The 10 best cities to have churros in Spain

1. Barcelona

The best city for churros lovers is the city of Gaudí, Barcelona. Its 62 churrerías are highly rated, with an average of 707 reviews and an average score of 4.4 out of 5 stars. They’re the perfect option for a short break during your city trip to Barcelona! The churros here come in lots of different varieties. Of course, you can have the traditional churros that you dip in chocolate, but some places offer churros stuffed with Nutella, cream or any other filling, and even salty ones with Spanish jamón or cheese and honey!

Our recommendations:

• Granja M. Viader 4.3 stars): one of the oldest churrerías of the city, serving fresh churros since 1870 – Carrer d’en Xuclà 4
• Granja Dulcinea (4.3 stars): not just because of the delicious churros, but because of the other handmade pastries too – Carrer de Petritxol 2
• Xurreria Trebol (4.4 stars): because they know that cravings can hit at any time, and are open 24 hours from Thursday to Saturday – Carrer de Còrsega 341

2. Madrid

Madrid, Spain’s capital, takes second place in the ranking. It’s not surprising seeing that there are 140 churrerías in the city, more than any other city in Spain. Churros come in many shapes and sizes, but the traditional churros of Madrid are quite thin, typically shaped like a loop and have a star-shaped edge for that extra crunch. This kind of churros is called churros madrileños in other regions of Spain, because they are so typical of the city. Pair your churros with a delicious chocolate caliente, and you are ready to take on the day.

Our recommendations:

• Chocolatería San Ginés (4.4 stars): the most famous churrería of Madrid, with a secret and delicious hot chocolate recipe – Pasadizo de San Ginés 5
• Chocolatería 1902 (4.2 stars): for their different types of hot chocolate, and for being one of the few places serving gluten-free churros – Calle de San Martín 2
• Churreria Manosanta (4.2 stars): serving not only delicious churros but also artisan ice cream, and a churro ice cream sandwich to die for – Calle de Hermosilla, 97

3. Malaga

Our next churro destination is in the south: Malaga on the Costa del Sol takes third place thanks to its excellent churros. The typical churros in Southern Spain are quite different from the north: they are chewier and are fried in large spiral shapes, which are then cut up. Try them on their own with a dusting of sugar, or order one of the chocolate-covered or filled varieties. With a churrería on almost every corner of the city centre, they’re the perfect opportunity to take a break from all the sightseeing with a delicious hot chocolate and piping hot churros. 

Our recommendations:

• Churreria La Malagueña (4.4 stars): one of the best places to try authentic tejeringos, the local variety of churros – Calle Sebastián Souvirón 6
• Casa Aranda (4.4 stars): the most famous churrería of the city, with a secret churro recipe that hasn’t changed since it was founded in 1932 – Calle Herrería del Rey 2
• Café Madrid (4.1 stars): because it’s one of Malaga’s oldest churrerías (founded in 1892) and one of the few that serve fresh churros madrileños – Calle Calderería 1

4. Granada

If you want to enjoy some delicious, freshly made churros with amazing views, you need to head to Granada. A serving of churros with hot chocolate is exactly what you need to kickstart your day before heading up to the Alhambra. The streets of Granada are dotted with tiny, traditional cafés where the churros are always fresh and hot. So take your time wandering the cobbled streets of the city, and whenever the cravings hit, head to the nearest churrería for a well-deserved break.

Our recommendations:

• Gran Café Bib Rambla (4.1 stars): by far the most famous churrería in Granada, with the best hot chocolate recipe in the city – Plaza de Bib-Rambla 3
• Menta & Canela (4.2 stars): because of their massive portions of churros and their delicious other desserts – Avenida Federico García Lorca 12
• Churrería Jorge (4.7 stars): for making the best churros to go in all of Granada and having excellent customer service – Avenida de la Constitución 12

5. Valencia

Ask any local, and they will tell you that Valencia is one of the best cities to have churros and chocolate. Spain’s most famous chocolate maker, Valor, has its roots in the region, and one of their specialities is the chocolate a la taza that accompanies churros. So of course the churros makers of Valencia take extra care when preparing their hot chocolate. From the futuristic Parque de Ciencias to the sunny beach promenade, you can enjoy a mouth-watering hot chocolate together with a hearty portion of churros during your holiday in Valencia. 

