EXPLAINED: What changes in Spain in November 2025

50th anniversary of Franco's death

November 20th 2025 marks 50 years since Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died after almost four decades in power.

Spain's ruling Socialists have been commemorating the anniversary throughout the year with a series of cultural and educational events under the slogan "Spain in Freedom", with more than 100 activities such as conferences, exhibitions, debates, films, and interactive events across the country, many of them taking place in November.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also announced that the government will publish in November a list of symbols of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship to be removed from public spaces.

All Saints' Day

November 1st is typically public holiday in Spain and is known as Día de Todos los Santos. This year it falls on a Saturday, however and it has not be moved to the following Monday in any regions in Spain. While it won't make much difference to kids and office workers, major shops and supermarkets will be closed on this day, so it's worth stocking up on food for the weekend on the Friday.

The most traditional activity to do on All Saints' Day is to go to the local cemetery. Many Spanish families gather together where their loved ones are buried and clean their graves or leave flowers.

READ ALSO: How Spain celebrates All Saints' Day

Long weekend in Madrid

Madrid has confirmed that Monday November 10th will be a public holiday in order to celebrate the Virgen de Almudena, the city’s patron saint. As this year it officially falls on a Sunday, it has moved to the Monday instead. This means that November 8th to 10th will be a long weekend in the city and if you take Friday the 7th off too, you could enjoy a four-day break.

Mallorca and Málaga rolling out EES

Mallorca’s Son Sant Joan Airport in Palma has confirmed that it will officially roll out the EU’s new Entry/Exit system (EES) from Nov 19th.

It means that non-EU tourists arriving on the island will have to get fingerprints and photos taken upon arrival. Residents in Spain on the other hand will not have to register for EES, but you must have your TIE card, as well as your passport, which proves that you live here.

READ MORE: EES border checks to be rolled out on Mallorca in November

Although yet to be reported in the Spanish press, the British Embassy in Spain has posted on Facebook to announce that Málaga Airport gradually started to implement EES on October 20th and that it will progressively increase the new passport checks through November.

Festivals in November

Autumn festivals will be taking place throughout November. La Castañada or Castanyada in Catalan is held across Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Aragón and coincides with All Saints’ Day and Halloween, even though it’s a separate celebration. Essentially, it’s a chestnut festival and you’ll find chestnut sellers on street corners roasting shiny brown chestnuts and big pumpkin-coloured sweet potatoes. In some places though they may even combine it with Halloween celebrations.

The Basque Country and Navarre have their own versions which is known as Gaztañerre Eguna or the 'día de las castañas asadas’, the day of the roast chestnuts. It is typically celebrated on November 2nd.

Concerts in November

There will be several high-profile concerts held across the country in November.

• Amaral will be performing in Huelva on Nov 1st
• The Hives will be in Madrid on Nov 2nd
• Jamiroquai is set to play in Barcelona on Nov 6th
• Hauser will play in Bilbao on Nov 21st and on Nov 22nd in Madrid
• Mumford & Sons will head to Barcelona on Nov 23rd
• Tom Odell will also play in Barcelona on Nov 30th

New flights

Several new flight routes will start operating to and from Spain in late October and November.

• EasyJet will start running flights between Málaga and Edinburgh in Scotland on October 28th.
• Also on the 28th, the budget airline will start flying between Almería and Liverpool in the UK.
• EasyJet will also start operating between Barcelona and Leeds on Oct 29th.
• On November 6th, Volotea will begin flying from Seville to the Italian city of Verona.
• On November 7th, Volotea will start operations from Valencia to Bordeaux’s Burdeos-Mérignac airport.

READ ALSO - LISTED: The new flight routes to and from Spain in autumn 2025

Doctors striking in Madrid

The medical unions CESM and SMA have called for a new stoppages and demonstration in Madrid on November 15th and further strikes in December to protest the reform of the draft Framework Statute, which regulates the working conditions of healthcare personnel. They want an appropriate professional classification and regulation of working hours, among other demands.

Walkout at Málaga Regional Hospital

All unions at the Málaga Regional Hospital have called a five-day strike, scheduled to run from November 3rd to 7th. They are protesting the lack of staff and resources, the lack of hiring across all categories and the shifting of professionals from one healthcare unit to another.

Christmas lights

The Christmas season seems to have snuck up on us very quickly this year, particularly the unseasonably warm October we’ve had. Christmas lights have already been put up in many Spanish cities and will switched on in November.

In Madrid, Christmas lights will be switched on, on November 28th and will last until January 6th^, 2025. This year the street lighting will reach more than 240 locations in all 21 districts.

In Vigo, the Christmas lights will cover 460 streets, with 12 million LED bulbs. In addition, 1,161 ornamental arches and 2,667 illuminated trees will be installed. The exact switch-on date hasn’t yet been announced, but it is expected to be in mid-November.

In Barcelona, the Christmas lights will be lit up from November 22nd. This year, the budget allocated to lighting is €3.8 million and new streets in outer lying neighbourhoods have been added.

Cinema tickets at discounted prices in November

Spain celebrates its Fiesta del Cine (Cinema Party) from November 3rd to 6th, which will see 337 cinemas across Spain offer tickets at a discounted price of €3.50.

Tickets can be purchased online, on the film theatres' websites as well as the cinemas themselves.

Here are the movies that are airing during those days, and if you would rather watch the films in their original language (mostly English), we also have a breakdown of these cines in Spain.