GERMAN supermarket chain Aldi has announced a major expansion plan for Spain in 2024, with its distribution centre in Sagunto (Valencia province) set to open next month and a another one on the cards for the north.
Preparing for bank holiday season: What's open, when and where
07/12/2020
WITH tomorrow (Tuesday, December 8) being a national public holiday, expect everywhere except petrol stations and the designated 24-hour pharmacy in your town to be closed – although many bars and restaurants continue to trade on bank holidays, just as they do on Sundays, which is otherwise a non-working day in Spain.
Early December sometimes brings a long 'weekend' for workers, depending upon when the dates fall: December 6 is 'Constitution Day', marking the anniversary of the signing of Spain's Magna Carta which is considered to be when full democracy was restored, human rights enshrined in law and the lid put on any possible future risk of any other dictatorship, meaning the 36-year hell under General Franco could never legally happen again.
December 8 is a public holiday to mark the 'Immaculate Conception', and is recognised in several countries with an historic Catholic tradition, such as Spain, France, Malta and Ireland, whether or not it brings a total shutdown to the country.
When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is automatically written off, although Spain has a law in place that allows regions to move certain bank holidays to the Monday – provided they have not exceeded their limit of 14 'extra' days off a year.
Some bank holidays are considered 'non-transferable', meaning they can only be taken on the day they fall, and include Christmas Day, New Year's Day, the 'Three Kings' – the Epiphany, or January 6 – and Good Friday, although in the case of Easter, some regions take Maundy Thursday as a holiday and others take Easter Monday, but never both.
For Christmas, unlike in the UK where, if either Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday – as was the case with 1999 and 2009, when they all did – the immediately-following working days are taken as holiday instead, Spain does not 'substitute' these if they land on a Sunday anyway; they are simply 'lost'.
Also, Boxing Day is not a public holiday in Spain, meaning any non-Spaniard from a country which does observe December 26 as a bank holiday will have to take it out of their annual leave and book it in advance if they want to continue with 'Christmas as usual'.
'Constitution Day' is 'transferable' in regions which have not already used up their 14-day-per-year allowance – this year, it was 'written off' in the Comunidad Valenciana, Cantabria, Galicia, Catalunya, the Basque Country and Castilla-La Mancha, but moved to today (Monday, December 7) everywhere else.
The 'Immaculate Conception' is not transferable, so has to be observed and cannot be substituted.
What opens over public holidays
In parts of the country designated 'tourism zones', a figure affecting individual towns rather than whole provinces or regions, shops and other customer-facing businesses are allowed to open on practically any day and whatever hours they please – but many towns 'awarded' this designation have actually appealed against it, claiming it would give large national chains an advantage over smaller traders who did not have the staff to open 365 days a year.
Otherwise, only 'essential' businesses are allowed to open on Sundays and 'non-transferable' bank holidays; and the definition of 'essential' differs considerably to that seen during lockdown earlier this year.
For example, bars, restaurants and other entertainment venues like concert halls, cinemas, bowling alleys, theme parks and so on are allowed to open Sundays and public holidays, but tobacconists are not, other than in the mornings for the local press if they sell it – a decision very few of them make, as these are typically family-run establishments.
The same applies to Chinese bazaars, those handy little cut-price sell-everything stores where you can get everything from picture frames to coat hangers to lightbulbs; technically, they're permitted to open, and you may find the odd one trading – particularly a large branch – but the majority will be shut.
Petrol stations open during their normal hours, so if your local supermarket is closed and you realise you've run out of milk or can't wait until the next day to satiate a chocolate craving, you can still shop in these, and service stations are also permitted to sell cigarettes from vending machines (paid for by card or cash at the counter) up to 22.00 any day of the week, and even alcohol, but only in the daytime.
Most towns or networks of towns have at least one pharmacy at all times open 24 hours a day, taking it in turns, and this does not change for public holidays; for all other healthcare, A&E departments in hospitals and local walk-in clinics are open for emergencies, but GP appointments, consultations and scheduled, rather than immediately-urgent, operations do not take place.
Supermarket hours: Be warned, they're limited on bank holidays
Supermarkets, given that they sell food, are considered 'essential' and an exception to bank holiday shutdowns, but in practice, most of them will be closed.
