Skip to main content
CatalunyaInfo

Public services

Shops open on Sundays and holidays in Catalonia: 2026 and 2027 dates

The Sundays and holidays when shops may open in Catalonia, from the official gazette: what is left of 2026, the 2027 calendar and the shops that may always open.

Published on Updated on 5 min readVerified on
Blue and white Christmas lights over a shopping street in Barcelona at night
Christmas lights on a Barcelona shopping street.Jordiferrer · CC BY-SA 4.0
On this page (8)
  1. Which Sundays are shops open in 2026
  2. Towns with different dates
  3. Which shops may open on any Sunday or holiday
  4. The 2027 calendar
  5. The rules
  6. In Barcelona
  7. What about the sales?
  8. Keep reading

Sunday 1 November 2026 is not a shop opening day in Barcelona or almost anywhere else in Catalonia: only l'Ametlla del Vallès and Mollet del Vallès chose it. The Sundays and holidays left this year are 29 November and 6, 8, 13, 20 and 27 December. Shops in Catalonia may open on ten Sundays or public holidays a year: eight set by the Generalitat and two chosen by each town council. Small food shops, bakeries and convenience stores, among others, are not bound by that limit.

Data on this page last verified: 24 October 2026.

Opening on these days is optional: each shop decides. The two municipal days vary from town to town.

Which Sundays are shops open in 2026

Sundays and holidays when shops may open, November and December 2026
DateWhy
Sunday 1 November (All Saints)Not an opening day, except in l'Ametlla del Vallès and Mollet del Vallès
Sunday 29 NovemberGeneral calendar
Sunday 6 DecemberGeneral calendar
Tuesday 8 DecemberMunicipal day (Barcelona and default)
Sunday 13 DecemberGeneral calendar
Sunday 20 DecemberGeneral calendar
Sunday 27 DecemberGeneral calendar

Applies in Barcelona and every municipality without its own list (Resolució EMT/4342/2025). The 2026 calendar ends on 27 December.

Read next

Christmas markets in Catalonia · Barcelona practical guide

Towns with different dates

A Barcelona street with tree-shaped Christmas lights and people walking
Christmas lights in Barcelona.Jordiferrer · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Terrassa does not open on 6 December; it opened on 28 June instead.
  • Manresa does not open on 8 December (it opened on 17 May).
  • Olot does not open on 13 December and added 7 September and 18 October.
  • Badalona does not open on 8 December (it opened on 10 May).
  • Sant Cugat swapped 11 January for 5 July; in December it opens on the same days as Barcelona.
  • L'Ametlla del Vallès and Mollet del Vallès also open on 1 November.
  • Girona, Tarragona, Lleida, Reus, Sabadell, Granollers and Figueres follow the general list. For any other town, check the DOGC resolution.

Which shops may open on any Sunday or holiday

Catalonia's retail law (article 37) takes a list of businesses outside the limits on hours, Sundays and closing days. That is why you will find some shops open even on 1 November or Christmas Day. Among them:

  • Cake shops, bakeries, churro shops, ready meals, newsagents, florists and convenience stores.
  • Pharmacies, fuel sales, and shops reachable only from inside stations, airports and ports.
  • Shops inside museums, monuments, theme parks and hotels, and those in designated tourist municipalities, for the approved period.

The 2027 calendar

The eight general days for 2027 are official. Each town's two extra days are not out yet: councils had to report them before 1 November 2026, and last year the list appeared in the DOGC on 27 November. A council that chooses none gets 10 January and 5 December.

Two changes in the 2027 order: councils must set an opening day when two or more public holidays fall in a row, and companies running everyday food shops may swap up to three dates of the general calendar. Neither councils nor those companies may move 1 November or 6 December.