Our recommendations:

• Chocolatería Valor (4.7 stars): to try the authentic Valor hot chocolate, with different types and flavours including a sugar-free version – Carrer d’En Sanç 2
• Orxateria Santa Catalina (4.3 stars): for their traditional tiled interior, and their incredible churros made with a recipe that hasn’t changed since 1909 – Plaça de Santa Caterina 6
• Haaku’s (4.1 stars): because of their churros that are baked, not fried, and their many toppings that will leave you wanting for more – Carrer de Ribera 10

The top 10 is completed by the following cities:
6. San Sebastián
7. La Coruña
8. Zaragoza
9. Palma de Mallorca
10. Gijón

Conquering the world one churro at a time

While churros are a typical Spanish dish, they are also very popular abroad. But where do the most churros lovers actually live? We analysed the Google searches of 37 countries in Europe to find out where people search the most for churros related keywords, and here are the results:

1. Germany (72,600 searches per month)
2. United Kingdom (50,400 searches per month)
3. France (39,700 searches per month)
4. Tie: Italy and Poland (38,500 searches per month)
5. Sweden (32,500 searches per month)
6. Netherlands (24,100 searches per month)
7. Norway (17,200 searches per month)
8. Hungary (16,500 searches per month)
9. Switzerland (16,400 searches per month)
10. Austria (14,000 searches per month)

Germany is the country where people search more for churro related words, which is not surprising since churros are a great treat to warm up with during those long and dark German winters. But it has to be said that the British also love a good churro, with the UK coming in on second place with 50,400 searches per month on average. The top 5 is completed by Spain’s neighbour, France, in third place, and Italy and Poland tied for fourth place.

Make your own churros at home

With so many people outside of Spain discovering and loving churros, no wonder that there’s an increasing demand for fresh, delicious churros. While there are some places you can find them, mostly at stalls on markets and fairs, when the cravings hit your best option is always to make some churros yourself! This authentic Spanish recipe is foolproof and yields a portion of mouth-watering churros.

Ingredients:

• 260 ml water
• 250 gr strong flour, i.e. bread flour
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2.5 gr bicarbonate of soda
• 3.5 gr dry yeast
• Vegetable oil for deep-frying
• 200 ml milk
• 2 tbsp hot chocolate or cocoa powder

Preparation:

For the churros

1. Sieve the flour and add the baking powder, salt, bicarbonate of soda and dry yeast.
2. Bring the water to a boil and remove from the heat. Put aside a couple of tablespoons of water.
3. Add the rest of the water to a heat-resistant bowl. Add the flour mixture to water and mix it in thoroughly. Add the water that you put aside if necessary. The dough should be elastic and shouldn’t stick to the bowl. 
4. Allow the dough to cool until it is lukewarm and then put in a piping bag and leave it to cool until it is lukewarm.
5. In a pot or a deep pan, heat plenty of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the dough. You can make them in the traditional Andalusian form – going in circles from the centre expanding outwards – or you can make short, straight churros.
6. Fry the churros until they are golden at both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil before transferring to kitchen roll to drain further.

For the hot chocolate

1. Heat the milk in a saucepan. When it is lukewarm, add the chocolate powder and stir well.

Serve the churros with the hot chocolate and enjoy!

Methodology

For the ranking of the cities, we extracted the Google Maps rating and number of reviews for all churrerías and cafés serving churros in the 57 most important cities in Spain. Any results with less than 50 reviews were removed to avoid a skewed ranking. With the cleaned data, we then ranked each city from highest to lowest according to the number of results, the average rating per city, and the average amount of reviews per city. The average rating and reviews were double-weighted, because they would be more important for visitors to determine where to have churros.

For the ranking of churros-loving countries, we extracted the average monthly Google searches for 37 European countries for the keywords “churros” and “churros recipe” in their respective language. The countries were then ranked from highest to lowest according to the total number of Google searches for both keywords.

The full dataset and source list are available upon request.