We wake up all year round and when we blink we see that it is 6 in the morning, mostly we would like to turn back the clock without knowing the wonderful point of putting our feet on the ground and starting to walk. However, in August nothing is the same. At this hour, the blinds of almost everywhere are still down, the terraces are cleared, and the first buses, some delivery people, people walking their dogs, and athletes who have decided to start the day when many are still asleep pass through the streets. And to know what is behind all this and why it is worth trying, all it takes is a simple gesture of putting your feet on the ground and getting out of bed. Really, you don't have to be a runner or turn your vacation into military training. Going for a walk very early is, simply, a rather unpopular way to make the most of summer days (or a single day) and, above all, to recover some hours that we often ignore because we associate them with the alarm clock and going to work. There are many reasons not to forget this time slot to simply walk and walk.1. Rediscover the backstage of everyday theatre

Walking at six in the morning in August is, first and foremost, a way of rediscovering your surroundings. When it is still dark or beginning to dawn, the streets have a completely different rhythm from what they will show a few hours later. Silence replaces noise, the promenades and avenues are walked almost alone, and the light changes minute by minute until sunrise. Like a moving picture that only happens at that precise moment. This is the opportunity to see the city waking up: the cleaning services, the first runners, the delivery people, the markets preparing, or the cafes raising their shutters paint a scene that most people do not usually see: a kind of gear or backstage of the theater that is about to begin and cannot be seen in any other way.2. It doesn't have to be a routine

Another good reason is that it doesn't need to become a routine. The fun can also be trying it one August morning, waking up when it's still dark, going out without rush or much destination and discovering that, for a few hours, the city seems like a completely different place: that journey we have never taken and that (perhaps) we will never undertake again. It doesn't have to be a daily proposal: just one day is enough to fill us with satisfaction.3. Physical activity without heat

In this activity, there is a very clear practical reason: physical activity is best done at the beginning and end of the day. According to Canal Salut, during the summer it is advisable to move and be active in the early morning or in the evening and to avoid the hottest hours. Specifically, the Department of Health points out the period between 12 and 5 PM as when temperatures are highest and the risk of heatstroke increases. Among its proposals for staying active in the summer is precisely taking walks in the morning or evening. Likewise, the World Health Organization (WHO) goes even a little further when talking about heat episodes. If demanding physical activity is to be done, with an intensity that goes beyond walking, it recommends moving it to the coolest part of the day and even recommends the period from 4 to 7 AM. This (almost extreme) recommendation helps to understand why moving the walk forward a few hours can make sense during the hottest days. 4. Your 'vip' moment

In summer we strive to find secret coves, little-known villages and viewpoints that social networks have not yet discovered. But leaving home to walk at 6 in the morning solves everything, like a magic wand that makes us instant vips full of powers: visiting natural spaces when there is almost no one there; taking the photo without competition; having the spiritual privilege of being the only being in that space, and having a golden hour light that cannot be easily found. For example, we can manage to conquer a promenade before the first bathers arrive, walk along a boulevard without the usual hustle and bustle or admire an iconic facade in solitude and silence.5. Achieve a well-deserved reward 

The best thing is that the plan can have a reward, and a good one. After walking for an hour or an hour and a half, when the bakeries and cafes start to open, it's time for breakfast. A coffee, something freshly made with the intoxicating aroma of the bakeries and workshops in operation, and that strange feeling of having lived half a day when it's still eight o'clock. 6. Love and share with others

But leaving the house so early is not just an introspective activity that benefits oneself. This activity has a derivative full of love: it allows us to enjoy the pleasure of bringing freshly made bread home under our arm, or bringing breakfast to all those who have not yet woken up: sharing croissants directly from the bakery with the smell of hot butter or even bringing breakfast to bed to those we love, like in the movies. Summer also serves this purpose.7. Physical and psychological well-being

Going for a walk is also, obviously, a very complete way to exercise and obtain physical and psychological benefits that we can all intuit. For example, Ona Fillol says good morning to everyone at 7:24 am from her social media: "Walking 45 min with the sunrise… The best ritual to start the day!", she says, and assures that starting the week walking when the sun hasn't risen yet has "many benefits such as activating metabolism, starting with energy, improving circulation and starting the day in a better mood", she summarizes. Fillol assures that fat is burned naturally, legs, heart and joints are strengthened and that stress and anxiety are reduced. "You improve mood and concentration, you sleep better at night and your body and mind will thank you", she adds.Likewise, the trainer behind the @ona_moves account, Ona Espot, explains that what walking at six in the morning brings her, which she doesn't find at any other time of day, is the fact that "there are fewer people, the weather is much more comfortable, and the day starts differently". What makes her think it was worth getting up early is "especially the light" of the day, but also her mental state: "I have a clearer and more relaxed mind," she assures. And beyond the internal benefits of making this effort, Espot assures that what surprises her most is "the people, the noise, and the routine". "I feel like I wake up with the city, the two at the same time," she says. From her perspective, she invites everyone who is starting to try to detect "how they truly feel throughout the day" and feel how, certainly, "there is something different". Espot mentions numerous benefits as well, but highlights the clarity and, paradoxically, "the rest" it provides. And among her most vivid memories of this summer practice, there isn't just a list of benefits or sensations, but a metaphorical entry into the routines of many people: "Especially when you pass by the same places and greet people you don't know, but we know we will meet fleetingly, even with knowing glances". 8. Wake up, but maybe not so much

