Veröffentlicht von Shops / Retail / Department Stores / Shopping Centers
The opening hours of shops on Mallorca have been increasingly liberalized in recent years, but there are still limits. Most shops no longer make full use of the opening hours permitted by law. The regulations vary from municipality to municipality. There are even significant differences within towns. In many places, so-called tourist zones have been created. In these, shops are allowed to open much longer, and sometimes even on Sundays.
There are also differences between summer and winter. The opening hours on Mallorca are much longer in summer, when the tourists are there, than in winter. There are local regulations that allow longer opening hours from mid-May to October, for example, than in the rest of the year. However, most shops voluntarily open fewer hours in winter. In extremely touristy regions, shops can be open for 12 hours or more every day in summer, including Sundays. In winter, however, they are closed continuously for months.
The opening hours also depend on the branch. Bakeries in the capital Palma de Mallorca are often open on Sundays. Kiosks for magazines, tickets and similar items are open for customers on Sundays. Of course, the shops in the airport, but also in the port and in the train stations, are open on Sundays.
Smaller family-run shops still very often have a siesta from around 1-2 p.m. to around 5 p.m. So they are open during the week in the mornings and evenings. Large department stores, such as „El Corte Ingles“ in the center of Palma de Mallorca (street: Avda. de Jaime III), are open during the week from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. More and more shops and shopping centers are also closed on Sundays. Some of the small shops on Mallorca complain about this. Unlike the large shops, they cannot afford the long opening hours.
The opening hours on Mallorca are therefore different and complicated. In summer and in Palma, however, you are less likely to find yourself in front of closed doors. Shops are allowed to open almost everywhere during the week until 10 p.m. Many shops are still closed on Sundays in Mallorca, but the trend is towards Sunday opening. In most communities, however, even the supermarkets are still closed on Sundays and public holidays. It is better to do your shopping on Saturday for Sunday. Despite liberalization: the vast majority of shops in Mallorca are still closed on Sundays and public holidays, and quite a few are also closed on Saturday afternoons.
Banks
The opening hours of banks in Mallorca are even shorter than here. They are usually only open in the mornings from Monday to Friday (often until 1:30 p.m. or 2 p.m.).
Post
The post offices on Mallorca usually also have short opening hours. Many are only open in the morning and are closed at weekends. The large post office in Palma, however, is open Monday to Saturday until 10 p.m., and on Sundays from 12 noon to 10 p.m.
Pharmacies
Many pharmacies on Mallorca have opening hours like small shops. They open in the morning and close between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. In the afternoon they are closed for a siesta of around 3 hours. On Saturdays, some only open in the morning, and not at all on Sundays and public holidays. However, there are pharmacies that have night service or weekend service. You can usually find signs on the window or on the entrance door of all pharmacies indicating which pharmacy has an emergency service. In Palma we saw a pharmacy that is open 24 hours. It is called Farmacia March and is near the Port Pi shopping center. The Spanish word for pharmacy is „Farmacia“, and the identifying symbol is a green cross.
Restaurants / Cafés / Bars
Similar to Germany, the opening times of restaurants in Spain and Mallorca vary greatly. At Ballermann you can still eat late at night and even have a drink. Many bars are open all night. Some discos and clubs don’t open until around 10 p.m. The Spanish eat much later than we do. Lunch is often not served until 1 p.m. or even 2 p.m. Dinner is sometimes not served until 8 p.m.
Of course, this only applies to non-tourist areas. In tourist regions, you can get a Wiener schnitzel with fries as early as 11:30 in the morning. In general, the opening hours of restaurants in Mallorca are longer in season than in Germany.
Weekly markets
Mallorca is famous for its markets, especially in the smaller towns far away from the tourist hotspots. Each town has a different day for its weekly market, in some communities this is Sunday. You should always go to such markets as early as possible, they are only open until around 1 or 2 p.m. However, the range of goods is usually better and larger in the morning. Sometimes, for example, the prices of perishable foods are greatly reduced in the last 1-2 hours.
Sights / Museums
As in many countries around the world, many paid sights and museums in Mallorca are closed on Mondays, but some are also open 7 days a week. Otherwise, the opening times vary greatly.
Map of Mallorca