Lisbon or Valencia for a Winter Base? Milder Nights Against a Much Drier Month

Verdict: Valencia is the better winter for most people. The highs are the same, and it is a lot drier. Lisbon only wins on the nights.

Where to be next: your month-by-month route, $19

A route for your months with a leave-by date for each stop, a backup, and the seasonal traps on your path. Drafted from 11 years of weather data, every number checked against it, in your inbox within 48 hours. Not included: visas, insurance or bookings.

See a sample plan Get my plan, $19

Is Lisbon or Valencia warmer in winter?

Neither, by day. In our 11-year data Lisbon runs 16° in December, 15° in January and 16° in February. Valencia runs 17°, 16° and 17°. That is one degree, which you will not feel.

The difference is after dark. Lisbon holds 9° to 10° through the same months, Valencia 7° to 8°. Valencia has the drier air (humidity in the mid sixties against 78 to 83 in Lisbon), so its cool nights feel crisp and Lisbon's feel damp.

Where to be next month, by email

One email at the start of each month: where it's warm, dry and smoke-free next. We'll email you in early December to confirm, then once a month. Free, unsubscribe any time. Privacy

How much more rain does Lisbon get?

Roughly two and a half times as much between December and February. In November the gap is smaller, under twice as much. Lisbon gets 119 mm in November, 85 in December, 91 in January and 63 in February. Valencia gets 70, 37, 32 and 23 mm.

Averages 2015-2025 · Source: Open-Meteo, CHIRPS · How we measure

These are our stored 2015 to 2025 averages. Winter in Lisbon is not a washout, but it is the season with the grey weeks. Valencia's winter is the season with the clear skies.

Which month is worst in each city?

For Lisbon, November: 119 mm, the wettest month of our whole year. For Valencia, March at 66 mm, and then September at 88 mm, which is its real rainy month and not a winter one. If you plan a late arrival, Valencia in January and February is the driest stretch in this comparison, at 32 and 23 mm.

Is Lisbon cloudier than Valencia in winter?

Yes, and it matters more than the rain total suggests. On the average winter day about half the sky is covered in Lisbon in December and January, against a little over two fifths in Valencia in January and February. A dry grey day and a dry bright day are both "no rain", but only one of them is a day you want to sit outside. That is part of why Valencia feels like a winter of clear days and Lisbon like a winter of mixed ones, even though neither is cold.

What should you check before you book either?

Heating first. Both cities have older flats with no central heating, and a 7° night in Valencia or a 9° night in Lisbon is exactly the temperature where a flat without a heater feels worse than the number says. Ask for a photo of the heater and the damp patches. Second, the window: Lisbon's winter is the season when a flat without good ventilation grows damp, and the higher humidity in our data (78 to 83 against the mid sixties) is the reason. Third, the length of your stay. A month in either is easy; three months means you will see more of Lisbon's grey weeks than Valencia's, and November is the one month where the gap is plainly in Valencia's favour.

What does this mean for a work week?

Rain does not stop a laptop, but it changes where you work. In Valencia you can keep a terrace table in January. In Lisbon you plan around the wet weeks: a flat with decent heating and a cafe within five minutes, not twenty. If you walk a lot, Valencia is flatter and drier. If you want a city where winter is a quieter version of summer, either works; neither is a cold-weather city.

Which should you pick for a month?

Valencia for December to February, if weather is the deciding factor. Lisbon, if you want the milder nights and the hills, and are happy to take a grey week or two. For March, either. For a warmer January pick across more places, see where is warm in January, and for a Spanish alternative with a mild winter, Málaga in winter. If you are choosing between Iberian winter bases more broadly, our warmest places in Europe in winter ranks more of them, and the Lisbon guide covers its whole year.