One of the reasons to go out early in the morning in summer is that perhaps, paradoxically, you don't have to do it at 6 AM. "I always recommend going out when the sun rises, and 6 AM is usually a good option, especially during hot periods," says Miguel Sánchez, a hiking specialist, in this case of the Camino de Santiago: the quintessential context for summer walks. While he maintains that it's always best to start early, he qualifies that at the end of August, with the shortening of the day, 6 AM is "a bit early" and assures that one could go out at 7 AM and it would still be "early enough not to catch the central hot hours." So we would be getting up early, but without exaggerating.9. Live the landscapes and holidays

For its part, among the obvious benefits there is also the admiration of the beauty of the landscape, whether it is the everyday one or that which is visited as a tourist. For example, Mireia Delgado particularly highlights "the colours of the sunrise over Montserrat", pinkish hues that, combined with the particular stones, leave a totally picturesque landscape. Social media are also full of travellers who get up at 4 and even 2 to climb peaks in the Alps, the Pyrenees, Greece, Sicily, the United States or any Indonesian volcano or remote summit in order to see, at least once, the landscape from another perspective. Conversely, there are also many tourists who come to our coasts to see the sun rise over the Mediterranean. For example, the British Georgia explains all that the seascape component of the sea brings her: "I will never stop feeling grateful", and she considers these kinds of walks to be the best. Like her, dozens of travellers cannot help but be impressed by the Mediterranean landscape and its dawn reflections. It is enough to go out when there are still few people, to see how more cars and pedestrians gradually appear and to check how, in little more than an hour, that initial silence disappears. There is no need to set the alarm clock at half past five every day or, even, to become one of those people who explain that they have trained, meditated and read fifty pages before sunrise. It is enough to try it one summer morning (when, if not?). Go out when the city is still asleep and return when others are just starting their day. That day we will have everything done.

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It doesn't happen very often that dinner time depends on the movements of the sun and the moon. In fact, a great eclipse like the one that is about to happen in our country is not at all common: it is the first in more than a century. For this reason, on August 12, some tables in Catalonia will have more reasons than ever to look towards the sky instead of focusing only on the plate. Restaurants, wineries and hotels have prepared dinners, appetizers, tastings and cocktails conceived around the solar eclipse that will cross the Iberian Peninsula that afternoon. In fact, this combination has turned viewpoints, vineyards, terraces and open spaces into some of the most sought-after places to experience the phenomenon, and gastronomy has joined in with an offer ranging from a tomato bread appetizer and Empordà wine to tasting menus with a Michelin star.

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Everything has gone up a lot. It is a mantra that we keep repeating to ourselves with any purchase we make: food, petrol, clothes, and leisure. Like a damned magic wand, inflation has once again multiplied prices and endangered holidays in many Catalan homes, many of them paralyzed by these increases. Precisely because of this, an unprecedented move in the industry took place in the last weeks of spring, when hotels, travel agencies, and tour operators began to adjust rates in the main destinations due to the slowdown in bookings for the high season, with decreases in places like Mojácar, Mallorca, Tenerife, Menorca, and Gran Canaria. Now, on the eve of the month with the highest spending of the year, it is worth considering that not everything is exactly prohibitive: there are destinations that are careful enough not to make a killing with travelers, either for competitiveness or conviction. This year, according to Juan Ignacio Pulido, director of the Tourism Analysis and Innovation Laboratory, there is a moderation of prices by type of destination. "Inland destinations, medium-sized cities, well-connected rural areas, and some less internationalized coastal holiday destinations are containing prices better," he explains. According to Pulido, this is due to demand being more price-sensitive, greater competition among accommodations, and less occupancy pressure. Indeed, many entrepreneurs have understood that continuing to pass costs on to the final price "could slow down bookings, especially in national and family tourism," while in other cases the decrease simply occurs because "when occupancy does not accompany, the price adjusts." And here is a remarkable and significant fact, and that is that not all the market accepts automatic increases as in the years immediately after the pandemic. "We are facing a normalization after several years of very intense increases," he clarifies, given that the forecast this year is to receive more international tourists and more spending. Thus, to look for cheap destinations, one must look for places with some common traits: less saturation, a more diversified offer, and demand that depends less on high-spending international tourists. At the other extreme, destinations with limited supply, high occupancy, and a very consolidated brand continue to have the capacity to raise prices, as is the case with some island locations, major capitals, and premium coastal destinations. For his part, the expert in the tourism field and founding partner of ReiniziaT and ObservaTUR, Marcos Franco, points out that the underlying idea is that this summer is a year of readjustment regarding prices and destinations, in which spending and the desire to travel are maintained. "Financing for holidays is another of the items that has also increased in 2026," he assures.

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When the holidays are over and routine begins to set in, that bitter feeling of farewell often appears. But some have found a different way to extend the summer: looking up and being amazed by the birds crossing the sky. What once seemed like a hobby Reserved for ornithologists with notebooks and binoculars, it can be a leisure activity accessible to all audiences. And the last days of August and the beginning of September are ideal for delving into this world.

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The weather is nice, and going for a run early in the morning to take care of yourself is appealing. In summer, the streets, trails, and beaches fill with people who want to take advantage of the cool hours of the day to get active and enjoy the outdoors. Among the runners, hikers and cyclists, there is a group that has gone a step further. These are practitioners of plogging, people who combine exercise with waste collection, a practice that has found its best showcase on social media.

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A small balcony, spaces that fit four pots, and even the tightest corners can be converted into a vegetable garden. You don't have to be a farmer to harvest your own tomatoes and other vegetables full of vitamins and energy. Now that the warmer weather is fully upon us and the days are long, aromatic herbs and vegetables reach their peak on the balconies, terraces, and patios of many homes, where all kinds of plants are grown, even if only in small yields. A little bit of sun, and above all, a willingness to get dirty with the soil, is all it takes to harvest homemade organic vegetables.

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