Spanish & Andalucia Bank Holidays
Spain is a large country with 50 different Provinces grouped into 19 Autonomous Communities - each with its own Capital. So for example Andalucia is a Autonomous Community with 8 provinces, and Seville is the Capital of Andalucia.
The Costa del Sol and the areas of San Pedro, Marbella, Estepona are in Andalucia. Many areas have their own fiestas/holidays, so it is always worth checking out the specific town in Spain you are visiting.
The ferias are great local events with lots of amusements for adults and children so if you happen to be in town when one is on it's well worth a visit. They usually run for a few days and start around lunch time running on into the early hours of the morning
Also bear in mind the knock on efffect of local events. As an example, San Pedro has its own special local holiday which doesn't affect Marbella Town or Puerto Banus, but El Corte Ingles in Puerto Banus closes for the day because its main depot is in San Pedro.
If a holiday falls on a Thursday often the Friday will be taken as a holiday too - the Spanish call them "bridge" days. Generally shopping centres won't take the Friday off, but office workers will more than likely take it as holiday. It can also mean that all the shops, bars and restaurants get busy as people from Madrid come down to the coast for a long weekend.
Spain has on average six more public holidays a year than the UK. Below is a list of the National Spanish Holidays for 2011 and towards the bottom of the page are the separate local holidays for Malaga, Marbella, Estepona and Fuengirola.
Spanish National Holidays 2010
| 2011 | Holiday |
| January 1st | New Years Day / Ano Nuevo |
| January 6th | 3 Kings Day / Dia de los Tres Reyes This is really Spain's equivalent of Christmas Day with presents left by the Three Kings the night before. In most of the towns there are processions with sweets being thrown everywhere . . . take a plastic bag with you! |
| February 28th | Andalucia Day / Dia del Andalucia |
| 22nd & 24th April | Holy Week Santa Semana. A very religious week. Hundreds of people on the streets and on floats dressed in gowns and masks. A real spectacle and well worth seeing. |
| May 1st | Workers Day / Dia del Trabajo |
| August 15th | Virgins Assumption / Asuncion |
| October 12th | Spain's National Day / Dia de la Hispanidad |
| November 1st | All Saints Day / Todos los Santos |
| December 6th | Spanish Constitution Day /Dia de la Constitucion |
| December 8th | Immaculate Conception / Immaculada Concepcion |
| December 25th | Christmas Day / Navidad |
| FUENGIROLA LOCAL HOLIDAYS | |
|---|---|
| July 16th | Nuestra Sra Del Carmen |
| October 8th | San Sergio |
| ESTEPONA LOCAL HOLIDAYS | |
| May 15th | San Isidro Labrador |
| July 16th | Nuestra Senora del Carmen |
| MALAGA LOCAL HOLIDAYS | |
| August 19th | San Juan Eudes |
| September 8th | Natividad de Nuestra Senora |
| MARBELLA LOCAL HOLIDAYS | |
| June 13th | San Bernabe |
| October 19th | San Pedro de Alcantara |
Shopping Centres and things to do on the Costa Del Sol
Four alternatives to Plaza Mayor and all on the Costa Del Sol are La Canada and Marina Banus in Marbella, The Miramar centre in Fuengirola and the five storey Department store, El Corte Ingles.
If you are heading over to the Costa del Sol over Christmas and New Year and are a fan of the shops here then we have just added a new article about the sales in Spain.