Spain’s public and regional holidays in 2023: How to make the most of them

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People in every region of Spain will enjoy 14 public holidays in 2023, 8 of which are national holidays that can’t be omitted or replaced from the calendar.

What’s more, 4 of these 8 fall on Monday or Friday, which give you the option of taking a three-day weekend without having to book out any leave from work.

Two others fall on a Tuesday and a Thursday, which means that by taking one day off from work you can have four days off in a row.

Spain’s public holidays in 2023 are:

  • Friday April 7th: Good Friday (Holy Friday)
  • Monday May 1st: May Day (Labor Day)
  • Tuesday August 15th: Assumption of Mary (Assumption of the Virgin)
  • Thursday October 12th: Spain’s National Day (National Day)
  • Wednesday November 1st:  All Saints Day (All Saints Day)
  • Wednesday December 6th: Constitution Day (Day of the constitution)
  • Friday December 8th: Immaculate Conception
  • Monday December 25th: Christmas Day (Christmas)

Spain’s official national holidays list is missing two key dates: Three Kings Day (which falls on Friday January 6th and is a holiday in all of Spain’s regions) and New Year’s Day.

Because January 1st 2023 falls on a Sunday, not all regions are making Monday January 2nd a holiday; so far only Andalusia, Murcia, Aragón, Asturias and Castilla Y León.

Everyone in Spain will also get at least 2 days off for Easter. Apart from Friday April 7th (which is a holiday across Spain), Maundy Thursday 6th will be a holiday in every region except Catalonia and the Valencia region, which instead have Monday April 10th off. In the Balearics, La Rioja, Navarre and the Basque Country, it’s a holiday on Thursday, Friday and Monday, which equates to five days in a row.

It’s worth noting as well that the December 2023 puente (how Spaniards refer to ‘bridging’ the days between official public holidays and the weekend to maximise time off) has two public holidays on a Wednesday and a Friday and can therefore be turned into a five-day holiday by just taking one day of leave.

That means that overall in 2023, pretty much everybody in Spain will have at least 7 bridges to enjoyand they will only have to take 3 days off in total from their annual leave to enjoy all of them.

So apart from Spain’s public holidays and the differences in New Years’ and Easter holidays that we’ve covered above, what other regional holidays can residents in Spain look forward to?

Well, each region has at least its own specific holiday to celebrate its region and heritage, many of which fall on Mondays and Fridays, allowing for even more long weekends.

Keep in mind that there are also festive (holidays) in individual provinces, cities and towns and even islands, such as in the Canary Islands, where each island enjoys its own day off.

Spain’s regional holidays in 2023 are:

Andalusia: Tuesday February 28th (Andalusia Day)

Aragon: Monday April 24th (Aragon Day)

Asturias: Friday September 8th (Asturias Day)

Balearics: Wednesday March 1st (Balearics Day)

Canary Islands: Tuesday May 30th (Canaries Day)

Cantabria: Friday July 28th (Cantabria Day)

Castilla-La Mancha: Wednesday May 31st (Castilla-La Mancha Day), Thursday June 8th (Corpus Christi)

Castilla y León: Tuesday July 25th (Saint James Day)

Catalonia: Monday September 11th (Catalonia Day), Tuesday December 26h (San Esteban)

Madrid: Monday March 20th (San José Day), Tuesday May 2nd (Madrid Day)

Valencia region: October 9th (Valencia Day)

Extremadura: Tuesday February 21st (Carnival Tuesday), Friday September 8th (Extremadura Day)

Galicia: Wednesday July 25th (Galician Writing Day), Tuesday July 25th (Galicia Day)

La Rioja: Friday June 9th (La Rioja Day)

Murcia: Friday June 9th (Murcia Day)

Navarre: Tuesday July 25th (Saint James Day)

Basque Country: Tuesday July 25th (Saint James Day)

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