Sundays and holidays when shops may open in 2027
DateWhy
Sunday 3 JanuaryGeneral calendar
Sunday 10 JanuaryDefault municipal day
Sunday 27 JuneGeneral calendar
Monday 1 NovemberGeneral calendar
Sunday 28 NovemberGeneral calendar
Sunday 5 DecemberDefault municipal day
Monday 6 DecemberGeneral calendar
Wednesday 8 DecemberGeneral calendar
Sunday 12 DecemberGeneral calendar
Sunday 19 DecemberGeneral calendar

Ordre EMT/89/2026 (DOGC 28 May 2026). The default municipal days apply where the council has chosen none.

The rules

  • Always closed: 1 and 6 January, Easter Sunday and Monday, 1 May, 24 June, 11 September, and 25 and 26 December (except the businesses listed above).
  • Hours: from October to May no shop on the general timetable may open between 21:00 and 6:00; from June to September, between 22:00 and 7:00. Within that frame each shop sets its own hours.
  • Posted hours: shops must display their opening hours where the public can see them, even when closed.

For the days off work, see the Catalonia public holidays calendar and the local holidays in each town.

In Barcelona

In 2026 Barcelona uses the same ten days as the general list (4 and 11 January, 15 August, 12 October, 29 November and 6, 8, 13, 20 and 27 December), and has not yet published its two days for 2027.

On top of that, in the tourist zone (ZGAT), shops may open on Sundays and holidays from 15 May to 15 September, 12:00 to 20:00. The zone covers every neighbourhood of Ciutat Vella and the Eixample, and parts of Sants-Montjuïc, Les Corts, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Gràcia, Horta-Guinardó and Sant Martí (Poblenou, Vila Olímpica and Diagonal Mar). The exception does not apply from 16 September to 14 May: in November and December the tourist zone follows the same days as the rest of the city.

What about the sales?

There is no compulsory date: each shop decides whether to hold sales and must announce them as such, with the period they cover. The Generalitat's retail advisory council proposes recommended dates every year. The reference price must be the lowest of the previous thirty days, according to the Catalan Consumer Agency.

If you are out Christmas shopping, see also Catalonia's Christmas markets and their dates.

Are shops open on 1 November 2026 in Barcelona?
Mostly not: Sunday 1 November is not a shop opening day in Barcelona or most of Catalonia. Only l'Ametlla del Vallès and Mollet del Vallès chose it. Businesses outside the general timetable, such as bakeries, convenience stores and pharmacies, may open.
Are shops open on Sundays in Barcelona in December 2026?
Yes, on Sundays 6, 13, 20 and 27 December, and on Tuesday 8 December, in Barcelona and most towns. A few towns, such as Terrassa, Manresa, Olot or Badalona, change one of them.
Are shops open on Christmas Day or 26 December in Catalonia?
Shops on the general timetable are not: 25 and 26 December are closing days, as are 1 and 6 January. Businesses outside the general timetable (bakeries, convenience stores, pharmacies...) may open.
Which holidays can shops open in 2027?
The general days are 3 January, 27 June, 1 and 28 November, and 6, 8, 12 and 19 December. Each town adds two; if it chooses none, 10 January and 5 December.
When do the January sales start?
There is no fixed date: each shop decides and must state when its sale starts and ends. The Generalitat only publishes recommended dates.

Keep reading

Sources

This page cites official and primary sources. If you spot an error, let us know.

  1. Ordre EMT/77/2025, calendari d'obertura comercial en diumenges i festius per al 2026 — DOGC
  2. Resolució EMT/4342/2025, dies festius d'obertura comercial dels municipis per al 2026 — DOGC
  3. Ordre EMT/89/2026, calendari d'obertura comercial en diumenges i festius per al 2027 — DOGC
  4. Llei 18/2017, de comerç, serveis i fires (text consolidat, articles 36 i 37) — BOE
  5. Horaris comercials — Ajuntament de Barcelona
  6. Horaris comercials 2026 — Ajuntament de Barcelona
  7. Rebaixes — Agència Catalana del Consum

Was this page useful?

Related content