A late outdoor dinner booked for a Friday in November runs into a rule rather than a restaurant. Between 1 November and 14 March every terrace in Madrid closes at 00:00, Fridays included.
Terrace closing times in Madrid are three, split across two periods of the year, and the gap between the earliest and the latest is an hour and a half. From 15 March to 31 October terraces close at 1:00 from Sunday to Thursday and at 1:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of a holiday. The rule is Ordenanza 7/2025, in force since 1 January 2026.
What time do terraces close in Madrid? Madrid terraces close at 00:00 from 1 November to 14 March. From 15 March to 31 October they close at 1:00 from Sunday to Thursday and at 1:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of a public holiday. The rule is Ordenanza 7/2025, in force since 1 January 2026.
The 2025 rule covers the pavement, not the room
The ordinance the Council publishes, Ordenanza 7/2025, is titled Terrazas y Quioscos de Hostelería y Restauración, and its subject is exactly that: tables placed on public land. The interior of a bar or restaurant answers to a different regime, so a terrace closing time is not the same thing as a venue closing time.
That second regime is regional rather than municipal, and it closes bars at 2am and clubs at 5.30am, as set out in when bars and clubs close in Madrid.
That distinction is worth carrying into a booking. Being asked to move inside at midnight in January is the ordinance working as written, not the restaurant closing early.
The competence here is municipal, one of several splits mapped in who sets Madrid’s opening hours. It sits with Madrid City Council rather than with the Comunidad de Madrid, which is the body that removed the cap on shop opening hours instead, as set out in why Madrid shops may open any Sunday.
Three closing times, and which one applies
The seasonal period that the Council sets runs from 15 March to 31 October, seven and a half months. Everything from 1 November to 14 March falls outside it.
Inside the seasonal period the hour depends on the day, and three cases cover the whole year:
- 1 November to 14 March, any day of the week: closing at 00:00.
- 15 March to 31 October, Sunday to Thursday: closing at 1:00.
- 15 March to 31 October, Friday, Saturday or the eve of a public holiday: closing at 1:30.
| Period | Days | Closing time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 November to 14 March | Every day | 00:00 |
| 15 March to 31 October | Sunday to Thursday | 1:00 |
| 15 March to 31 October | Friday, Saturday, eve of a holiday | 1:30 |
Fourteen holidays, fourteen extended eves
The ordinance treats the eve of a public holiday like a Friday or a Saturday inside the seasonal period, pushing closing from 1:00 to 1:30.
That turns the holiday calendar into dinner planning. Madrid has 14 public holidays a year, 12 set by the Comunidad de Madrid and 2 by the city council, as detailed in how Madrid’s public holidays work. Each one drags an eve with an extra half hour behind it, provided it falls between 15 March and 31 October.
Outside that window the eve counts for nothing. Between 1 November and 14 March closing is 00:00 with no exception for the day of the week or for a holiday, so the eve of 8 December ends exactly like an ordinary Tuesday.
In summer the terrace and the last metro end together
The coincidence is exact. On a Friday or Saturday in season a terrace closes at 1:30, which is also the moment Metro de Madrid stops running, under the 6:00 to 1:30 timetable the Consorcio Regional de Transportes publishes for the whole network.
Finishing at closing time therefore means no metro at all, and a night bus instead. The búho network covers the gap through to 6:00, as explained in what runs when the metro shuts.
Winter reverses it. With terraces closing at 00:00 and the metro running to 1:30, there are 90 minutes of open network after the last outdoor table is cleared. The metro timetable does not change on any day of the year.
Driving back is a separate calculation. The ZBEDEP Distrito Centro covers the six barrios of district 01, and a car badged B or C cannot drive through it at any hour, with a 200 € fine reduced to 100 € for prompt payment. The rules are in how the ZBE and the two ZBEDEP differ.
One kind of terrace sits several floors up and still answers to this ordinance rather than the indoor one, so a rooftop shuts at midnight from 1 November to 14 March no matter how high it is.
Frequently asked questions about Madrid terrace hours
What time do terraces close in Madrid?
From 15 March to 31 October they close at 1:00 Sunday to Thursday and at 1:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of a public holiday. From 1 November to 14 March they close at 00:00 every day of the week.
Does the terrace rule cover the inside of the bar?
No. Ordenanza 7/2025 governs terraces and kiosks, meaning the tables placed on public land. The interior of a hospitality venue answers to a different regime, so the terrace closing time is not the venue’s closing time.
Why do some Madrid terraces close half an hour later?
Because it is a Friday, a Saturday or the eve of a public holiday inside the seasonal period. Those three cases close at 1:30 instead of 1:00, and Madrid has 14 public holidays a year, each with its own eve.
Can I still get the metro after the terrace closes?
In winter, comfortably. Terraces close at 00:00 between 1 November and 14 March while the metro runs until 1:30, leaving 90 minutes. In summer both end at 1:30 on a Friday or Saturday, with no margin at all.
Two periods, three closing times and a 2025 ordinance deciding how long anyone may sit on a Madrid pavement.