Living in Spain - Shopping

Shop Opening Hours

Before going shopping in Spain, you must know the opening hours, which vary depending on the area and its customs. The situation is complex since each Autonomous Community has the power to set times, and some extend the number of working Sundays.

Shop opening hours are set by law although, in practice, if you wish to go shopping all large towns have several chains of department stores that stay open for most of the day and which offer a wide range of goods. These normally open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00. Current commercial law limits the number of working Sundays per year for the large shopping centres.

Small businesses open from Monday to Saturday, from 09:30 until around 13.30, although this depends on the business activity in each area.
Shops re-open in the afternoon at around 16:30 or 17:00 until 20:00 or 20:30, although these opening hours are more flexible in smaller towns. 

The afternoon is the busiest time for businesses as a large proportion of the active population work 'intensive hours', that is, from early morning to early afternoon. So, most people use the afternoon to do their shopping until almost nine o'clock at night when most businesses close until the next day.

Produce and Paying

You can find very good quality items in Spain, some of which are handmade and very reasonably priced. The best items are textiles, leather goods (bags, briefcases, suitcases, clothing, etc.), shoes, ceramics, glassware, clothing and all kinds of craftwork.

You can find both Spanish and imported goods of all kinds in the large cities, as well as typical goods from other Spanish regions.

Tips are not obligatory in Spain, although it is customary to pay between 5% and 8%, not exceeding EUR 3 in establishments such as bars, restaurants, cafes or taxis. Payments are always much more widespread in credit card transactions.

In Spain, goods, activities and services put on the market for consumers or users will not be dangerous to your health or safety, except those goods which are usually or legally permitted under normal or foreseeable conditions of use.

Generally speaking, consumers or users should be adequately informed of any risks likely to arise from use of goods and services, bearing in mind their nature and intended end users. The Autonomous Communities shall be in charge of ensuring compliance with the rules on marketing safe products, and the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs where the goods pose serious and imminent risks to consumers' health and safety, as the only appropriate way of dealing with such a situation is by adopting measures at national level.

Working Hours

The usual time for breakfast is from 08:00 to 10:00 in the morning. Lunch in restaurants is from 13:00 to 15:30. Dinner is served from 20:30 until 23:00.

Many establishments offer continuous service throughout the day, a practice this is common to cafes and bars, in many of which it is possible to have tapas, combination dishes, sandwiches and bar food, and cinemas also have a flexible working day, starting between 16:30 and 17:00 in a continuous session which starts the last screening at about 22:00, and in fact in the big cities there are also cinemas with late night screenings.

Theatres offer a single session starting at around 20:00. Banks are usually open from 08:30 to 14:00 from Monday to Friday (some work on Saturday mornings or some afternoons during the week) and post offices open from 08:30 to 14:30 from Monday to Friday and from 09:30 to 13:00 on Saturdays, chemists open from 09v30 to 13:30 and from 17:00 to 20:00 from Monday to Friday. 

On Saturdays they are open from 09:30 to 13:30. In each city you can find duty chemists that work 24 hours a day, every day, and private companies usually work from 09:00 to 18:00 or 19:00 from Monday to Friday, with a two-hour lunch break. There are also intense working days from 08.00 to 14:30 or 15:00.

Further Information

Nights in Spain have a special significance, especially from Thursday to Sunday. Pubs, bars and discos stay open until 03:00 or 04:00 and there are many places in the big cities that stay open until sunrise.

Text last edited on:06/2005

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2006
Reproduction is authorised.