Spain's Schedule: Planning Around the Siesta

Restaurant kitchens in much of Spain don't open for dinner until 8 or 9pm, and lunch — often the largest meal — runs from 2 to 4pm; showing up at what feels like a normal European dinner hour can mean an empty restaurant or a closed kitchen. Beyond the schedule, Spain is less one country than several: Catalonia, Andalusia, Galicia and the Basque Country each have their own language, food and architecture, and a Madrid-only trip misses most of what makes each region distinct.

Getting around#

The AVE high-speed rail network connects major cities quickly — Madrid to Barcelona runs under three hours city-centre to city-centre, and Madrid to Seville is a similar length. Regional Renfe trains and buses fill in the smaller towns AVE doesn't reach. Within cities, walking and metro cover almost everything; a car is only worth renting for rural Andalusia, Galicia, or the smaller Basque coastal towns between San Sebastián and Bilbao.

When to go#

Spring (April-June) and autumn (September-October) avoid the interior's summer heat, which regularly passes 35°C in Madrid and Seville in July and August — Andalusia in particular gets brutal. The coasts and islands (Balearic, Canary) stay more temperate and are the exception if a summer trip is fixed. August is also when many Spaniards take their own holiday, so some family-run restaurants in cities close for two to three weeks even as coastal towns fill up.

What it costs#

A mid-range trip — 3-star hotels, a proper sit-down lunch, tapas for dinner, regular museum entries — runs $80-130 per person per day, before flights. Madrid and Barcelona sit toward the top; Seville, Valencia and inland towns cost noticeably less. A menu del día (fixed-price lunch menu) at €12-18 is consistently the best value meal of the day almost anywhere in the country.

Before you go#

• Tipping isn't expected — rounding up or leaving small change is normal, even at sit-down restaurants.
• Many shops in smaller towns still close for a few hours in the early afternoon; supermarkets and chains generally don't.
• If a summer trip is fixed, base it on the coast or islands rather than Madrid or Seville — the heat difference is significant, not cosmetic.
• Flamenco in Seville and Granada is real regional culture, not just a tourist show — but venues vary widely in quality, so check reviews rather than picking on location alone.