New Year’s Eve transportation and shopping schedules in Barcelona and Madrid

If you plan to travel around the city on New Year’s Eve or put off your shopping until the last minute, you may be in for some unpleasant surprises. To avoid spoiling the festive mood, check in advance the schedules of public transportation in Madrid and Barcelona, as well as major supermarket chains.

Madrid

With the onset of the Christmas vacations in the Spanish capital has a special schedule of public transport. In particular, on January 1, the movement of subway trains will begin at 7:00. It was also decided to increase the number of trains on lines 1, 2 and 3 by 40% until January 6, so that passengers spent less time waiting. At the same time, for security reasons, Sol station will be closed from 18:00 to 21:00 on December 27 and 28, as well as January 3 and 4. On December 30 and 31 it will be closed from 18:00 until the end of the subway. 

EMT bus schedules will also change. On New Year’s Eve, the last trips will depart between 21:30 and 21:45 depending on the lines. On Jan. 1, bus service will begin from 7:15 to 8:45. Line 180, which connects Legazpi and El Pozo station, stopped running from December 23 to January 7. Night buses («Búhos») will operate from 22:30 on December 31 to 7:00 on January 1.  

Barcelona

The Barcelona Metro will operate on the following schedule during the holidays:

• December 31 — all night;
• January 1 — until midnight;
• January 5 — until 2:00;
• January 6 — until midnight.

Buses on December 31, January 1, 5 and 6 run on a normal schedule. 

Work schedule of major supermarkets in Spain on December 31 and January 1

On New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year will change the opening hours of major Spanish supermarkets:

• Mercadona: December 31 — from 9:00 to 15:00, January 1 and 6 — day off;
• Lidl, Carrefour, DIA, Aldi: December 31 — from 10:00 to 15:00, January 1 and 6 — off;
• Alcampo: on December 31—  from 8:30:00 to 29:00 most stores will be open, January 1 and 6 is a day off, but not everywhere.

It is recommended to check the opening hours of specific stores on the websites of the chains, as there may be changes in their schedules.

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Photo from spintegrales.com