The best time to visit Córdoba, month by month

Córdoba's weather month by month

These are the climate normals for the Córdoba Airport station published by AEMET (1981 to 2010): average daily high, average daily low and monthly rainfall.

• January: high 14.9 °C, low 3.6 °C, 66 mm of rain.
• February: high 17.4 °C, low 4.9 °C, 55 mm.
• March: high 21.3 °C, low 7.4 °C, 49 mm.
• April: high 22.8 °C, low 9.3 °C, 55 mm.
• May: high 27.4 °C, low 12.6 °C, 40 mm.
• June: high 32.8 °C, low 16.5 °C, 13 mm.
• July: high 36.9 °C, low 19.0 °C, 2 mm.
• August: high 36.5 °C, low 19.4 °C, 5 mm.
• September: high 31.6 °C, low 16.9 °C, 35 mm.
• October: high 25.1 °C, low 13.0 °C, 86 mm.
• November: high 19.1 °C, low 7.8 °C, 80 mm.
• December: high 15.3 °C, low 5.5 °C, 111 mm.

Spring: March, April and May

This is high season, and with good reason. March already has highs of 21 °C. Holy Week (Semana Santa) in 2027 runs from 21 to 28 March; the processions pass through the Mosque-Cathedral and close streets in the centre every evening, so a car is a nuisance and you should check the monuments' special hours.

May is festival month: the Cruces (flower-covered crosses with open-air bars in the squares), the Patios Festival (in the first fortnight) and the Feria, the city fair (at the end of the month). The patios open free of charge and the best-known ones have queues; they are easier on weekdays and first thing. Each year's exact dates are in the festival calendar. Book accommodation for May well ahead.

April sits between the two and is probably the best moment if you are not coming for a particular festival: highs of 22.8 °C, some rain (about seven days in the month) and fewer people than in May.

Summer: how to handle the heat

June already reaches highs of around 33 °C, and July and August average over 36 °C, with heatwave days above 40 °C. It hardly rains (2 mm in July) and July has 363 hours of sunshine. Lows of about 19 °C make the first hours of the morning bearable.

Opening hours adapt. From 16 June to 15 September the municipal museums open from 8:15 to 14:15, and the Alcázar gardens have been closing at 13:00 because of the temperatures. The Archaeological Museum moves to 9:00 to 15:00. The Palacio de Viana opens 9:00 to 15:00 in July and August. The Calahorra tower splits its day, 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:30 to 20:30. The Mosque-Cathedral keeps both morning and afternoon.

In exchange, there is the night. The Mezquita night visit, «El Alma de Córdoba», moves to 22:00 and 23:30 from June to August. In 2026 the Caliphal Baths, the Julio Romero de Torres Museum, the Bullfighting Museum and the Fosforito Centre also opened from 21:00 to midnight, Thursday to Saturday, between late June and late August, and Medina Azahara ran night visits to the ruins.

The summer day that works goes like this: monuments from 8:30 to 13:30, a long lunch and a siesta with air conditioning, and back outside from 20:30. Always carry water, wear a hat, and take the shady side of every street. With small children or older travellers, consider whether another date suits you better.

Autumn: September, October and November

September is still summer, with highs of 31.6 °C, although the museums go back to winter hours on the 16th. October is the other great month: highs of 25 °C, afternoons still long and the city at its normal pace. It is also when the rain returns, with an average of 86 mm spread over about seven days.

November drops to highs of 19 °C and tends to be quiet outside the long weekends. Days are short and the Mezquita closes at 18:00. On 8 and 27 September the municipal museums are free.

Winter and Christmas

December, January and February have highs of 15 to 17 °C and lows of 4 to 5 °C. There is frost on about six nights in January and fog on some mornings. December is also the wettest month, at 111 mm. Snow, practically never.

At midday, in the sun, you can sit on a terrace in a jacket. The Christmas lights and programme fill the centre from late November until Epiphany on 6 January, and the long weekend of 6 and 8 December tends to draw the most visitors. On 17 December, the anniversary of the old town's World Heritage listing, the municipal museums are free, as they are on 28 February, Andalusia Day.

After Epiphany and until the end of February is usually when the monuments are emptiest. If you want the Mezquita almost to yourself, this is your moment.

When it is quietest and cheapest

There is no official price statistic we can quote, so this is a reading of the calendar. Demand rises in Holy Week, throughout May, on the autumn long weekends and on the December one. It falls in January and February and in midsummer, when the heat puts many travellers off.

To spend less and see the same: weekdays rather than weekends, and outside May. The Mezquita's free hour (Monday to Saturday, 8:30 to 9:30) and Thursday evenings at the municipal museums apply all year.

What to pack

In spring and autumn, layers: mornings of 9 to 13 °C and middays above 22 °C. A light raincoat in April, October and November. In summer, loose pale clothing, a hat, sunscreen and a bottle you can refill; for the Mosque-Cathedral and the churches, dress respectfully, because they are working places of worship.

In winter you need a proper coat for the evenings and for stone interiors, which are cold. All year round, comfortable flat-soled shoes: you will walk the whole old town and the cobbles are unforgiving.