Public Holidays in Spain 2026

Public holidays in Spain in 2026 are determined through a combination of nationwide labour holidays, autonomous-community holidays and local municipal holidays. For a nationwide calendar, the VisaBoards schedule below contains the 2026 dates that apply across all of Spain. Other holidays vary by autonomous community or municipality and should be checked separately.

Next Public Holiday in Spain

Date	Day	Holiday	Status
October 12, 2026	Monday	National Day of Spain	Confirmed

Date	Day	Holiday	Status
January 1, 2026	Thursday	New Year's Day	Confirmed
January 6, 2026	Tuesday	Epiphany of the Lord	Confirmed
April 3, 2026	Friday	Good Friday	Confirmed
May 1, 2026	Friday	Labour Day	Confirmed
August 15, 2026	Saturday	Assumption of the Virgin	Confirmed
October 12, 2026	Monday	National Day of Spain	Confirmed
December 8, 2026	Tuesday	Immaculate Conception	Confirmed
December 25, 2026	Friday	Nativity of the Lord	Confirmed

How Public Holidays Work in Spain

Spain does not operate with one identical fourteen-day holiday calendar for every part of the country. The national legal framework establishes nationwide labour holidays while autonomous communities can select or substitute certain holidays within the annual limit. Municipalities also have local holidays.

Spain’s Workers’ Statute provides that labour holidays are paid and non-recoverable and may not normally exceed fourteen days per year, of which two are local holidays. This means that a person’s complete holiday calendar depends not only on Spain’s nationwide holidays but also on the autonomous community and municipality where they work.

Nationwide and Regional Holidays in Spain

The official 2026 calendar published by Spain’s Directorate-General for Labour distinguishes between national holidays that autonomous communities cannot replace, national holidays for which substitution is permitted, and holidays belonging to individual autonomous communities.

For 2026, seven dates in the nationwide VisaBoards dataset are classified by the official calendar as non-substitutable national holidays. Epiphany of the Lord on 6 January is a national holiday that can in principle be substituted, but every autonomous community and both autonomous cities retained it in 2026.

Why Holy Thursday Is Not in the Nationwide Table

Holy Thursday falls on 2 April 2026. It appears in the official labour calendar for most of Spain, but not for Catalonia or the Valencian Community. Because it is not observed throughout the entire country, it should not be treated as a nationwide public holiday in the VisaBoards database.

The same principle applies to holidays such as Saint Joseph’s Day, Easter Monday, Saint James the Apostle and individual community days. They may be official labour holidays in particular parts of Spain without being nationwide holidays.

What Happens When a National Holiday Falls on Sunday?

Spanish labour law provides a mechanism for moving the corresponding rest day when a national holiday falls on Sunday. Autonomous communities also have powers within the holiday framework to replace certain Monday rest days with traditional holidays of their own.

This distinction is important in 2026 because All Saints’ Day on 1 November and Spanish Constitution Day on 6 December both fall on Sunday. The official 2026 labour calendar therefore shows replacement holidays on Monday 2 November and Monday 7 December only in the autonomous communities that retained those replacement days.

Because neither Monday replacement applies throughout Spain, neither date belongs in a nationwide-only VisaBoards holiday schedule.

Regional and Local Public Holidays in Spain

Autonomous communities have their own official labour calendars in addition to the holidays that apply nationally. These regional calendars can include community festivals, religious holidays and substituted national holidays.

Municipalities may also have up to two traditional local labour holidays during the year. These local dates are published through the appropriate autonomous-community or provincial official gazette. A complete calendar for Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia or another municipality can therefore contain dates that do not appear in the nationwide Spain schedule.

Travellers, employers and workers who need a complete local calendar should check both their autonomous-community calendar and their municipality’s official holiday publication.

Are Public Holidays Paid in Spain?

Yes. Under Article 37.2 of Spain’s Workers’ Statute, labour holidays are generally classified as paid and non-recoverable. The same provision establishes a normal annual maximum of fourteen labour holidays, including two local holidays.

This legal framework is why regional and local holidays should not simply be added to a nationwide list. They form part of the calendar applicable to a specific place rather than creating additional nationwide holidays for every worker in Spain.

Long Weekends in Spain in 2026

Several nationwide holidays create straightforward three-day weekends in 2026 for people who normally work Monday to Friday and have Saturday and Sunday off.

Good Friday: Friday, 3 April 2026.
Labour Day: Friday, 1 May 2026.
National Day of Spain: Monday, 12 October 2026.
Nativity of the Lord: Friday, 25 December 2026.

Other holidays fall on Tuesdays or Thursdays and may encourage workers to create a longer break by using annual leave. Such a bridge day, commonly called a puente in Spain, is not automatically an additional public holiday unless it is officially included in the relevant regional or local calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many nationwide public holiday dates are common throughout Spain in 2026?

The nationwide VisaBoards dataset contains eight confirmed 2026 labour-holiday dates that are common to all 17 autonomous communities and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Regional and local holidays are excluded from this nationwide total.

What is the next public holiday in Spain?

The next holiday changes throughout the year. Use the Next Public Holiday section near the top of this page for the current holiday name, date and countdown.

Is Epiphany a nationwide public holiday in Spain in 2026?

Yes. Epiphany of the Lord on 6 January is a national holiday for which substitution is legally possible, but no autonomous community exercised that substitution for 2026. It is therefore observed throughout Spain in the official 2026 labour calendar.

Is Holy Thursday a nationwide public holiday in Spain?

No. Holy Thursday is an official labour holiday in most Spanish autonomous communities in 2026, but it is not included for Catalonia or the Valencian Community. It is therefore regional rather than nationwide for database purposes.

Why are All Saints’ Day and Constitution Day not in the nationwide 2026 table?

All Saints’ Day on 1 November and Constitution Day on 6 December both fall on Sunday in 2026. Their Monday replacement holidays are observed only in selected autonomous communities, so there is no single replacement date applying throughout Spain.

Are public holidays paid in Spain?

Yes. Spanish labour law describes labour holidays as paid and non-recoverable. The normal annual maximum is fourteen holidays, including two local holidays.

Can Spain’s autonomous communities have additional holidays?

Yes. Autonomous communities can select traditional regional holidays and can substitute certain national holidays within the legal annual framework. This is why holiday calendars differ between regions such as Catalonia, Madrid, Galicia and the Valencian Community.

How many local public holidays can a municipality have in Spain?

Up to two local labour holidays can be designated each year for traditions specific to a municipality. These dates are published through the relevant autonomous-community or provincial official gazette.

Who publishes Spain’s official labour holiday calendar?

The Directorate-General for Labour publishes the annual national and autonomous-community labour holiday calendar in Spain’s Boletín Oficial del Estado after receiving the calendars submitted by the autonomous communities and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

Official Sources for Public Holidays in Spain

Boletín Oficial del Estado, Resolution of 17 October 2025: the official publication of Spain’s labour holidays for 2026, including national, autonomous-community and substitute holidays.
Workers’ Statute, Article 37.2: establishes the general rules on paid, non-recoverable labour holidays, the annual limit and local holidays.
Royal Decree 2001/1983, Articles 45 and 46: establishes the classification of national labour holidays, substitution rules and local holiday framework.

Next Public Holiday in Spain