# August long weekend from Madrid: getaways for 15 August, the Assumption Four getaways with a night away and three day trips from Madrid for 15 August, the Assumption: mountains above 1,700 metres, lakes and rivers to swim in, Consuegra Medieval and La Paloma for those who stay. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/community-of-madrid/madrid/getaways/august-long-weekend · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Madrid - [A weekend in the Sierra de Gredos, two hours from Madrid](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castile-and-leon/sierra-de-gredos/itineraries/gredos-weekend-from-madrid-laguna-grande.md) (2 nights, Sierra de Gredos): In August Gredos is the cool sierra two hours from Madrid: on the Platform, at about 1,750 metres, you walk in temperatures ten degrees lower than in the city and the Laguna Grande can be reached without snow. In July and August the car park fills up: head for the Platform before eight. - [A weekend at Lake Sanabria, an hour from Zamora](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castile-and-leon/sanabria-lake/itineraries/sanabria-lake-weekend-from-zamora.md) (2 nights, Lake Sanabria and Puebla de Sanabria): In August Lake Sanabria is a freshwater beach, with Custa Llago, Viquiella, El Folgoso and Arenales de Vigo beside the road and cold water even in high summer. Swim only in the marked areas and go up to the mountain lagoons first thing. - [A weekend at the Lagunas de Ruidera, an hour and a half from Albacete and Ciudad Real](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castilla-la-mancha/lagunas-de-ruidera/itineraries/ruidera-lagoons-waterfalls-one-night.md) (1 night, Lagunas de Ruidera): July and August are swimming and kayaking season in Ruidera, with marked swimming areas and warm water. The park fills up at weekends and at midday the paths scorch: kayak early, swim in the hot hours and the cool Cueva de Montesinos in the afternoon. - [A getaway to Alcalá del Júcar, an hour and three quarters from Valencia](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castilla-la-mancha/alcala-del-jucar/itineraries/alcala-del-jucar-canoe-weekend-from-valencia.md) (1 night, Alcalá del Júcar): In summer the Júcar is Alcalá's swimming pool: canoeing on the river or rafting on the Cabriel in the morning, and in the afternoon the caves dug into the rock, which keep cool. The sunny slopes are tiring in the height of August: the old town and the castle, first thing or at dusk. - [Peñalara: glacial lake and monastery](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/community-of-madrid/lozoya-valley/itineraries/penalara-laguna-grande-roast-lunch-in-rascafria-and-el-paular.md) (Day itinerary, Lozoya Valley: Rascafría, El Paular and Peñalara): In August the Cotos pass, at over 1,800 metres, is about ten degrees cooler than Madrid, and the Zabala route to the Laguna Grande is walked in the long summer light. Some streams are dry, but the lagoon is not: get to Cotos before nine, as it fills up. - [Consuegra: castle, windmills and sunset on the hill](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/castilla-la-mancha/consuegra/itineraries/consuegra-castle-with-a-guide-windmills-and-pottery-workshop-lunch.md) (Day itinerary, Consuegra): In mid-August Consuegra Medieval, a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest, re-enacts the battle of 1097 over several days at the Muela castle, with a market, living chess and some two hundred locals in period dress. The road of the windmills is closed and the castle changes its prices: check the programme. - [A paella you made, a boat and the free Prado](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/community-of-madrid/madrid/itineraries/paella-boat-and-free-prado.md) (Day itinerary, Madrid): For those who stay: around 15 August La Latina celebrates the Virgen de la Paloma, the biggest of the castizo street festivals, with chotis dancing, free concerts and the firefighters bringing the painting down. The last two hours at the Prado are free and air-conditioned; the Retiro boat, at sunset. ## Long weekend or week's holiday? 15 August, the Assumption, is a public holiday across Spain, and in Madrid it falls right in the middle of many people's holidays. When it falls on a Sunday, the Community has moved it to the Monday in other years: check the working calendar. For people who work in August, it is a day or a long weekend; for people on holiday, it is the date when everything fills up. With three days, the distant getaways: Lake Sanabria, about three and a half hours away, or Alcalá del Júcar, about three and a half hours away. With two, Gredos or Ruidera. And for a single day, Peñalara, an hour away, or Consuegra if you catch its medieval festival. ## Height or water: how to escape the heat In August the plateau goes above 35 degrees in the afternoon, and there are two ways of not suffering it: go up or get wet. Every thousand metres of altitude is about six degrees cooler, so the Gredos Platform and the Cotos pass, above 1,700 metres, have the afternoons Madrid does not. The other is water: Lake Sanabria, the Ruidera lagoons and the Júcar, all with swimming areas. Combining the two works best: a mountain walk first thing and the rest of the day near water or in the shade. What does not work in August is stone cities at midday. Toledo, Cuenca or Segovia, if at all, at dusk. ## The August street festivals, for those who stay August is the month of Madrid's traditional castizo festivals, one after another: San Cayetano in the Rastro and Embajadores, San Lorenzo in Lavapiés and the Virgen de la Paloma in La Latina, the biggest of the three, around the 15th. There is chotis dancing, embroidered shawls on the balconies, lemonade, free concerts and, on the day of the Virgin, the firefighters bring her painting down from the church of La Paloma. Between one verbena and the next, the empty city has its charm: the Prado for free in its last two hours, a rowing boat on the Retiro when the sun goes down and terraces with no wait. ## What fills up first? Anything with water. In Ruidera, the kayaks on August weekends and the bungalows at the campsites by the lagoons; in Alcalá del Júcar, the canoe and the rafting; in Sanabria, the beds in Puebla and in the lakeside villages. Book in spring if you know you are going, and in early July at the latest. In the mountains the car park fills up more than the bed: the Gredos Platform and Cotos are full by mid-morning. In Gredos the car park is regulated in summer; in Peñalara, the rule is to arrive before nine. ## August storms August in the sierra means sun in the morning and, many afternoons, a storm. In Gredos and Guadarrama the cumulus clouds build from midday and the storm arrives at four or five, with lightning on the peaks. Start walks at dawn and come down before lunch. On the plateau the danger is the opposite: heatstroke on the Ruidera paths or on the slopes of Alcalá del Júcar. Water, a cap and shade at midday. ## Lake, lagoon or river with children? Lake Sanabria is the best place for children on this page: sandy beaches, cold but calm water and, fifteen minutes away, the castle of Puebla, which in summer also opens in the afternoon. In Ruidera, the marked swimming areas and kayaking with an instructor work with children who can already swim. At Consuegra Medieval, the market and the re-enactments at the castle keep them entertained for the afternoon. The long Gredos walks are only for children of ten and over. ## What closes in August In Madrid, some neighbourhood bars and restaurants close for holidays in the second half of the month: if you have a table in mind, call. Outside the city, the opposite happens: mountain and lake villages are in high season, with everything open and more expensive. And on the road, the exodus for the August long weekend loads the A-3, A-4 and A-6 the afternoon before and the return on the last afternoon. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Is 15 August always a public holiday in Madrid? Yes, the Assumption is a national holiday. When it falls on a Sunday, the Community of Madrid has moved it to the Monday in other years: check the working calendar. ### Where can you swim near Madrid over the August long weekend? In the Ruidera lagoons, less than three hours away, in the Júcar at Alcalá del Júcar and in Lake Sanabria, further away. Always swim in the marked areas. ### What is on in Madrid around 15 August? The fiestas of the Virgen de la Paloma in La Latina, with street dances and free concerts, which close those of San Cayetano and San Lorenzo. ### Can you walk up to the Laguna Grande in Gredos in August? Yes, without snow. Set off before eight from the Platform car park and come down before the afternoon storms.