Total solar eclipse 2027 in Spain: where to watch totality

Updated 16 October 2026 · 7 min read

The best places in Spain to watch the total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027 are Ceuta, with 4m48s of totality, and the Strait of Gibraltar towns of Algeciras and La Línea, with about 4m25s. The path of totality also covers most of Cádiz province, the Málaga coast, a thin strip of the Granada and Almería coast, and Melilla. Seville, Madrid and the rest of Spain see only a partial eclipse.

Totality arrives on Monday morning a little before 11:00 CEST, with the Sun 38 to 41° up in the eastern sky. To find the exact edge of the path, zoom in on the interactive map.

Which parts of Spain see totality?

The Moon’s shadow comes in from the Atlantic and moves roughly west to east. Its central line runs close to the Strait of Gibraltar, so the towns on both shores get the longest totality.

• Cádiz province: the Bay of Cádiz (Cádiz, San Fernando, Chiclana, Puerto Real, El Puerto de Santa María), Jerez near the northern edge, and the whole Campo de Gibraltar with Algeciras, La Línea and Tarifa, at the southern tip of the peninsula.
• Gibraltar: the British Overseas Territory gets 4m27s, practically the same as La Línea across the land border.
• Costa del Sol (Málaga province): Estepona, San Pedro Alcántara, Marbella, Fuengirola, Mijas, Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Málaga city, Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga. Inland, Ronda is just inside.
• Granada and Almería coast: Motril, El Ejido and Roquetas de Mar sit near the northern edge, with under two minutes.
• Ceuta and Melilla: the two Spanish autonomous cities on the North African coast both get more than four and a half minutes.

Seville is outside the path, although many people assume otherwise. Its centre reaches 98.4% obscuration and the edge of totality is about 70 km to the south. At 98% the sky dims but the corona stays hidden, so from Seville, plan to drive south.

Totality by town: duration, time and clear-sky odds

Times are Spanish summer time (CEST, UTC+2). “Totality begins” is second contact (C2), when the last bead of sunlight disappears. Clear-sky odds are historical, not a forecast: the share of days between 26 July and 9 August in 2001 to 2025 with low cloud cover at the eclipse hour, from satellite data on a 1° grid.

Times come from NASA’s Besselian elements, which ignore the jagged lunar limb, so real times can shift by 1 to 3 seconds. Each city page has all contact times and an animation of the Moon’s shadow.

Why does the Strait get more totality than Málaga?

Totality is longest on the central line and shrinks towards the edges of the path, slowly at first and then very fast. Ceuta, Algeciras, La Línea and Gibraltar lie near the centre and get roughly four and a half minutes. Málaga city, near the northern edge, gets 1m53s, and Vélez-Málaga, further east and further from the centre, 1m06s.

Near the edge, a few kilometres north can cut totality sharply or remove it. From Málaga, Vélez-Málaga, Jerez or Ronda, a short trip south or west buys a lot of time: against Málaga’s 1m53s, Fuengirola has 3m11s, Marbella 3m16s and Estepona 3m38s.

With four minutes you have time to look at the corona, the glow on the horizon and the drop in temperature. With one minute it is over before most people have settled. The coast near Málaga still gives a real total eclipse, only a shorter one. See what you see during totality for what to look for.

Where are clear skies more likely: Atlantic or Mediterranean?

The Mediterranean side has the better record. Over 2001 to 2025, the 1° cell covering Cádiz, San Fernando, Chiclana, Puerto Real, El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez had clear skies at the eclipse hour on 60% of days in late July and early August, with mean cloud cover of 31%. The Málaga cells reach 69% and the cells for Algeciras, La Línea, Gibraltar and Estepona 71%, with mean cloud around 21 to 22%. Ceuta is at 61% and Melilla at 48%.

These figures describe 25 past summers, not 2 August 2027: any town on the list can be cloudy that morning, and Cádiz can be clear. The clear-skies page compares all the towns in the path and the cells around them.

• Choosing a base from scratch: the Campo de Gibraltar and the western Costa del Sol combine long totality with the better odds.
• Already booked in the Bay of Cádiz: plan a fallback east towards Algeciras or the Málaga coast. North takes you out of the path.
• Make the final call from the forecast in the last two or three days. Forecasts a week or more ahead say little about cloud at a given hour.

How to plan the morning of 2 August

The eclipse falls on a Monday in early August, in one of Spain’s busiest holiday areas, and the partial phase starts more than an hour before totality.

• Arrive the day before. Coastal roads are busy on any August day, so do not drive in that morning from Seville, Granada or Madrid.
• Be in position before first contact (C1), listed on each city page, to set up, check your glasses and watch the partial phase build.
• Know the route to a backup spot inside the path in another direction: inland if low cloud sits on the coast, along the coast if cloud builds over the hills.
• Keep the eastern sky open. With the Sun about 38 to 41° up in the east, most open beaches, harbour walls and terraces work if no buildings or hills block that direction.
• Book accommodation early: a path of totality fills up well in advance, and this one falls in the summer holidays. If the coast is full, try towns slightly inland that are still in the path.
• Ceuta and Melilla need a ferry or a flight: Ceuta mainly by ferry from Algeciras, Melilla by ferry from Málaga, Motril or Almería, or by plane. Sailings may sell out around the eclipse.

How do I watch the eclipse safely?

Everyone watching the partial phases needs eclipse glasses certified to ISO 12312-2, or a viewer with an equivalent solar filter. Ordinary sunglasses, however dark, are not safe. You can look without a filter only during totality, once the Sun’s bright face is completely covered, and the glasses go back on as soon as the first bright point reappears. Outside the path, as in Seville or Madrid, it is never safe to look without them. Binoculars, cameras and telescopes need a solar filter fitted on the front. Before you travel, read the full eye safety guide and how to check ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses.

Where is totality longer than in Spain?

The path continues east. Northern Morocco (Tangier, Tétouan) has about 4m51s, and totality grows across Algeria, Tunisia and Libya to more than six minutes in Egypt. See the 2027 eclipse in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. For the August 2026 and 2028 eclipses, see eclipses in Spain 2026-2028.