Погода: Тосса-де-Мар, октябрь

May and October are the two months regulars name for this corner of Catalonia: low to mid 20s C by day, warm sun, and none of the summer crush - with the honest rider that October can equally come out as sun and showers, and that evenings want a warm layer. The thing to check before booking is closures rather than weather: the coastal resorts start shutting from mid-October, with many restaurants closing in the third or fourth week, though Girona itself keeps going. Its own festival, the biggest local event of the year, starts on the last weekend of October and runs ten days. The record: 23.9C days against 9.8C nights, 4.7 precipitation days carrying 75.4mm, 8.6 hours of sun and a 22.2C sea.

Tossa de Mar's forum pushes back on the idea that Costa Brava winters are dreary: several posters describe January as chilly but typically sunny with clear blue skies, closer to a crisp day than the grey damp of a UK winter, which matches the destination's own mild low-teens-C average high. Most tourist-facing bars and restaurants close for the season in October, so the town reverts to serving its Catalan residents rather than visitors - it's quiet, but not shut down, and weekend day-trippers still fill the seafront spots when the weather cooperates.

Forum posters describe July as when the Costa Brava season really comes together - sea temperatures around 23C and genuinely comfortable for swimming, with the town noticeably livelier and warmer than earlier in summer. Posters note Tossa stays relatively calm midweek in early July, but by mid-month crowds build and stay heavy through the end of August, so early-to-mid-July offers a window with somewhat thinner crowds while conditions are already excellent. Heat and humidity are genuinely present by mid-July, and nights stay warm enough that even an after-8pm walk still feels balmy rather than cool - a real contrast to the shoulder-season evenings earlier in the year.