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You are here: Home / Useful facts / Useful facts for travel to Spain

Useful facts for travel to Spain

By Tony Page Leave a Comment

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Useful facts to help you plan your visit to Spain

  • Festivals
  • Public Holidays
  • Visas
  • Health
  • Time
  • Electricity
  • Weights & Measures
  • Money, Banks etc.
  • Useful Telephone Numbers

Festivals

Spain is fiesta mad, there’s always some holiday or other taking place within striking distance of wherever you are, and the better known ones, like the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona and La Tomatina in Bunol (Valencia) are world-famous. It’s well worth checking out what’s on during the period you’re thinking of going.

EVENTS SEARCH CALENDAR (opens in new window)

Spanish Public Holidays – 2014

January 2nd, Ascension Day and Whit Monday are not public holidays in Spain. Except for Madrid, the local public holidays are not listed below. Every city, town and village has at least two or three local holidays!

When
What
Where
January 1stNew Year (Año Nuevo)Spain
January 6thEpiphany or Three Kings Day (día de los Reyes). Spain
February 28thDay of Andalusia (Dia de Andalucia)Andalusia
March 1stDay of Balearic IslandsBalearic Islands
March 19thSaint-Joseph (San José – Father’s Day)Aragón
Castilla  La Mancha
Castilla y León
Valencian Cty.
Extremadura
Galicia
Madrid
Murcia
Navarra
Basque Country
Melilla
April 17thMaundy Thursday (Jueves Santo)Spain, except Cantabria
Catalonia
Valencian Cty.
April 18thGood Friday (Viernes Santo)Spain
April 21stEaster Monday (Domingo de Resurrección)Catalonia
Valencian Cty.
Navarra
Basque Country
La Rioja
May 1stLabour Day (día del trabajo)Spain
May 2ndDay of the Communities (Fiesta de la Communidad):Aragon
Castilla y León
May 15thSan IsidroMadrid (city)
May 17thDay of the LettersGalicia
May 30thDay of the Canary Islands (Dia de Canarias)Canary Islands
May 31stDay of the communitiesCastilla   La Mancha
June 7thno official holiday; check in Barcelona and Seville
June 9thDay of the autonomous regionsMurcia
La Rioja
June 7thCorpus Christi: no official holiday; check according to your destination
June 24thSaint-John (San Juan)Catalonia
no official holiday; check according to your destination
June 29thno official holiday; check in many places: Burgos, Avila, Castellón, Segovia, Soria, Zamora…
July 25thSaint-James (Santiago Apostol)Castilla y Leon
Galicia
Navarra
Basque Country
July 28thDay of the InstitutionsCantabria
August 5thOur Lady of the SnowsLa Palma (Canary I.)
August 15thAssumption Day (Asunción)Andalusia
Asturias
Canary Islands
Cantabria
Madrid
Ceuta
Melilla
September 2ndDay of CeutaCeuta
September 8thDay of the CommunitiesAsturias
Estremadura
September 11thDiada NacionalCatalonia
September 15thDay of CantabriaCantabria
October 9thDay of ValenciaValencian Cty.
October 12thNational Day (día de la Hispanidad)Spain
November 1stAll Saints’ Day (Todos Los Santos)Spain
November 9thVirgen de La Almudena (Virgin of Almudena)Madrid (city)
December 3rdUnofficial holiday (check) inNavarra
December 6thConstitution Day (Dia de la Constitucion)Spain
December 8thImmaculate Conception Day (Immaculada Concepción)Spain
December 25thChristmas Day (Navidad)Spain
December 26thSaint-StephenCatalonia, Balearic I.
December 31stNew Year’s Eve

Visas:

Spain, along with Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal, forms part of the border-free travel zone subject to the Schengen Agreement. US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Israeli citizens are among those who may enter Spain as tourists without a visa and stay up to 90 days. EU passport holders can come and go as they please.

Health risks:

Sunburn in summer, insect bites.

Time:

GMT/UTC +1 (+2 in summer)

Current Spanish time

Madrid

Electricity:

220V, 50Hz, 2-pin (round) plug 2-pin plug (round)

Weights & measures:

Metric (same as France)

Metric Weights and Measures and their equivalents

Clothing and shoe sizes conversion: US, UK, Europe

Euro banknotes

Money:

The Euro (€)

  • As of January 1, 2002, the euro (€) replaced the national currency of 12 countries within the European Union, including Spain. You can exchange currency at any bank branch (hours are listed below). Automatic cash machines can be found in most commercial centres.
  • Bank Opening Hours Standard banking hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30-9:00 in the morning until 2:00-2:30 in the afternoon. Some banks also extend hours once a week and/or are open on Saturdays from 9:00-13:00.
    Note: In the summer months (June-August) most banks tend to shorten their opening hours. Don’t be late, either – Spanish banks are tough when it comes to closing time.
  • ATMs (cash machines)Most cash machines/ATMs (cajeros) in Spain operate on either the ServiRed or the 4B network (also known as Telebanco). Check which one your bank is affiliated to.
  • Currency exchangeCurrency exchange can be carried out at all bank branches, bureaux de change and major hotels, but banks give the best rates

Check out the current Euro exchange rate with your currency here (close the new window to return): TRAVELSIGNPOSTS CURRENCY CONVERTER

telephone

Useful telephone numbers :

To call out of Spain dial the exit code (00) followed by country code and number
To call into Spain dial entry code (34) followed by the Spanish number

  • General Emergency 112 (multilingual)
  • Police 091
  • Fire Brigade 080
  • Medical emergency 061
  • Operator (0180) 2001033
  • National Directory Enquiries 11822
  • National Directory Enquiries (in English) 1004
  • International Directory Enquiries 11825

Lost Credit Cards/Travelers’ Cheques

  • American Express American Express 915 720 303
  • Diners ClubDiner’s Club 915 474 000
  • EC Card EC and Bank Cards (069) 74 09 87
  • Euro/MastercardEuro/Mastercard 900 971 231
  • VisaVISA 900 991 124

Some other Spain pages:

Tour Routes in Spain

When to travel to Spain: weather and seasons

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in Spain online

Book your hotel in Spain online

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Filed Under: Useful facts Tagged With: electricity in spain, events, festivals, health, information, public holidays Spain, Spain banking hours, Spain money, spanish time, telephone numbers, travel to Spain, Useful facts, visas

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About Tony Page

Tony Page is a professional writer and photographer and runs Travelsignposts with his wife Helen.

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