Hello all,

I have recently realized that I will be in Madrid on March 11, 2006. Our vacation happened to fall in this time period because of the Spring Break schedule in The States. My boyfriend & I will be flying into Madrid on March 9 & I was then planning on flying to Barcelona on March 11 on Vueling airline (because tickets are dirt cheap - 10 Euro!). I have an apartment reserved in Barcelona that night. I really want to see the famous dance outside the church on that Sunday, the 12th & the apartment charges extra for arriving on a Sunday. This is why the travel on the 11th is the plan.

Do any of you anticipate any problems with this? Will businesses be closed on the 11th? I read that it is considered a national holiday... Does this mean museums, etc. will be closed?!? As you can see, my Madrid schedule only accounts for the 9, 10 & 11. I am very much looking forward to visiting Madrid & want to be able to visit as much as I can...

Thank you in advance for any information you may have.

Katrina

There is no national holiday on March 11, the only one in March in some regions of Spain being March 20, the Monday nearest to the day of San Jose. Easter is mid-April. Where did you hear March 11 might be a holiday? I know it's the anniversary of an atrocity in Madrid, but probably not something to celebrate, and as such it shouldn't interfere with your enjoyment of a dirt-cheap holiday in Spain.

Last year (2005) March 11th there was a 5 minute moment of silence at 12:00 noon throughout all of madrid. Even the metro trains stopped for 5 minutes . there was also a ceremony in Sol to comemorate the first anniversary of the train bombings in Madrid and they put up a plaque on the Ayuntamento building there. This year they are hoping to have a monument finished near Atocha for March 11th.
But it isn't a holiday and I wouldn't expect anything out of the ordinary to be closed that day. Enjoy your stay in Madrid!