Christmas in Madrid

I would assume nothing is open except maybe the restaurants associated with hotels. We have spent Christmas in both Germany and Spain -- Seville. In Seville everything started shutting down about mid afternoon. By evening it was all closed. Same for Christmas day. In Germany the beer halls were open on Christmas day and packed by locals. The few restaurants open in hotels were packed. Two days earlier we were advised by a tour guide to buy food for those days. Our hotel did provide breakfast so our evening meal and Christmas day was all picnics. This was about ten years ago so it may not be completely accurate.

Mostly everything will be closed, especially on Christmas Eve, on Christmas day it is typical for Spanish families to have a traditional big lunch around 3 pm so there may be a number of fancier restaurants open.

Hi Eric, We are spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Sevilla. Regarding Madrid, my understanding is that hotel restaurants are open for holiday meals.

hotel restaurants are open for holiday meals

Not all of them though and best to make reservations for those that are as every tourists and their mum is going to be there on Christmas Eve when everything else is closed ;-)

Thanks, all. Just trying to get a sense of what time everything is going to close on the 24th and whether there will be celebrations in Madrid on the 25th, or will everything just be closed.

I would assume it is closed unless you have other diirect information. We were surprised at how dead it was.

San Gines Chocolateria is a Madrid tradition, and it is open every day of the year!

And, of course, if they are open, others are open. Here is the link: https://chocolateriasangines.com/

Most restaurants/shops will be shutting down in the afternoon, or some in the morning even on Christmas Eve (24). Christmas Eve is a very familiar time for us, spent in one's house with the family. Even in big cities, it is almost impossible to find Spanish restaurants open on Christmas Eve. You can try ethnic cuisines, for example a Chinese restaurant or a Turkish restaurant. You will have a higher probability of finding those kinds of restaurants open on the 24th. Christmas Day (25) most things are still closed except for some fancy restaurants, who cater to locals for Christmas day lunch.

In Spain the main holiday celebrations are actually on the Dia de los Reyes Magos (three kings day) on January 6th. Know that on the night of Jan 5th most cities in Spain have a big parade of the Three Kings (Cabalgata De Los Reyes Magos), it will be a great festive experience in our local culture. Also, be sure not to miss our Christmas markets in Spain! Our Christmas market tradition is a little know part of our culture (It's not just the Germans lol). Since we mainly celebrate the Three Kings Day (Jan 6), you will find most of our Christmas Markets are still up into early Jan.