Opening times and public holidays. When are they?

What time zone is Spain in?

The time zone used in Spain is UTC +1, except in the Canary Islands where UTC +0 (one hour less) is used. Here you can check the current time in Spain.

During the year, the clocks change twice, for summer and winter. The first change is the last weekend in March when the clocks go forward an hour. The second change is the last weekend in October when the clocks go back an hour.

What are normal opening hours in Spain?

To give a general idea:

You can get usually get breakfast at any time between 07:00 and 12:00.

Between 12:00 and 14:00, it is very typical to go for a drink or have some tapas with friends. Basically, people get together to have a drink before eating.

Restaurants tend to serve lunch between 13:00 and 16:00 and dinner between 20:00 and 23:30. In big cities and during the summer it is normal for dinner to be served until 23.30.

The normal check-in time for hotels tends to start at 14:00 and check-out times end at 12:00.

The norm is for shops to open continuously from 10:00 to 21:00. At times, they close between 14:00 and 17:00, especially in summer.

Theatre productions, concerts and shows tend to start between 20:00 and 21:00. In summer, performance start times can be later, even as late as 22:00 or 23:00.

Public buses in big cities tend to run between 06:00 and 23:00, and the Metro tends to run later. A night service usually runs between 23:30 and 06:00.

Sunday is the normal day for shops and businesses to close.

What are Spain’s national public holidays?

Certain dates are designated public holidays in Spain, and these may be national, regional or local.

The following are the national public holidays for 2024:

1 January, New Year
29 March, Good Friday
1 May, Workers' Day
15 August, Assumption
12 October, Spain's National Day
1 November, All Saints' Day
6 December, Day of the Spanish Constitution
25 December, Christmas Day