A regional law passed in the Comunidad Valenciana in 2011 decreed that supermarkets in general could not be shut for more than two consecutive days – an emergency new ruling needed when Easter weekend clashed with the regional Fallas festival, which meant, potentially, four to five days out of six in one week would see grocery stores closed – and, although this is not the case in all regions, the availability of supermarkets open normal hours on public holidays tends to be much greater in big cities and major metropolitan areas than in small towns or rural parts.
Probably Spain's most widespread and most-used store, Mercadona, has a company policy of never opening Sundays or bank holidays, although it makes exceptions when this would mean more than two days' closure in a row.
In regions where today was taken as a bank holiday instead of Sunday, Mercadona stores were open from 09.00 to 15.00 instead of its standard 09.00 to 21.30, and all day in those where today was a normal working day, but will not be open anywhere at all tomorrow.
Mercadona stores will close two hours early on Christmas Eve, and otherwise will be open the usual Monday-to-Saturday other than Christmas Day, New Year's Day and the Three Kings, although it often closes two to three hours early on New Year's Eve.
Carrefour normally opens Monday to Saturday, 08.30 to 22.00 – up to midnight in summer in coastal areas, and some stores start trading at 06.00, depending upon area – and is usually shut on Sundays and bank holidays, except in big cities.
Some branches are expected to be open tomorrow, depending upon area – check before setting off.
Even if a main Carrefour store is shut, you may find your local Carrefour Express or Carrefour Market is still trading.
Lidl is usually open from 09.00 to 21.30, or 22.00 in summer in coastal areas, and in major cities, often opens from 10.00 to 15.00 on Sundays or public holidays – but not all.
As an example, most Lidl stores will be trading normal hours tomorrow in the Greater Madrid region, but out in the provinces, will be closed – this includes all of the Basque Country and Cantabria, and anywhere outside big cities in the Comunidad Valenciana.
Día stores typically trade from either 08.00 or 09.00 to 21.30 or 22.00, depending upon size of municipality, and in major cities, usually opens Sundays from 10.00 to 14.30 or 16.00, where it sometimes opens on public holidays; it is open across the Greater Madrid region tomorrow, but is unlikely to be trading in smaller towns.
Mas y Mas opens typically from 09.00 to 21.30, Monday to Saturday, but not on Sundays or public holidays, and will be closed tomorrow.
Aldi's hours vary from 08.00 to 09.30 for opening through to 21.00 to 22.00 for closing – mostly 21.00 except in major metropolitan areas – and rarely opens Sundays; most branches are expected to be closed tomorrow, although those which do open may only do so in the mornings.
Consum usually opens from 09.00 to 21.00 or 21.30, Monday to Saturday, and occasionally from 10.00 to 14.00 on regional or local bank holidays, but the majority are expected to be closed tomorrow.
Charter supermarkets, open generally from 09.00 to 21.00, are showing as being open tomorrow, although consumers should check online or by phone before setting off.
Other than in densely-packed touristy areas and big cities, Spar stores, which open from 09.00 to 21.30, Monday to Saturday, are likely to be closed.
Small, independent supermarkets, including some bakeries and delicatessens, will be open during normal hours – typically until 21.30 – as they do every Sunday.
If you live in a cosmopolitan area where you don't stand out as being the only non-Spaniard in residence, one excellent emergency go-to is the local 'Muslim' grocery – these prolific, very-reasonably-priced and eclectic shops tend to be owned and run largely by Moroccan nationals and, in smaller number, Pakistani residents, and are usually open seven days a week, often until late at night; in fact, their hours are only reduced during the month of Ramadan, when they tend to close at about 19.00 or just before sundown, whichever is earlier.
Even in small towns in regions with a varied international mix of expats from every continent, you'll probably have at least one nearby, and as well as staples such as milk, bread, tinned food, chocolate bars and soft drinks, they often sell fresh fruit and vegetables, normally locally-harvested. Following the pandemic, nearly all of them now take card payments for any amount.
Ramadan is often a good time to pop in and browse, since their stock takes on a 'festive' air with delectable, honey-drenched cakes and pastries, and fresh and candied dates.
Failing that, and if your town does not have a local, independent store – a British supermarket or one of those wonderful Muslim emporium shops – you may simply have to rely on your nearest petrol station.
Although few and far between, a small handful of service stations have a limited pet-food section as an urgent measure if you haven't managed to stock up in time.
Note, though, that other than mainstream supermarkets, British stores or Moroccan- and Pakistani-run shops, anywhere that opens on a Sunday or bank holiday will normally hike their prices; after all, they have to pay their staff overtime to be able to trade over non-standard hours.
