Public Holidays in Spain

While living in Spain, it is important to take notice of the dates of Spain’s public holidays and other big dates. As you can imagine, public holidays are associated with off days. However, some businesses and public offices will have reduced hours. The Spanish government sets national holidays yearly, but on the other hand, regional bank holidays vary. On a bank holiday, people have breaks from work and school so they can spend time with family and friends. In Spain, bank holidays are also known as ‘Red Days’ because they were traditionally marked in red on their calendar.  

During the Spanish national holidays, you will expect busy periods. The busiest times tend to be when holidays fall on Tuesday or Thursday. In these cases, employees take a Puente (known as a bridge) holiday of four days. When the holidays connect four days, Spaniards call it dias festivos or vacaciones – a holiday in Spanish. When bank holidays fall on weekends, the regional government may replace them with alternate days, usually the following Monday. 

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It is a beautiful time to travel and experience authentic Spanish food during regional Spanish holidays and large Spanish festivals. Many of Spain’s festivals are world-famous, and they attract many tourists, meaning accommodation fills up quickly. That’s why it is best to book early if your trip falls on a national holiday.

Public Holidays in Spain 2023

Public holidays mean that Spandiars all across Spain celebrate a number of holidays. A total of 14 public holidays fall on the Spanish calendar each year, of which two depend on the local municipality. All employees are generally entitled to 30 calendar days of paid vacation per year, except for those covered by collective agreements or contracts. People usually take leaves in July, August or September, with August being the most popular.

Here are the dates of national public and bank holidays in Spain 2023:

  • Sunday 01 January – New Year’s Day
  • Friday 06 January – Epiphany 
  • Wednesday 01 March – Day of the Balearic Islands
  • Sunday 19 March – St Joseph’s Day 
  • Friday 07 April – Good Friday
  • Thursday 14 April – Maundy Thursday 
  • Monday 01 May – Labour Day 
  • Tuesday 15 August – Assumption of Mary
  • Thursday 12 October – National Day
  • Wednesday 01 November – All Saint’s Day 
  • Wednesday 06 December – Constitution Day 
  • Friday 08 December – Immaculate Conception 
  • Monday 25 December – Christmas Day
  • Saturday 26 December – Boxing Day 

Since January 1st 2023, falls on a Sunday, not all regions are declaring January 2nd as a holiday; so far, only Andalusia, Murcia, Aragón, Asturias and Castilla y León have done so. 

Taking one day of leave can make the December 2023 Puente (Spanish for “bridging” the days between public holidays and the weekend) into a five-day holiday since it has two public holidays on Wednesday and Friday. 

Regional Holidays in Spain 2023

The regional holidays in Spain differ from public ones as people celebrate them only in certain regions. In Spain, besides the regional holidays, there is another type of holidays and is named heritage holidays. Many of these regions and heritage holidays fall on Mondays and Fridays, making a perfect deal for longer weekends. Note that there are also festive holidays in individual provinces, cities, and towns, as well as islands, such as the Canary Islands, where each island has its day off.

Spain’s regional holidays in 2023 per region are:

  • Andalusia: Tuesday 28 February – Andalusia Day
  • Aragon: Monday 24 April – Aragona 
  • Asturias: Friday 08 September – Asturias Day
  • Balearics: Wednesday 01 March – Balearics Day
  • Canary Islands Tuesday 30 May – Canaries Day
  • Cantabria: Friday 28 July – Cantabria Day
  • Castilla-La Mancha: Wednesday 31 May – Castilla-La Mancha Day
  • Castilla y León: Tuesday 25 July – Saint James Day
  • Catalonia: Monday 11 September – Catalonia Day
  • Madrid: Monday 20 March – San José Day
  • Valencia region: Monday 9 October – Valencia Day
  • Extremadura: Tuesday 21 February – Carnival 
  • Galicia: Tuesday 25 July – Galician Writing Day
  • La Rioja: Friday 9 June – La Rioja Day
  • Murcia: Friday 9 June – Murcia Day
  • Navarre: Tuesday 25 July – Saint James Day
  • Basque Country: Tuesday 25 July – Saint James Day