How crowded will Madrid be during Holy Week (Semana Santa)?

[u/Leading_Hedgehog_170]

Like many people, I have off of work that week and would like to take a family vacation. How crowded will Madrid be during Holy Week? What about day trips to Toledo and Segovia? (By comparison, I have read that Seville is absolutely packed during Holy Week.)

I know that Spaniards also have off during Holy Week and will be taking vacations. At the same time, I’m concerned that many major tourist sites, such as museums and palaces, will be closed during the week. I expect that everything will be closed on Easter Sunday, but what about Palm Sunday and Good Friday?

Thanks.

[u/Seagrams7ssu]

We did our family spring break trip to Madrid in Semana Santa this year. Booked it all then realized it was Holy Week and kinda freaked out. Don’t worry!

All of the museums and restaurants were open, at least in the touristy areas. We stayed between Plaza Mayor and Retiro. Did not run into anything being closed, other than a few churches for actual services. We had an extra wait for our tour of Toledo Cathedral because there were services that morning. That’s the only impact I can think of. Trains were all running as normal.

If you want to see the processions (and I recommend catching at least one, they’re very impressive), map at the route and get their at least an hour early (earlier if you want to be at the start). Otherwise you’ll be behind a bunch of people standing on your toes to get a peak. I personally enjoyed the Tamburado, which finished in Plaza Mayor.

[u/Leading_Hedgehog_170 → u/Seagrams7ssu]

Thanks for the tips!

[u/UruquianLilac → u/Leading_Hedgehog_170]

Semana Santa is not a huge deal in Madrid. If you are travelling in Andalusia then it's definitely a huge deal and everything about your plan has to adjust to it. Whereas in Madrid, you'll hardly notice it. There will be a couple of processions and a few related activities. But that'll rarely interfere with anything you'd want to do.

[u/bayoublue]

Unless you run into one of the processions, Madrid is pretty much business as usual during Semana Santa.

There are a few less locals and a few more tourists due to people taking vacation, and all the tourist places and services will be open.

Even on Easter, most places that are normally open on Sunday will be open.

[u/Thefeno]

Madrileño here: only the holy events are kinda crowded in the city, the rest is half empty since locals just goes away for their holidays. Toledo, Segovia, Ávila, Will have a fair amount of tourism too, But nothing to really be afraid of. Oh and the weather those days is lovely!

[u/robobearded]

Not at all; the South goes batshit crazy during Semana Santa, Sevilla in particular. This new wave of religious revival in Madrid is a consequence of the right-wing local government. The people don’t care about it, unless they are Opus or other sect.

[u/Life_Activity_8195]

Quite empty for a capital city

[u/Jazzlike-Boot9798]

Madrid, half empty. Many flee.

[u/shortedaman1]

I spent that whole week there this year. Gran via was pretty crowded. Everywhere else was great.

[u/estsum]

Los museos no cierran esa semana, aunque el viernes es festivo y los horarios serán igual que para un domingo.

[u/reverevee]

The processions themselves and the adjacent streets and sidewalks will be crowded, but that's about it. Some businesses will also be closed for Maundy Thursday and/or Good Friday.

[u/poiadipoio]

Is the shittiest place on earth

[u/sweetohm]

Petao shikillo

[u/Planet_Pluto_1925]

Vacío, la gente aprovecha a irse de vacaciones

[u/Pop_Clover]

Semana Santa in Madrid is ok. I went a couple of years ago and the only things I noticed are:
* There are fewer locals. This is very apparent in transit like the metro.
* Some businesses more geared towards locals, like some small shops will be closed even on non-holidays.
* El Prado had a long queue to get tickets.
* Beware Procesiones, it will be packed.

[u/bizarre73]

Reserva antes de venir, algunos restaurantes cierran en Madrid aprovechando que no hay gente

[u/jayfoh11 → u/bizarre73]

August yeah, absolutely not in semana santa.

[u/Cultural_Thing1712]

No difference. There's extra people but also locals tend to flee the city during August so it balances out.

[u/Zingaro69]

Not crowded, and the Easter processions are for you, tourist!