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WITH tomorrow (Tuesday, December 8) being a national public holiday, expect everywhere except petrol stations and the designated 24-hour pharmacy in your town to be closed – although many bars and restaurants continue to trade on bank holidays, just as they do on Sundays, which is otherwise a non-working day in Spain.
Early December sometimes brings a long 'weekend' for workers, depending upon when the dates fall: December 6 is 'Constitution Day', marking the anniversary of the signing of Spain's Magna Carta which is considered to be when full democracy was restored, human rights enshrined in law and the lid put on any possible future risk of any other dictatorship, meaning the 36-year hell under General Franco could never legally happen again.
December 8 is a public holiday to mark the 'Immaculate Conception', and is recognised in several countries with an historic Catholic tradition, such as Spain, France, Malta and Ireland, whether or not it brings a total shutdown to the country.
When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is automatically written off, although Spain has a law in place that allows regions to move certain bank holidays to the Monday – provided they have not exceeded their limit of 14 'extra' days off a year.
Some bank holidays are considered 'non-transferable', meaning they can only be taken on the day they fall, and include Christmas Day, New Year's Day, the 'Three Kings' – the Epiphany, or January 6 – and Good Friday, although in the case of Easter, some regions take Maundy Thursday as a holiday and others take Easter Monday, but never both.
For Christmas, unlike in the UK where, if either Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday – as was the case with 1999 and 2009, when they all did – the immediately-following working days are taken as holiday instead, Spain does not 'substitute' these if they land on a Sunday anyway; they are simply 'lost'.
Also, Boxing Day is not a public holiday in Spain, meaning any non-Spaniard from a country which does observe December 26 as a bank holiday will have to take it out of their annual leave and book it in advance if they want to continue with 'Christmas as usual'.
'Constitution Day' is 'transferable' in regions which have not already used up their 14-day-per-year allowance – this year, it was 'written off' in the Comunidad Valenciana, Cantabria, Galicia, Catalunya, the Basque Country and Castilla-La Mancha, but moved to today (Monday, December 7) everywhere else.
The 'Immaculate Conception' is not transferable, so has to be observed and cannot be substituted.
What opens over public holidays
In parts of the country designated 'tourism zones', a figure affecting individual towns rather than whole provinces or regions, shops and other customer-facing businesses are allowed to open on practically any day and whatever hours they please – but many towns 'awarded' this designation have actually appealed against it, claiming it would give large national chains an advantage over smaller traders who did not have the staff to open 365 days a year.
Otherwise, only 'essential' businesses are allowed to open on Sundays and 'non-transferable' bank holidays; and the definition of 'essential' differs considerably to that seen during lockdown earlier this year.
For example, bars, restaurants and other entertainment venues like concert halls, cinemas, bowling alleys, theme parks and so on are allowed to open Sundays and public holidays, but tobacconists are not, other than in the mornings for the local press if they sell it – a decision very few of them make, as these are typically family-run establishments.
The same applies to Chinese bazaars, those handy little cut-price sell-everything stores where you can get everything from picture frames to coat hangers to lightbulbs; technically, they're permitted to open, and you may find the odd one trading – particularly a large branch – but the majority will be shut.
Petrol stations open during their normal hours, so if your local supermarket is closed and you realise you've run out of milk or can't wait until the next day to satiate a chocolate craving, you can still shop in these, and service stations are also permitted to sell cigarettes from vending machines (paid for by card or cash at the counter) up to 22.00 any day of the week, and even alcohol, but only in the daytime.
Most towns or networks of towns have at least one pharmacy at all times open 24 hours a day, taking it in turns, and this does not change for public holidays; for all other healthcare, A&E departments in hospitals and local walk-in clinics are open for emergencies, but GP appointments, consultations and scheduled, rather than immediately-urgent, operations do not take place.
Supermarket hours: Be warned, they're limited on bank holidays
Supermarkets, given that they sell food, are considered 'essential' and an exception to bank holiday shutdowns, but in practice, most of them will be closed.
A regional law passed in the Comunidad Valenciana in 2011 decreed that supermarkets in general could not be shut for more than two consecutive days – an emergency new ruling needed when Easter weekend clashed with the regional Fallas festival, which meant, potentially, four to five days out of six in one week would see grocery stores closed – and, although this is not the case in all regions, the availability of supermarkets open normal hours on public holidays tends to be much greater in big cities and major metropolitan areas than in small towns or rural parts.
