Sunday Opening (Shops / Restaurants)

[JEGM]

Hello!

I am doing the Del Norte from Irun in September, and I have seen that generally shops and restaurants in Spain are closed on Sunday's. Is this true? How do people get food and drink on a Sunday? Do you need to buy things on Saturday and carry it, or can you find shops open on Sundays?

Thank you! Jonathan

 

[MinaKamina]

If you have seen this on the website of the store or the restaurant it is probably true. Why wouldn't it?

 

[trecile]

I've never gone hungry on any Camino route (including the Norte) on a Sunday. Yes, in all but the bigger cities the stores, including grocery stores will be closed, but bars and restaurants are generally open. Spanish people like to go out to eat on the weekends.

 

[SabsP]

Hello!

I am doing the Del Norte from Irun in September, and I have seen that generally shops and restaurants in Spain are closed on Sunday's. Is this true? How do people get food and drink on a Sunday? Do you need to buy things on Saturday and carry it, or can you find shops open on Sundays?

Thank you! Jonathan

You buy groceries on a Saturday.
Sunday you will find bars and restaurants open. Follow local families when they go to a restaurant. They will know the decent places!

 

[Tortilla]

Carrefour Express supermarkets in Spain usually don't close on Sundays. But there are not that many of them compared to other supermarket chains.

Carrefour Express · C. de Palacio Valdés, 1, 33560 Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain

âââââ · Supermarket

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[naplesdon]

Mondays are the day museums and other attractions are usually closed, many times the same is true for restaurants when the staff gets a day off after a long weekend of work.

 

[Silvermomma]

Sunday can be tricky. In Guernica in May 2024 the only place to have dinner (not sandwiches) on Sunday night was the Chinese restaurant—full of pilgrims!

 

[Bradypus]

Sunday can be tricky. In Guernica in May 2024 the only place to have dinner (not sandwiches) on Sunday night was the Chinese restaurant—full of pilgrims!

A good reason to try to adapt to local customs and aim for a main meal midday rather than in the evening.

 

[wynrich]

In the larger towns, there are usually some small grocery stores that will be open. For example, in Santander this spring, we found a China grocery store (a first for us) that was open on Sunday. But you'd probably only find these in the bigger cities. In the small towns, expect everything to be closed except bars and restaurants.

 

[JerryStroebele]

You can almost always find food but it is good to carry a little reserve just in case: nuts, bananas, an orange, gorp, cheese, chorizo, bread or crackers. Keep turning over your food items so they don't spoil by snacking when the opportunity to "top off" presents. Occasionally, you may eat it all up for a dinner shared with other hungry pilgrims. Buen Camino

 

[LaurelPeregrina]

Did part of the Norte this June and hiked from Santoña to Güemes on a Sunday. We had heard some stories of running out of food on Sundays so loaded up at a grocery store on Saturday. We ended up donating all the (less appetizing) food we had bought in the grocery and enjoyed delicious pilgrim meals for breakfast in Santoña, lunch in Noja and a wonderfully memorable dinner at Albergue de Peregrinos de Güemes. We were surprised that most of the bars & restaurants we saw that day were open!

 

[tjz]

On the Norte in March/April, we've never had an issue finding at least one restaurant open on a Sunday, but frequently there have been no groceries. In most cases, we usually get a little extra on Saturday if we remember, but in most cases just buy groceries on the way out of town on Monday or if there is a next town before lunchtime there. You'll usually find something open by 7 or 8 in the morning.