If you’re already thinking about your next getaway or simply when you’ll be able to turn off your alarm clock, you’re in luck. The 2026 holiday calendar is official, and after approval by the Department of Business and Labor and ratification by the Barcelona City Council, we can now say that the coming year will be full of opportunities for rest and relaxation.
In total, Barcelona will enjoy 14 public holidays: the 12 set by the Generalitat for the whole of Catalonia and the two local holidays that the city reserves for its most traditional events. Best of all, the layout of the days on the calendar seems to have been designed by someone who hates Mondays as much as we do, because long weekends and strategic bank holidays are going to be the norm.
All the holidays that await us in 2026
So you don’t miss a single date, here is the complete map of days off in the city. The year kicks off with a bang on Thursday, January 1, for New Year’s Day, followed shortly after by Tuesday, January 6, Three Kings Day. In spring, Holy Week brings us Good Friday (April 3) and Easter Monday (April 6).
Moving forward in the calendar , May 1 (Labor Day) falls on a Friday, while Barcelona’s first local holiday, Second Easter (Pascua Granada), will be on Monday, May 25. Sant Joan will bring us its traditional festival on Wednesday, June 24, and, in the middle of summer, the Assumption (August 15) will fall on a Saturday.
The final stretch of the year is packed: Catalonia’s National Day on Friday, September 11, followed by the second local holiday, La Mercè, on Thursday, September 24. October brings us Monday, October 12, for Spain’s National Day, and in December we close with the Immaculate Conception (Tuesday, December 8), Christmas (Friday, December 25), and Sant Esteve (Saturday, December 26).
The complete list of public holidays in Catalonia in 2026 is as follows:
- Thursday, January 1: New Year’s Day
- Tuesday, January 6: Three Kings Day
- Friday, April 3: Good Friday
- Monday, April 6: Easter Monday
- Friday, May 1: Labor Day
- Wednesday, June 24: Saint John’s Day
- Saturday, August 15: Assumption Day
- Friday, September 11: National Day of Catalonia
- Monday, October 12: Columbus Day
- Tuesday, December 8: Immaculate Conception
- Friday, December 25: Christmas
- Saturday, December 26: Saint Stephen’s Day
How to play your cards to maximize bridges
Long weekends without requesting days off
These are the holidays that fall on a Friday or Monday and allow you to take a long weekend without requesting vacation days.
- Friday, April 3 (Good Friday) + Monday, April 6 (Easter Monday): Extra-long four-day weekend.
- Friday, May 1 (Labor Day): Three days off guaranteed.
- Friday, September 11 (Catalonia National Day): Another perfect long weekend to say goodbye to summer.
- Monday, October 12 (Columbus Day): Three-day weekend in the middle of fall.
- Friday, December 25 (Christmas Day): One last festive break before the end of the year.
Long weekends if you ask for one or two days off
If you have the flexibility to request a day off, you can turn these holidays into a four-day weekend:
- Tuesday, January 6 (Three Kings Day): Take Monday, January 5 off and start the year with a luxurious long weekend.
- Tuesday, December 8 (Immaculate Conception): Ask for Monday, December 7 off, link it to the weekend, and get four days off before Christmas.
- Wednesday, June 24 (Sant Joan): There are two strategies here: take Monday, June 22, and Tuesday, June 23, off, or Thursday, June 25, and Friday, June 26. Either option gives you a five-day weekend to enjoy the festivities as they deserve.