Spain public holidays and festivals: dates and closures

Spain's holiday calendar has two layers. The national list applies everywhere. On top of that, each of the 17 regions sets its own days, and each town adds two local days, usually for its patron saint. That is why 2 May is a holiday in Madrid but a normal working day in Barcelona, and why Valencia closes for 19 March (San José) while other regions do not.

The national days are fixed or tied to Easter. Fixed: 1 January, 6 January (Epiphany), 1 May, 15 August, 12 October (National Day), 1 November, 6 December (Constitution Day), 8 December (Immaculate Conception) and 25 December. Easter moves: Good Friday is a national holiday, Maundy Thursday is a holiday in most regions but not Catalonia or Valencia. When a national day falls on a Sunday, regions may move the day off to the following Monday, so check the year you travel.

Three Kings' Night on 5 January is the family event of the Christmas season, with parades in every city and children getting presents on the 6th. Semana Santa, the week before Easter, is the one to plan around in Andalusia: Seville and Málaga run processions for days, hotels sell out and prices jump. Valencia's Fallas, 15–19 March, fills the city with giant paper sculptures that burn on the final night; it is loud, crowded and worth booking months ahead.

In summer, San Fermín in Pamplona (6–14 July) is the running of the bulls, with the whole city on a 24-hour schedule. Barcelona's La Mercè in late September is the city's biggest street party, with human towers and fire runs. La Tomatina in Buñol, near Valencia, is the last Wednesday of August and sells a limited number of tickets. Smaller but easier: Córdoba's patio festival in early May, Jerez's flamenco festival in late February and March, and the April fair in Seville, two weeks after Easter.

On a national holiday, banks, government offices, post offices and most small shops shut. Big-city department stores and some supermarkets open with reduced hours, and in tourist areas of Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and the coasts many restaurants and souvenir shops stay open. Museums are a mixed bag: some close, some open with free or reduced entry, so check the day before.

Transport runs a Sunday or holiday timetable. Metro and city buses are less frequent but still useful; long-distance trains and flights operate normally, though the busiest days are the start and end of a long weekend. Pharmacies work on a rota, with one or two open per neighbourhood and a list posted on the door of every closed one. Petrol stations on motorways stay open; village ones may not.

If your trip overlaps a big festival, book transport and hotels early. Seville during Semana Santa and Pamplona during San Fermín are the two hardest: rooms go 3–6 months ahead and prices can double. Valencia during Fallas is similar. Outside those weeks, Spanish holidays mostly mean a quieter museum day and a longer lunch, not a ruined trip.

August is its own case. Cities empty as residents head to the coast, and many family-run shops and restaurants close for two to four weeks, especially around 15 August. Madrid and Barcelona stay lively for visitors, but small towns can feel shut. If you are driving, expect heavy traffic out of cities on the Friday and Saturday before a long weekend, and back on the Sunday evening.

Two practical habits help. First, check both the national and the regional calendar for the cities you plan to visit, because a regional day can close things a national one does not. Second, keep one flexible day per week so a closure or a sold-out train does not cost you a highlight.

Shops in tourist areas often open on Sundays and holidays, which is not the case everywhere in Spain. Outside those zones, Sunday trading is limited to small convenience stores and bakeries in the morning. If you need groceries on a holiday, buy them the day before.

Restaurant hours shift on holidays: lunch can run later and dinner start later, and some kitchens close entirely for the afternoon. Reservations help on festival days. Tipping is not expected and is not tied to holidays; a euro or two or rounding up is normal.

For anything official, such as a visa appointment or a paperwork errand, avoid holiday weeks entirely. Offices close and queues the following day are longer. If you are staying longer or working remotely, check the local calendar for your region before scheduling anything that needs a counter.