How To Spend Easter Week In Madrid

Easter is one of Spain’s most popular celebrations, marked in towns and cities across the country with religious processions, music and special sweet treats. The celebrations begin on Palm Sunday and last throughout Semana Santa, or Holy Week, culminating on Easter Sunday.

If you’re visiting Madrid over Easter, follow our guide so you don’t miss the sights, sounds and spectacle of this popular celebration.

Processions

During Semana Santa, religious brotherhoods around the city organise processions, in which penitents carry pasos – huge floats holding sculptures depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ. The floats are usually housed in churches around the city and are brought out once a year in the run-up to Easter.
The processions are practised for months leading up to Holy Week and are intricately choreographed, with music playing an important part. Marching bands often parade alongside the processions, with trumpets, drums and cymbals a common sound.

Where to see processions

Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos)

Nuestro Padre Jesús del Amor procession begins at the Almudena Cathedral at 4.30pm and will go down Calle Mayor.
The Cristo de la Fe y el Perdón parade starts at the Basilica of San Miguel at 7pm.

Holy Week procession in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol

Holy Wednesday (Miércoles Santo)

The Cristo de los Gitanos procession starts at the Parish of Nuesta Señora del Carmen (Calle de la Salud, 2) at 8.15pm.

Maundy Thursday (Jueves Santo)

The Jesús Nazareno El Pobre procession starts at the Church of San Pedro El Viejo (Calle del Nuncio, 14) at 7pm.
The Jesús del Gran Poder y de la Macarena procession starts at the Colegiata de San Isidro (Calle de Toledo, 37) at 8pm.

Good Friday (Viernes Santo)

The Divino Cautivo procession will parade through Madrid’s literary quarter, the Barrio de Las Letras, starting from Calle de San Sebastián at 6.30pm
The procession of Jesús de Medinaceli will set off at 7pm from the Basilica de Jesús de Medinaceli (Plaza de Jesús, 2). The procession will pass Spain’s lower parliament before making its way to the Puerta del Sol.
The procession of Santísimo Cristo de los Alabarderos en Madrid will start from the Royal Palace at 7pm and traverse central Madrid including Calle Mayor and Plaza Mayor.

A procession crossing Madrid’s Plaza Mayor

Easter Saturday (Sábado Santo)

Procession of Solitude will set off at 4.30pm from the Church of the Concepción Real de Calatrava (Calle de Alcalá, 25).
You can check out where and when every procession is taking place (in Spanish) in Madrid’s official Holy Week programme.

Concerts

A season of sacred music – Sacred music to accompany Easter – will take place in churches across the city. Churches hosting the concerts include the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Atocha, the Pontifical Basilica of San Miguel and the Parish Church of Santa Cruz. Entry is free
The Church of San Ginés, just off the Puerta del Sol, will host the 12th year of the Organ Music Season, featuring some of the world’s finest organists.
On Good Friday (March 30th) at 8pm, four Spanish flamenco singers will perform from the balcony of the Casa de la Panadería on the Plaza Mayor as the parades cross the famous square. The four women will sing saetas, a traditional flamenco song.

Madrid’s Drum Parade takes place on Easter Sunday on Plaza Mayor

At midday on Easter Sunday religious brotherhoods will take part in the annual Drum Parade (Tamborrada), which will bring the Easter celebrations to a close. Make sure you get to the square early to get a good position – it is usually packed by midday.

Food

If there was one food that was, above all others, associated with Easter in Spain it would be torrijas. The French toast-style sweet snack is made by soaking bread in milk and egg then frying with sugar and cinnamon. The Casa de las Torrijas (House of the Torrijas) specialises in the Easter treat.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.