Probably Spain's most widespread and most-used store, Mercadona, has a company policy of never opening Sundays or bank holidays, although it makes exceptions when this would mean more than two days' closure in a row.
In regions where today was taken as a bank holiday instead of Sunday, Mercadona stores were open from 09.00 to 15.00 instead of its standard 09.00 to 21.30, and all day in those where today was a normal working day, but will not be open anywhere at all tomorrow.
Mercadona stores will close two hours early on Christmas Eve, and otherwise will be open the usual Monday-to-Saturday other than Christmas Day, New Year's Day and the Three Kings, although it often closes two to three hours early on New Year's Eve.
Carrefour normally opens Monday to Saturday, 08.30 to 22.00 – up to midnight in summer in coastal areas, and some stores start trading at 06.00, depending upon area – and is usually shut on Sundays and bank holidays, except in big cities.
Some branches are expected to be open tomorrow, depending upon area – check before setting off.
Even if a main Carrefour store is shut, you may find your local Carrefour Express or Carrefour Market is still trading.
Lidl is usually open from 09.00 to 21.30, or 22.00 in summer in coastal areas, and in major cities, often opens from 10.00 to 15.00 on Sundays or public holidays – but not all.
As an example, most Lidl stores will be trading normal hours tomorrow in the Greater Madrid region, but out in the provinces, will be closed – this includes all of the Basque Country and Cantabria, and anywhere outside big cities in the Comunidad Valenciana.
Día stores typically trade from either 08.00 or 09.00 to 21.30 or 22.00, depending upon size of municipality, and in major cities, usually opens Sundays from 10.00 to 14.30 or 16.00, where it sometimes opens on public holidays; it is open across the Greater Madrid region tomorrow, but is unlikely to be trading in smaller towns.
Mas y Mas opens typically from 09.00 to 21.30, Monday to Saturday, but not on Sundays or public holidays, and will be closed tomorrow.
Aldi's hours vary from 08.00 to 09.30 for opening through to 21.00 to 22.00 for closing – mostly 21.00 except in major metropolitan areas – and rarely opens Sundays; most branches are expected to be closed tomorrow, although those which do open may only do so in the mornings.
Consum usually opens from 09.00 to 21.00 or 21.30, Monday to Saturday, and occasionally from 10.00 to 14.00 on regional or local bank holidays, but the majority are expected to be closed tomorrow.
Charter supermarkets, open generally from 09.00 to 21.00, are showing as being open tomorrow, although consumers should check online or by phone before setting off.
Other than in densely-packed touristy areas and big cities, Spar stores, which open from 09.00 to 21.30, Monday to Saturday, are likely to be closed.
Small, independent supermarkets, including some bakeries and delicatessens, will be open during normal hours – typically until 21.30 – as they do every Sunday.
If you live in a cosmopolitan area where you don't stand out as being the only non-Spaniard in residence, one excellent emergency go-to is the local 'Muslim' grocery – these prolific, very-reasonably-priced and eclectic shops tend to be owned and run largely by Moroccan nationals and, in smaller number, Pakistani residents, and are usually open seven days a week, often until late at night; in fact, their hours are only reduced during the month of Ramadan, when they tend to close at about 19.00 or just before sundown, whichever is earlier.
Even in small towns in regions with a varied international mix of expats from every continent, you'll probably have at least one nearby, and as well as staples such as milk, bread, tinned food, chocolate bars and soft drinks, they often sell fresh fruit and vegetables, normally locally-harvested. Following the pandemic, nearly all of them now take card payments for any amount.
Ramadan is often a good time to pop in and browse, since their stock takes on a 'festive' air with delectable, honey-drenched cakes and pastries, and fresh and candied dates.
Failing that, and if your town does not have a local, independent store – a British supermarket or one of those wonderful Muslim emporium shops – you may simply have to rely on your nearest petrol station.
Although few and far between, a small handful of service stations have a limited pet-food section as an urgent measure if you haven't managed to stock up in time.
Note, though, that other than mainstream supermarkets, British stores or Moroccan- and Pakistani-run shops, anywhere that opens on a Sunday or bank holiday will normally hike their prices; after all, they have to pay their staff overtime to be able to trade over non-standard hours.
Related Topics
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