Halloween in Madrid 2026: Legends, Events and What to Do on the Long Weekend

How Halloween falls in Madrid in 2026

Saturday 31 October is Halloween. All Saints' Day, Todos los Santos, lands on Sunday, so the Madrid region has moved the holiday to Monday 2 November: three days in a row, with the city full.

The clocks go back in the early hours of Sunday 25 October, so on Halloween night the sun sets at around 6.15 pm. By 7 pm the old town is properly dark, and you get the atmosphere without staying out until the small hours.

• Saturday 31 October: Halloween.
• Sunday 1 November: All Saints' Day.
• Monday 2 November: public holiday across the Madrid region, moved from the Sunday.

Five Madrid legends you can walk to

Madrid has no haunted castles. What it has is ghost stories tied to real addresses, close enough together to cover in an afternoon.

The Casa de las Siete Chimeneas on Plaza del Rey dates from 1574. Legend tells of Elena, daughter of one of Philip II's royal huntsmen, found dead soon after her husband fell at San Quintín, and of a white figure walking among the chimneys, pointing towards the royal Alcázar. The unsettling part is documented: in the late 19th century, a woman's remains were found walled into the basement, alongside coins from her time.

The Palacio de Linares on Plaza de Cibeles was the scene of Spain's most famous paranormal case, the 1990 recordings attributed to a girl called Raimundita. They were exposed as a fraud and the legend carried on regardless; we tell the full story in our Linares Palace article.

Plaza de la Cruz Verde, just off Calle de Segovia, takes its name from the emblem of the Spanish Inquisition: a wooden cross painted green stood here until 1834. Close by, the Viaducto de Segovia holds no legend but a real and painful history, which the city addressed with safety screens in 1998; today it is a fine sunset viewpoint.

And in Malasaña, Calle del Desengaño recalls a 16th-century duel: two gentlemen fighting over a veiled lady lifted her veil and found a skull. You will find these and five more in our guide to the legends of Madrid.

Plaza Mayor by daylight: Cirilo and the autos de fe

For the history behind the ghost stories, begin in Plaza Mayor. Until 1765 this was where the Inquisition staged its autos de fe in Madrid; the best remembered, on 30 June 1680, lasted a whole day. For centuries it was also a place of public executions, and that is where Cirilo comes from, the square's official ghost: tradition says he was among the first people executed here and was shown to be innocent only after his death.

On Saturday 31 October the Madrid Essentials free tour runs in English at 10 am, 11 am, 12 noon and 5 pm. The route takes in Plaza Mayor, Plaza de la Villa, the Almudena cathedral and the Royal Palace, the daytime stage for the stories that come alive at night. Times can change, so check the departures on the tour page before you book.

Madrid Medieval: the Inquisition's green cross and the Arab wall

Our Madrid Medieval free tour, run in English, is the other good daytime choice for Halloween weekend. It walks the oldest part of the city: Plaza de la Villa, Calle del Codo, the Plaza de la Cruz Verde and its links to the Inquisition, the 9th-century Arab wall and the Cuesta de la Vega, where the troops of Alfonso VI entered Madrid in 1085. It finishes at the Templo de Debod, the ancient Egyptian temple in the Parque del Oeste.

On Saturday 31 October there are departures at 11 am and 5 pm. As always, check the times on the tour page, as they can change.

After dark: Haunted Madrid (in Spanish)

For the evenings, the tour that suits the season best is Haunted Madrid, our night walk through the old town covering the Inquisition, executioners, witches and a real 20th-century crime that the group solves on the spot. Everything in it is documented, and every place still stands. One important note: Haunted Madrid is run in Spanish, so it works best if you follow the language well.

We recommend it for the nights around Halloween, before and after the long weekend. It does not run every day, so check the dates on the Haunted Madrid free tour page. It is not recommended for under-14s, and as it takes place after dark, bring a jacket.

Theme parks: Parque de Atracciones and Parque Warner

Madrid's two big theme parks carry their Halloween seasons into the long weekend. The Parque de Atracciones, in the Casa de Campo, celebrates Halloween from 26 September to 1 November 2026, with horror mazes and options for younger children. Take metro line 10 to Batán.

Parque Warner, in San Martín de la Vega about 20 km from the city, keeps its Halloween season going from 26 September to 2 November, so it is still decorated on the Monday holiday. By public transport, take Cercanías line C-3 to Pinto and then an interurban bus.

Saturday 31 and Sunday 1 are the busiest days at both: buy tickets online and check each day's hours on the official websites.

With kids: Pica Pica and neighbourhood activities

Pica Pica, the Spanish children's music group, brings Operación Halloween to the Teatro Capitol on Gran Vía (number 41, metro Callao) on 31 October and 1 and 7 November 2026. It is a family musical of about 75 minutes, in Spanish, built around their spookiest songs.

Madrid City Council also publishes a Halloween programme by district every year, with workshops, storytelling, films and haunted passages. In 2025 it came out on 24 October on diario.madrid.es; the 2026 edition has not been announced yet, so look there in the last week of October and check whether each activity needs registration.

To see the city lit up without much walking, the night sightseeing bus leaves every day at 8.30 pm and loops through the centre in about 75 minutes.

All Saints' Day: historic cemeteries and saints' bones

On 1 November families take flowers to the cemeteries, and some of them are full of history. The Sacramental de San Isidro cemetery, founded in 1811 on Paseo de la Ermita del Santo (metro Marqués de Vadillo, line 5), is one of the most monumental in the city, with the grand pantheons of Madrid's old aristocracy. It opens daily from 9 am to 3 pm and offers guided group visits by advance booking; check its website for any special dates over the holiday.

At La Almudena cemetery, Servicios Funerarios de Madrid has in previous years scheduled guided visits and candlelit concerts during All Saints' week. The 2026 programme has not been published yet, so check diario.madrid.es at the end of October. These are places of mourning: be discreet and respectful.

For something sweet, bakeries fill up with huesos de santo, marzipan rolls whose name means saints' bones, and buñuelos de viento, the classic fritters of the season.

What's open on 1 and 2 November, plus a few tips

Public holidays do not shut Madrid down. The Prado, for instance, closes only on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December; on Sundays and holidays it opens from 10 am to 7 pm, with entry at no charge in the last two hours, a slot that tends to queue over a long weekend.

Shops in the Madrid region are free to set their own hours, so many in the centre open on Sunday 1 and Monday 2, though each shop decides. Sunday 1 is also a Rastro day, as every Sunday, roughly from 9 am to 3 pm around Ribera de Curtidores (metro La Latina).

Book ahead for anything with limited places: theme parks, theatre, cemetery visits and free tours. Puerta del Sol, Gran Vía and Plaza Mayor are packed from mid-afternoon. Dress in layers: late-October days can be mild, but it cools down fast after sunset. Staying on? Our guide to things to do in Madrid in November covers the rest of the month, from La Almudena to JazzMadrid and the first Christmas lights.