: </font>[list]
A good wool sweater.
A medium weight parka to keep out the wind.
A pair of wool dress socks (provided you are wearing regular, not hiking, shoes). Possible sources: REI, sockcompany.com, or a friend in Canada. They make a BIG difference in keeping your feet warm. [/list] <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> With this we were OK everywhere but Burgos, where it was 35 degrees and windy. We bought wool gloves and a stocking cap. To me, part of the fun is buying stuff like that on a trip.
Being from SoCA you might want more more than this as we are more acclimated to cooler winter (I shoveled snow this morning). Can another of our Southern CA members give advice here?
Hope this helps.
"An honest man is always a child" - Socrates ...no wonder I'm so immature!
Thanks for the advice.....I will just be in Madrid province and visit some of its neighbors (in Castilla-Leon & la Mancha).........as I wrote before, I hope that as I explore some of central-Spain's historical treasures, there wont be any heavy rain for example......but regardless of the season, Madrid remains beautiful and I will enjoy myself.
Right now, I am in Orange County, close to Newport Beach area, it has been raining but now it has cleared up, temperature is in the 60's........
Posts: 15 | Location: LA, California, USA | Registered: 12 February 2003
If it helps at all, here are pictures (with emphasis of the sky) of Madrid, Avila, and Segovia taken the first week of April 1999, as well one taken at the Rastro on April 1, 2001. Notice all the people in short sleeve shirts. So anything is possible.
We're arriving in two weeks, hoping for good weather but will take whatever is thrown at us. All we can do is be prepared and cross our fingers.
"An honest man is always a child" - Socrates ...no wonder I'm so immature!
) and it gets warm near the end of February, March is unpredictable and is usually cold (although and MAX has stated above, not as cold as Boston). I have been to your city a few times as I am from NY and even was there once in winter, I can tell you that in March here it can go from 40� up to 80� (�F). At night it can even get below 40�. Right now it is 41� and is almost 11am.
) and I can send you my phone # here in Madrid.
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
