When to visit
Santiago de Compostela?

Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.

Santiago de Compostela
Galicia · Spain

The best weather in Santiago de Compostela is from July, August, September, but considering flight prices and crowds, the best months to visit are May, June, September. — predictable climate

Climate score
October
60

Good climate

🌦Cool & rainy

33%outdoor comfort
Good for outdoors
29%perfect days
Mixed conditions
6%ideal warm days
Occasional warm & sunny days
Warming— +0.6° vs. 15 years agoMuch wetterModerate— 8% days with 20mm+ rainCooling down through the month
Temperature
11–19°C
Consistent temperatures · Cool nights
Feels like
10–18°C
Comfortable
Precipitation
193mm
Heavy downpours · 14 days
Sunshine
7.0h
Mostly cloudy
Humidity (%)
83%
Comfortable
Annual Climate Analysis
Temperature, Rain & Feels Like
Rain
Actual Temp
Feels Like
-10°0°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
International eSIM

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Tourist Crowds
Monthly visitor flow
41
Shoulder season
050100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOct41NovDec
Flights to Santiago de Compostela

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Monthly Overview
Score243539557275929286604322
ClimateColdColdColdCool & rainyMildMildPleasantPleasantPleasantCool & rainyColdCold
Temperature5–12°C6–13°C6–14°C8–17°C10–20°C13–22°C15–25°C15–26°C14–23°C11–19°C8–15°C6–13°C
Feels like2–9°C3–10°C3–12°C5–16°C9–19°C12–22°C15–26°C15–26°C13–23°C10–18°C6–13°C4–11°C
Precipitation163mm
14 days
132mm
13 days
143mm
14 days
115mm
14 days
92mm
12 days
76mm
10 days
27mm
6 days
37mm
6 days
71mm
8 days
193mm
14 days
160mm
16 days
192mm
14 days
Sunshine5.1h
☀︎ 54%
6.5h
☀︎ 61%
7.6h
☀︎ 63%
9.5h
☀︎ 71%
10.5h
☀︎ 71%
11.7h
☀︎ 76%
12.3h
☀︎ 82%
11.3h
☀︎ 81%
9.6h
☀︎ 77%
7.0h
☀︎ 64%
5.6h
☀︎ 58%
4.8h
☀︎ 53%
WindS · 20 km/hSW · 21 km/hW · 22 km/hSE · 20 km/hN · 20 km/hN · 18 km/hN · 19 km/hN · 19 km/hN · 18 km/hS · 19 km/hS · 19 km/hS · 20 km/h
Humidity (%)86%84%82%79%79%79%75%75%78%83%86%87%
Perfect days0%1%7%18%27%41%57%59%52%29%3%0%
Dry streak9d9d10d8d10d11d14d13d12d9d8d9d
Sunny streak9d11d12d14d18d18d23d20d17d11d9d8d
Extreme heat——————1%1%————
Extreme cold13%13%4%0%——————1%13%
Temperature+1.5°+2.3°+1.2°+2.0°+2.6°+0.4°+3.2°+2.6°+0.3°+0.6°+2.1°+2.1°
RainfallGetting wetterGetting wetterGetting wetterStableStableGetting wetterStableStableGetting wetterMuch wetterStableMuch wetter
Ideal warm days0%0%0%1%6%13%21%27%18%6%0%0%
Outdoor comfort1%2%10%20%30%38%50%51%48%33%6%0%
Dry week odds16%16%19%11%18%23%37%32%28%16%13%16%
Heavy rain6%5%4%3%2%2%—1%2%8%7%7%
Snow days2%2%2%————————1%
Day length9.4h10.5h12.0h13.4h14.7h15.3h15.0h13.9h12.5h11.0h9.8h9.1h
Tourist CrowdsLow seasonLow seasonLow seasonShoulder seasonShoulder seasonShoulder seasonHigh seasonHigh seasonShoulder seasonShoulder seasonLow seasonLow season
Events & Festivals
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Apostle's Festivities
Ascension Day Festivities
O Son do Camiño
Cineuropa
Book Fair
Via Stellae Festival
Holy Week
Events & Festivals
  • Apostle's FestivitiesfestivalSignature event
    July· 500k+ visitors

    These are the most important annual celebrations in Santiago, culminating on July 25th, the Feast of St. James. The city…

  • Ascension Day Festivitiesfestival
    April, May· 50k+ visitors

    Held 40 days after Easter, these festivities are a major local holiday, often falling in late April or early May. The ev…

  • O Son do Camiñofestival
    June· 50k+ visitors

    This major music festival takes place in June, attracting international and national artists to Santiago. It draws a lar…

  • Cineuropacultural
    November· 5k+ visitors

    This international film festival takes place in November, showcasing a diverse selection of films from around the world.…

  • Book Faircultural
    May· 5k+ visitors

    Santiago's annual Book Fair typically takes place in May, transforming the Alameda Park into an open-air literary hub. V…

  • Via Stellae Festivalcultural
    July· 5k+ visitors

    This classical music festival enriches Santiago's cultural scene in July, featuring concerts in historic venues across t…

  • Holy Weekreligious
    March, April· 5k+ visitors

    Santiago de Compostela observes Holy Week with solemn processions and religious ceremonies, typically in March or April.…

The story of the seasons in Santiago de Compostela

A purely meteorological forecast points straight to July, but September is the true masterstroke in Santiago de Compostela—trading an imperceptible slice of summer warmth for the return of breathing room on its granite flagstones.

