‘The first of our lives’: Thousands in Spain rush for best spot to watch total solar eclipse (3/4)

On the eve of Wednesday's total solar eclipse, Spain, which is set to offer some of the best views in mainland Europe, was buzzing with excitement. Thousands of people were travelling to find the best location to witness a rare few minutes – sometimes even seconds – of darkness.

Madrid, which lies outside the path of totality – the brief moment when the sun is completely blocked – felt particularly quiet as the capital emptied of residents flocking to see the eclipse in regions in northern and eastern Spain.

With just one day to go, social media posts in groups for eclipse chasers were growing fast.

“I'm going to watch the total solar eclipse from Almazan,” a medieval town in the province of Soria, Daniel Ostrowski wrote in a Facebook group, in a post with a photo of a sunset taken on Sunday evening from Madrid's Cerro del Tio Pio park. Many trains at Madrid-Chamartín-Clara Campoamor station are fully booked on the eve of the eclipse on August 12.

“Is anyone else planning to watch it from there too, and come back straight afterwards?” he asked. Almazan lies some 200 kilometres northeast of the Spanish capital.

Some social media users were looking for a lift; others were grappling with last-minute cancellations and hunting for a replacement vehicle.

The lucky ones who'd already arrived at their perfect locations proudly shared photos of the view they'd chosen – each quietly confident that they picked the best spot.

As the day went on, the queue for the baggage check – compulsory for boarding the trains – at Madrid-Chamartin-Clara Campoamor station grew longer and longer.

The vast majority of trains to Leon, in northwestern Spain, were fully booked.

And there were no seats left at all on trains to Gijon and A Coruna – two coastal towns in the Asturias region, particularly popular with eclipse-watchers – for either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Less popular regions

Magali and her son Maxime, who had travelled from France, were headed for Galicia, in the far northwest of the country.

Although they hadn't planned to travel there specifically for the eclipse, they had organised their travel so that they could watch the eclipse from a village situated on the edge of the path of totality.

“Galicia isn't as touristy as the Mediterranean coast, but it's a magnificent region and I think the eclipse is a great way to discover it,” said Magali, who was delighted to be able to watch it from the depths of the countryside.

“In 1999, I watched the total eclipse in France from the roof of the building where I worked. This time, it's going to be a bit more interesting: we'll need to pay attention to the surroundings, the animals and the shadows too.”

At the back of one of the waiting rooms, where every seat was taken, a mother was playing with her two young children, who were struggling to sit still.

A shower of shooting stars

Eleni, her husband David and their two boys, aged six and three, were sitting on their luggage as they waited for the platform for the 12:15pm train to Valencia to be displayed. They had arrived the day before from New York and planned their trip for the sole purpose of watching the eclipse.

“We saw one other one – the partial eclipse we saw was in Colorado in 2017 [around 90 percent coverage in that western US state, Ed]. And then we looked up when the next eclipse was and we saw it was here. So we planned to come here,” explained Eleni.

Several members of their family were already waiting for them in Valencia and they were planning to watch the eclipse from the beach together. The best spots to watch the eclipse in Spain.

“It's a big day; it's sure to be magnificent,” added David. He also mentioned the Perseid meteor shower (considered the best meteor shower of the year) which will add even more magic to the celestial spectacle, hoping that his eldest son will remember it for a long time to come.

Months of preparation

A little further on, some fellow Americans from California were checking their tickets on a mobile phone. April and Bill had been planning their trip for months, and their 12-year-old son Jonathan was joining them too.

The family had already travelled through part of Spain, from Barcelona to Madrid, via Granada, Seville, and soon to the beautiful city of Segovia, where their Spanish adventure will come to an end. That's where they've chosen to watch the eclipse – probably from the hills to the east of the city, Bill explained, holding out his phone.

“Here's a photo I took in 2024 during the partial eclipse in Los Angeles,” he said with enthusiasm.

But he barely had time to admire it before his son swiped across the screen, showing photos of himself mimicking a walrus's teeth with two chips.

Jonathan was looking forward to the eclipse but he was also feeling a bit restless.

"I'm excited. The only two things I was excited about for this trip was the eclipse. And then going home," he admitted.

"He wants to go home. He misses the cat," his father chimed in.

The cat is going to have to wait a few more days. As for the eclipse, there's just a few more hours to go.

This article has been translated from the original in French by Charlotte Wilkins.