Hi all! I am planning to visit Madrid from March 22 to 27, 2005. This is Semana Santa (Holy Week) and so I am concerned that many museums and shops in Madrid will be closed the entire weekend. I read that when a Spanish holiday falls on a Thursday (Jueves Santo/Holy Thursday) that many businesses shut down until Monday. I assume everything will be shut down on Good Friday, as this is a national holiday for all of Spain, but will places re-open on Saturday in Madrid?

If you have any experience of visiting Madrid during Semana Santa please share! I would love to witness the processions of Semana Santa, however I do not know when I will return to Madrid, so I want to make the most of it and see and do all that I can. Also, how is the nightlife during this week? Is Semana Santa a very somber occasion or do people still go out to the discotecas?

Thanks! :p

Semana Santa in Madrid is lively, certainly not somber. Many of the museums, including the Prado, close on Good Friday, but most are open during the rest of the week except Mondays. The bars and restaurants do a big business as lots of tourists, including thousands of Spaniards, come to Madrid for the processions. The streets, particularly the area around the Puerta del Sol, are jammed during the evening until very late at night.

The most important and impressive procession is that of Jesús de Medinacelli (from the church of the same name behind the Hotel Palace). You should be able to get the time it starts and the route (which includes the Calle de Alcalá) in your hotel or from the official tourist office in Calle Jesús de Medinacelli off the Plaza de las Cortes.