Dates of Spain's Easter bank holidays and what it means for supermarket opening hours

EASTER in Spain features several national and regional public holidays, and that means shop closures or reduced opening hours.

Some businesses, especially in tourist areas, will still be open on Good Friday and Easter Day- a far cry from the era when there was a total shutdown.

A number of big chain supermarkets will remain closed or limit their hours during the Easter public holidays, especially Mercadona, while it will be pretty much normal trading for others.

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Mercadona’s stores will be closed everywhere on Thursday barring the Catalunya and Valencia regions.

Good Friday brings a total Mercadona shutdown while Monday’s schedule depends on whether a region has a holiday, and if that’s so, its stores will be closed.

Supermarket opening hours over Easter in Spain differ widely, so the best advice is to check up on your local store in advance or look up its website to learn more.

The Easter holiday period breaks down like this:-

Maundy Thursday(April 17) is not a national bank holiday but many regions do observe it as a red day.

That applies everywhere with the exception of Catalunya and the Valencian Community.

Good Friday(April 18) is a national bank holiday with reduced opening in tourist areas while April 19 operates as a normal Saturday.

Easter Day(April 19) is another national public holiday but shops will be open in designated tourist areas up to the early afternoon- certainly in the case of supermarkets.

Easter Monday(April 20) is a regional public holiday in Catalunya, the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community, Navarra, the Basque Country, Cantabria and La Rioja.