April in Valencia: Easter, weather and what's on

April is the month Valencia gets its breath back. The firecrackers are gone, the orange trees along the avenues are in blossom, and the year's second big festival happens not in the centre but down by the sea, where the fishing neighbourhoods hold their own Holy Week. It is also the month the tax return season opens, which is the less picturesque side of living here.

This is the April entry in our month-by-month series, between March and May. For the far end of the year, read what August is like.

The weather in April

AEMET's normals for the Valencia city station put April at an average of 16.2C, with highs around 20.8C and lows of 11.5C. It is one of the wetter spring months, with 38mm (about 1.5 in) spread over roughly five rain days, and around 234 hours of sunshine. Showers tend to come in short bursts between long bright stretches rather than as grey days.

The sea is still cold, around 15C to 16C, so the beach is for walking and the first terrace lunches, not for swimming. The month-by-month picture is in our Valencia climate guide; the numbers above are AEMET's published normals.

Semana Santa Marinera

Photo: Coentor, CC BY-SA 3.0

Valencia's Holy Week is the Semana Santa Marinera (play_arrow), and it belongs to the three seaside neighbourhoods of El Grau, El Cabanyal and El Canyamelar rather than to the old town. Around thirty brotherhoods process through streets of low tiled houses from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, with the Santo Entierro on Good Friday night and a joyful Resurrection parade on Easter morning that ends with flowers thrown from the balconies. Easter moves, so in some years it lands in late March and in others deep in April.

We have a dedicated post on the Semana Santa Marinera with the processions worth seeing and where to stand. The short version: go down to the Cabanyal on Good Friday evening or Easter Sunday morning, and eat lunch by the beach afterwards.

Sant Vicent Ferrer and the book fair

Photo: 19Tarrestnom65, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Monday after Easter Monday is Sant Vicent Ferrer, the city's patron saint, and it is a local public holiday in Valencia city. Temporary altars go up in the old town, most famously on the Plaça de la Verge, and children act out the saint's miracles in Valencian on small stages in front of them. It gives the city a second long weekend straight after Easter.

In the last days of April the Fira del Llibre, the book fair, opens in the Jardins de Vivers and runs into May. Stalls line the paths of the park, there are readings and signings every evening, and it is one of the more pleasant free things to do with children in the city.

What to eat in April

Photo: Alba J, CC BY-SA 3.0

Easter has its own cake, the mona de Pascua (play_arrow), a sweet brioche with a whole egg baked into it, traditionally taken out to the countryside on Easter Monday. Bakeries sell them from Holy Week onward and they are gone by the following weekend.

At the market April is the middle of spring. Broad beans, peas and garlic shoots are at their best, the first courgettes and new potatoes appear, and the last late oranges are still sold, though the Valencian orange season is essentially over. Artichokes are finishing. The huerta guide has the full seasonal table and where to buy.

What changes for residents

The big one is the tax return. The annual declaración de la renta (play_arrow) campaign opens in the first half of April and closes on 30 June, and if this is your first year as a Spanish tax resident it is the month to find out what you owe. Our tax guide for expats explains residency, the 183-day rule and the main deductions; the Agencia Tributaria publishes the exact campaign dates each year.

Schools take a break of about ten days around Easter, and the admissions window for state and concertado schools for the following September usually opens in spring, so families arriving for the next school year should be watching for it. Our school enrolment help page walks through the process.

If you are moving this month

April is one of the two months we recommend most often for a move. The weather is kind, the rental market has not yet tightened for summer, and the admin offices are fully staffed between the two holidays. Start with the moving to Valencia guide, and if you want us to handle the appointments, the admin support service exists for exactly this.

April is Valencia at its most liveable: warm without being hot, busy without the festival crowds, and green in a way the summer months are not. Do the tax return early, go down to the Cabanyal for Easter, and keep an eye on the school admissions calendar. May, with the city's patron saint and the first beach weekends, is next.

Photo: Joanbanjo, CC BY-SA 4.0