Погода: Валенсия, май

Valencia's forum calls May one of the best months — warm and sunny without summer's real heat, and the beach practically empty compared to July and August. Regulars note the sea itself is still cool this early, so it's a month for sunbathing more than swimming.

Regulars are direct that this month means Las Fallas, the mid-March festival Lonely Planet has ranked the second-best city festival in the world, packing the city with fireworks and crowds around March 15-19 specifically - worth building any visit around rather than being surprised by. Our row backs the mild, still-chilly-at-night read, 19.5C over 9C nights feeling 6C, with 67.7mm of rain across 8.4 days. Regulars describe days as bright and sunny but not properly hot, with evenings nippy enough that a real jacket is standard rather than optional, and the odd evening shower during the festival itself. The sea stays cold at 14.7C, not swimming weather yet. The record: humidity 67 percent, 9.3 hours of sun, a 19 kph wind and AQI 40.

Regulars put February here at 16 to 20C with sun most days - warm enough to eat lunch outside - and then warn about the two things that catch people out. The nights drop to about 5C and feel colder than that because of the damp; our row reads 7.1C feeling like 4C under an 18.4C afternoon that feels like 16C. And this can be the windiest stretch of the year, with real storm damage in some late Januarys and Februarys. Rain is light at 15.4mm across 3.4 days, and the sea is 13C, for looking at. One calendar note: Las Fallas runs the 1st to the 19th of March, so February misses it entirely. The record: humidity 69 percent, 8.6 hours of sun and AQI 44.

Regulars put October at 14 to 24C, still above 20 most days, with a sea warm enough to swim in well into the month - our row has it at 23.3C against 25.2C air. The variable they name is the gota fria, the blocking low that can sit over this coast at the end of September and start of October and deliver heavy rain and strong wind, though plenty of years pass without one. So the month is mostly fine with a tail risk that arrives early rather than late. Our 65.1mm falls across 6.2 days, eleven millimetres each, which is the shape of a few big days rather than a damp month. The record: 15.6C nights, humidity 75 percent and AQI 39.

April in Valencia is warmer than its numbers suggest and colder than its beaches imply. Regulars give 14 to 20C - our row says 21.4C days and 11.3C nights - and point out that the same figure feels warmer here than in northern Europe because the sun is stronger. The sea is the part to plan around: around 16 to 18C, which our row puts at 17.9C, and their observation is that Spaniards do not go in until June while some visitors swim happily in early April. The local quirk they mention is a microclimate along the coast, where rain coming in off the sea can dry out over the city and start again further inland. The record: 7.3 precipitation days carrying 46.3mm, humidity 67 percent and 10.8 hours of sun.