- Afternoon rest
- Modern siesta
- What should tourists do?
- Siesta time
The Spanish way of life is quite unusual. At seven in the morning, when our people are actively getting to their jobs, the streets of Spanish cities are asleep: there are almost no cars, buses run on a night schedule, that is, rarely, shops are closed. The Spaniards are active by 9 am. Most of them go outside at this time to go to work. The working day usually starts at 10.00.
In the evening, when the heat is gone, the Spaniards go for a walk until 23. Moreover, together with them, they walk the streets, sit in cafes and little children who are long overdue to sleep. And at lunchtime, at the peak of the heat, there comes a long lunch break, that is, siesta. Foreigners often do not understand what is siesta in Spain?
Afternoon rest
Siesta was not invented by the Spaniards. Probably, now no one will be able to say for sure what kind of people living on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, that is, in a hot and stifling climate in summer, thought of organizing an afternoon nap.
Greeks, Italians, Portuguese, Maltese have siesta. Working in fields and gardens in direct sunlight, which is especially dangerous for the skin at noon and the next few hours, is simply impossible. Even walking down the street, where the air warms up to 35-40 degrees in the shade, can be difficult. Much better - go into a cool house, lower the shutters, providing a pleasant twilight, and doze for a couple of hours, and then start working with renewed vigor. Until now, in villages and small towns where people adhere to traditions, siesta is strictly observed.
Modern siesta
It is unlikely that the inhabitants of modern Spanish cities at lunchtime go to the side, as their ancestors did since the time of the rule of the Arabs. Today's life dictates its own rules. Many Spaniards work in the center of a large city, but live on its outskirts. Therefore, during the lunch break, they will not have time to physically get to their house and back, let alone a sweet dream.
But still, no one canceled siesta in Spain. Moreover, it is one of the local traditions, and every Spaniard will zealously defend his right to a three- or four-hour rest in the middle of the day. Employees of small shops, hairdressers, pharmacies in Spain use siesta for meeting friends, walking in large shopping centers that do not close for lunch, going to gyms and generally to solve their own problems. So it turns out that there are no fewer people on the streets during the siesta. Siesta is a government approved legal rest time. And no one will be deprived of it for no particular reason.
What should tourists do?
Who is suffering from such long lunch breaks? Tourists only. Locals have long learned how to plan their day so as not to be in front of the closed doors of the desired institution.
What a traveler needs to know in order not to spoil his vacation in Spain and not to be out of work in the heat of the day:
- all significant sights (churches, private botanical gardens, small non-state museums), especially in the provinces, should be visited either before 12 noon or after 4 pm. There is a high probability that these facilities will be closed during lunchtime;
- siesta is practically forgotten in the center of large resort towns. During the day, cafes and restaurants in the most crowded places, shopping malls, amusement parks, souvenir shops will probably work;
- restaurants at hotels and cafes on the beaches work without interruptions;
- large museums also do not close during siesta.
Siesta time
There is no exact, strictly regulated lunch break in Spain. Each Spanish city determines the time for siesta on its own. The city authorities proceed from climatic conditions.
It is quite reasonable that in the south of the country, on the Costa del Sol, where the air warms up to 40 degrees Celsius in summer, the siesta lasts from 13.00 to 17.00. On the east coast of Spain - in Barcelona and Valencia - most establishments close for a break at 14.00. The siesta lasts until 16.30-17.00. The western and northern regions suffer less from the heat, so an afternoon rest there takes only two hours - from 13.00 to 15.00.
