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Barcelona has six public holidays until year-end: these are the best long weekends
Barcelona has six public holidays left before the end of 2026, not eight. The official calendar concentrates the best opportunities in September and December: there will be three three-day weekends for those who work Monday to Friday and two clear opportunities to get four days off by using a single day of annual leave.
The first arrives on Friday 11 September with the Diada Nacional de Catalunya. As it falls on a Friday, it can be linked directly to Saturday and Sunday. In addition to the institutional events and Diada celebrations, several cultural venues in Barcelona are preparing open days, including the Palau Güell, the Museu d'Història de Catalunya and the Museu d'Arqueologia.
Just thirteen days later, the only remaining local public holiday this year in Barcelona will arrive. La Mercè is celebrated on Thursday 24 September. Anyone who can take Friday 25 off can join together four consecutive days, from Thursday to Sunday, while the city will be immersed in its main festival, with concerts, popular culture and free activities spread across different districts.
The next break will come on Monday 12 October, Spain's National Day. In this case, there is no need to use any holiday entitlement to have a three-day weekend, from Saturday 10 to Monday 12.
After that, it will be necessary to wait until December. Tuesday 8, the Immaculate Conception, will be a public holiday in Catalonia and offers the second great opportunity to create a long weekend: by taking Monday 7 as a day off, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday can be joined together.
Christmas falls on a Friday this year. For usual Monday-to-Friday schedules, 25 December will allow another three-day weekend. Saturday 26, Sant Esteve, is also an official public holiday in Catalonia, although, as it already falls on a Saturday, it does not add an extra day for those who normally have that day off.
The official calendar therefore includes six remaining dates in Barcelona: Friday 11 September, Thursday 24 September, Monday 12 October, Tuesday 8 December, Friday 25 December and Saturday 26 December.
There are two dates that tend to cause confusion this year. 1 November, All Saints' Day, and 6 December, Constitution Day, both fall on a Sunday, but they do not appear as working public holidays in Catalonia's official calendar for 2026. They should therefore not be added to the list of days off in Barcelona.
The distribution leaves a simple strategy for anyone who still has holiday entitlement: reserving Friday 25 September after La Mercè and Monday 7 December before the Immaculate Conception makes it possible to turn just two days off into two four-day breaks. Without using holiday entitlement, the Diada, 12 October and Christmas already make three long weekends.