For over a thousand years, travellers have crossed continents on foot with one singular objective: to drop their walking sticks on the stones of Praza do Obradoiro and gaze up at the twin baroque towers of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Because this is the terminus of the Way of St. James, the city's calendar marches to a pulse unlike any other in Europe. Galicia is green precisely because the Atlantic storms barrel into its hills with relentless moisture, making weather a central character in every trip. Yet the secret to timing Santiago lies not merely in dodging rain, but in understanding how the tide of boots, backpacks, and brass bands alters the emotional weight of its medieval lanes.

September: The unheralded sweet spot

If you look only at hours of sunshine, July looks like the undisputed victor. Look closer at the living city, and September is where the magic gathers. The frantic summer rush ebbs almost overnight as school calendars resume across Europe, draining roughly a third of the foot traffic from the old quarter while leaving the granite warmed by months of sun.

The afternoons still carry the lazy, golden hum of late summer, hovering comfortably in the low twenties, while the mornings crisp up just enough to make a café con leche beneath the stone arcades feel like an event. You can actually find space to sit on the steps of Praza da Quintana without dodging tour groups, and the rhythm of the city tilts back toward its residents and arriving long-distance walkers. There is occasionally a soft shower to remind you that you are in Galicia, but the skies clear quickly, leaving the dark slate streets gleaming rather than drowned.

July and August: High festival and sheer sensory overload

July and August bring the driest, warmest weather the region ever sees. If you need a near-guarantee against Galician drizzle, this is your window. But you will pay for that dryness with company. The city swells to bursting as tens of thousands of pilgrims converge simultaneously on Praza do Obradoiro, joined by vacationing families from across the peninsula.

July is an endurance run of spectacle. The Apostle's Festivities build toward the Feast of St. James on July 25th, turning the ancient centre into a dense sea of fireworks, concerts, and pageantry. Classical music floats from cloistered courtyards during the Via Stellae Festival, lending historic stone chapels an ethereal beauty. If you thrive on high communal emotion, festival cheer, and late patio nights along Rúa do Franco, summer delivers in spades. Just do not expect contemplative quiet; the sound of bagpipes, luggage wheels, and celebratory choruses echoes across the plazas from daybreak until the early hours.

April to June: The spring anomaly and the green surge

Conventional wisdom says spring is a sleepy shoulder period across southern Europe. In Santiago, conventional wisdom is completely wrong. April routinely registers the highest crowd volume of the year, driven by Holy Week processions and the sudden opening of the Camino trail as walking weather becomes viable. If you arrive in April expecting a solitary retreat, you will find the cathedral precinct as packed as midsummer, but under temperamental skies that frequently swing from sudden warmth to sweeping squalls.

May and June settle into a much gentler cadence. May brings the Book Fair into Parque da Alameda, where plane trees shade long rows of outdoor stalls, and the traditional Ascension Day Festivities fill the fairgrounds with livestock trading and folk dancing. By June, the festival calendar kicks into overdrive with O Son do Camiño drawing massive crowds for open-air concerts on the city outskirts. Rain drops substantially as June wears on, and the long daylight hours make wandering the camellia gardens of Alameda Park an absolute joy.

October to March: The long Atlantic deluge

There is no softening the truth about Santiago in deep winter: it is dark, relentlessly wet, and thoroughly drenched by low-pressure systems churning off the Atlantic. October opens the sluice gates, and between November and January the rain is not a picturesque mist—it is a heavy, saturating companion that blows horizontally through the stone alleys and leaves your coat damp for days. For raw outdoor comfort, December and January represent the absolute nadir.

Yet this wet season reveals Santiago's most literary, haunted side. When rain pours from the gargoyles of San Martiño Pinario and coats the carved portals of Praza das Praterías, the Old Town takes on a mirror-like shine that seems pulled directly from the Middle Ages. November brings Cineuropa, gathering locals inside warm, dry cinema halls to binge international art-house films while squalls lash the streets outside. If you come in winter, forget hiking the final miles down from Monte do Gozo; instead, pack high-grade waterproofs, tuck into cavernous stone taverns over steaming bowls of caldo gallego, and accept that you are here to experience Galicia's famous melancholy at its purest source.

What to do

Things to do in Santiago de Compostela

Top sights and attractions to build your days around once you know when to go.

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Tours & tickets in Santiago de Compostela
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Frequently asked questions

What is the best time to visit Santiago de Compostela?

The best weather in Santiago de Compostela is from July, August, September, but considering flight prices and crowds, the best months to visit are September, June, May (10–26 °C).

What is the weather like in Santiago de Compostela?

Santiago de Compostela has a climate with an overall score of 5.8/10. Annual temperatures range from 5 °C to 26 °C.

What is the hottest month in Santiago de Compostela?

The hottest month in Santiago de Compostela is August, with average highs of 26 °C and lows of 15 °C.

What is the rainiest month in Santiago de Compostela?

The rainiest month in Santiago de Compostela is October, with an average of 193 mm of precipitation.

When is peak season in Santiago de Compostela?

Peak season in Santiago de Compostela is July, August. This is the most popular period, with the highest tourism levels and prices.

When is shoulder season in Santiago de Compostela?

Shoulder season in Santiago de Compostela falls in April, May, June, September, October. It offers a good balance of decent weather and lower prices compared to peak season.