How do public holidays and school holidays work?

Spain has up to 14 paid public holidays a year: up to 12 set by the state and your region, and 2 chosen by your town hall. So the calendar in Barcelona isn’t the same as in Madrid, Valencia or Málaga. School calendars differ by region too.

How the calendar is set

The state fixes the national holidays and publishes each year’s full list in the BOE (Boletín Oficial del Estado, the official gazette), compiled from what the 17 regions send. Regions can replace some national days with their own, such as Easter Monday or their regional day, and can move a holiday that falls on a Sunday to the Monday. Each town hall then adds 2 local holidays, published in the regional or provincial gazette. All are paid and you don’t have to make up the time. For pay if you work on one, check your contract and collective agreement (convenio), and see Your rights at work.

Public holidays 2026, by region

Local holidays in 2026 include 15 May (San Isidro) and 9 November (La Almudena) in the city of Madrid, and 25 May and 24 September (La Mercè) in Barcelona. Check your own town hall’s list.

Public holidays 2027

As of mid-September 2026, the BOE hadn’t yet published the full 2027 list (the 2026 one came out in October 2025), but the national dates and most regional calendars are known. In 2027, 1 May and 25 December fall on a Saturday and 15 August on a Sunday.

Check the BOE and your region’s gazette for the final 2027 list

Puentes: making a long weekend

A puente (bridge) is the working day between a holiday and the weekend, which many people take off. In 2027, taking Monday 11 October gives four days around 12 October, and taking Tuesday 7 December gives five days from Saturday 4 to Wednesday 8 December. Offices can be quiet and trains and hotels busy on these weekends, so book ahead.

School calendars 2026–2027

Schools also close on local holidays and a few extra days set by the region, the town or the school, such as a unified school holiday on 26 February in the Balearics, and 7 and 8 January for some stages in Madrid. Flights and holiday rentals cost much more in school holidays, so check the calendar before you book a trip to the UK. See schools.

Christmas and the Three Kings

The Christmas Lottery draw on 22 December is a national event, and the Three Kings (Reyes) on 6 January is a holiday everywhere, with parades in towns and cities on the evening of 5 January. Christmas Day is a holiday everywhere, and Catalonia and the Balearics also have 26 December, Sant Esteve.

Semana Santa (Easter)

Holy Week is the other big break. Good Friday is a holiday everywhere; most regions add Maundy Thursday, and Catalonia, the Valencian region and the Balearics add Easter Monday instead or as well. Processions are held in many towns, and Seville’s Holy Week is one of the best known. Roads and trains are busy. In 2027 Easter is early, and in Valencia it overlaps with the end of the Fallas.