Public holidays in Spain: national, regional and local calendars

A Spanish "red day" is a public holiday shown in red on many calendars, but there is no single list which describes every municipality. National holidays combine with autonomous-community choices and up to two local holidays. The exact weekday and any substitution can change each year.

Three layers of calendar

The national employment authority publishes the annual list of national and regional labour holidays in the BOE. Autonomous communities confirm their choices. Municipal holidays are then published through the relevant regional or provincial official gazette.

What a holiday may change

Public administration, banks, schools, clinics, transport and shops do not all follow one opening rule. Tourism areas may trade while local services close. A holiday on the calendar is therefore a prompt to check, not proof that every business will be shut.

A public holiday is also not automatically a holiday for every worker. Rotas, collective agreements and replacement rest are employment matters. Visitors need the service timetable, while workers need the official labour calendar and their applicable agreement.

Build a reliable personal calendar

1. Check the BOE annual resolution for the correct year and autonomous community.
2. Add the municipality's two published local dates.
3. Confirm school or workplace calendars separately.
4. Recheck appointments and transport with the provider.

Do not copy last year's list forward. Holidays falling on a Sunday may be substituted differently and local fiestas can move. For employment rights, use the applicable workplace calendar or obtain professional advice.

Sources and review

This guide was reviewed in September 2026 using the BOE resolution publishing Spain's 2026 labour holidays and its explanation of national, autonomous-community and local layers.