Usual shop opening times are 9:30 am - 1:30 pm, Monday-Saturday, and 4:30-8:00 pm, Monday-Friday. Major shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets stay open without a break from 10:00 am - 9:00 pm or in some cases until 10:00 pm. On a fixed number of Sundays in the year (approximately 12 in all), the large department stores and supermarkets also open to the public. Along the coast, during the high season, shops are generally open until well after 10 at night.

Banks are mainly open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm (ATMs are available throughout the country. Make sure that the signs at the back of your ATM card match the signs on the ATM machine. ATMs in Spain only accept four digit Pins so it is very important to make sure you have a four digit PIN before travelling). Breakfast time is usually from 8-10 am and lunchtime in restaurants from 1-3:30 pm. Dinners are served from 8:30-11:00 pm. Many catering establishments operate a continuous service throughout the day, a common practice in coffee shops and bars, in many of which it is possible to order snack-like servings (tapas), a limited variety of set dishes, rolls and small portions of selected foods (raciones).

Pharmacies usually open from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm and 4:30-8:00 pm, though in the bigger cities a certain number remain open 24 hours.  There is a listing displayed outside pharmacies and published in the daily press, indicating which of them are on night-service and/or open during the weekend.

Standard museum hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Sundays and holidays from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, but check with the Tourist Office of Spain nearest you for hours of specific museums. Museums close on the following holidays: January 1, Good Friday, May 1, and December 25.

Cinemas also usually operate a flexible timetable, with the matinees beginning at 4:30-5:00 pm and films being shown continuously until the last screening at around 10:15 pm. Midnight shows are also a feature at some of the cinemas in the bigger cities.

Theatres tend to have a single function, with performances beginning at 8/8:30 pm.

Nightlife in Spain is a class of its own, particularly from Thursday to Sunday. Pubs, late night haunts (bares de copas) and discotheques normally keep open until 3 or 4 in the morning, and in the major cities, such as Madrid and Barcelona, there are innumerable night-spots that stay open till dawn.