Why do people in Spain stay up so late?

Spain has a dysfunctional time system that deprives everyone in Spain of an hour of sleep every day. In addition, Spanish workers typically work 11-hour days, from 9am to 8pm. With dinner at 9pm and a couple of hours of TV, they tend not to get to bed before midnight.



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During World War II, Franco moved Spain's time zone ahead one hour to Central European Time in solidarity with Nazi Germany. Because of this, the sun also tends to set pretty late in Spain, which is part of the reason dinner (and nightlife) tends to start so late.

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Punctuality is not highly important in Spain. People can arrive half an hour late to a social function with no questions raised. If someone turns up late and apologises, people are likely to respond with something like “no pasa nada” – meaning “It's not that important”.

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The Spanish also go to sleep later than their European neighbours. According to Eurostat, Spaniards go to bed, on average, at midnight, compared to Germans at 10pm, the French at 10.30pm and Italians at 11pm.

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Respect other tenants by keeping noise levels to a minimum, and by avoiding making noise in hallways and common areas. Quiet Hours 10pm-8am: There is a national law in Spain prohibiting noise from 10pm-8am and neighbors will call the police if this is not enforced.

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The Spanish siestas likely started after Spanish field workers started taking breaks around the middle of the day to come in out of the sun. During their siestas, they would escape the heat at the hottest time of the day and give themselves time to eat lunch and hang out with their families away from the elements.

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If you don't leave Spain after 90 days, you would be in an irregular situation. In other words, you would be in the country illegally. Thus, in the eyes of the immigration law, you would be committing a serious infraction that could result in significant penalties and/or fines.

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Lunch is the mid-day meal, or la comida as it is called in Spain, and it is the largest meal of the day. It usually comes with multiple courses, eaten between 1:30 and 3:30 pm.

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It's very common in Spain to see gatherings of people enjoying a drink and chatting and laughing together in the bars from about 10 in the evening, and then on until the small hours of the morning.

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How long is a siesta? The experts believe that a 20 minutes power nap is enough to give you enough rest to keep going with your day, and it won't affect your night sleep. However, a lot of siestas in Spain take longer than that, from 40 minutes to one hour, or even more.

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Tipping in Spain works differently: The customer actually has the option to not leave any tip at all. However, restaurants expect a 10% tip on each bill—although it's not a formal rule, and that percentage is much lower than tipping practices in other countries.

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The short answer is no. Wild camping is generally not legal in Spain, and there are strict regulations in place to prevent it. Spain has a long history of protecting its natural environment and wildlife, and the government has implemented measures to regulate outdoor activities, including camping.

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Barcelona is truly a city that never sleeps because there is always something to do, no matter what time of the day it is.

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