Can You Drink On The Streets In Spain?
The Spanish government is to ban drinking of alcohol in the street and the sale of alcoholic drinks to people aged under 18. The aim is to reduce alcohol misuse among Spanish teenagers and to tackle the nationwide fashion known as “el botellón,” in which young people gather in streets and squares to drink overnight at weekends.
- The measure was announced earlier this month by the home secretary, Mariano Rajoy, at the opening of a three day congress on young people, night, and alcohol, held in Madrid under the auspices of the National Plan on Drugs, based at the Home Office;
Mr Rajoy said that the new law was aimed at tackling “el botellón,” because it had led to a proliferation of complaints from residents’ associations about the noise and havoc. The fashion consists of buying a standard bottle of rum, gin, or whisky, a 1 litre or 1.
5 litre bottle of soft drink, ice cubes, and glasses. The resulting price of one “botellón,” about €9 (£5. 50; $7. 90), is notably lower than the sum of individual drinks at bars, pubs, or discos. The custom is popular because alcoholic drinks in Spain are cheaper than in many other EU countries and because the climate is warmer than in many parts of Europe.
After pointing out that “the chief cause of mortality among Spanish young people is road traffic accidents related to alcohol consumption,” Mr Rajoy said that, in addition to banning consumption in streets, the new law would set the age for accessing drinks at 18.
This measure would also be taken because of worrying data from a survey carried out by the National Plan on Drugs among 14-18 year old school students in 2000. The survey found that 58% of them regularly consumed alcohol (43% at weekends and 15% daily).
The mean age at onset of consumption was 13. 6 years, and midnight represented the “turning point” at which alcohol consumption and drunkenness in teenagers shot up. Dolores Flores, general director of public health at the health ministry, said that the number of young people drinking “compulsively” until “getting drunk” was increasing.
The survey also found that young people did not seem to perceive alcohol consumption as dangerous. Although 70% understood the risk from smoking or consuming heroin, cocaine, and cannabis, only 42% thought that alcohol could lead to serious problems.
Mr Rajoy said that government hoped to re-educate, rather than fine, those young people who came together in “el botellón. ” It wanted to take such young people to visit centres housing people with paraplegia or tetraplegia as a result of alcohol misuse.
- It also hoped to show them the work of non-governmental organisations in rehabilitating alcoholics, and make them undertake community work to repair some of the havoc created in the streets by the weekend binge drinking;
In the closing day of the congress, Gonzalo Robles, head of the National Plan on Drugs, said that the government also intended to introduce compulsory health education about alcohol into secondary education for 12-16 year olds. He added that the money seized from drug trafficking would serve to fund education programmes against alcohol and drug consumption, including the new changes in the school curriculum.
Can you drink in public places in Spain?
Take advantage of our 25% Discount Special Offer subscription at 36. 95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins. – Special offer 25% discount 12 months 48 Bulletins Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe. List price 12 months 48 Bulletins List price 3 months 12 Bulletins.
Can you drink in the street in Barcelona?
It is forbidden to drink on the streets of the Barcelona, although t there are many street beer sellers everywhere and people buy their 1 euro beer, which might seem like a good deal but if the police pick you up drinking in a public place you can be fined.
Can you have open alcohol in Spain?
Pub crawl Barcelona drinking laws in Barcelona Many popular activities in Barcelona are in fact illegal. And some that you would assume to be illegal are not. Stealing bags and phones? Yes, that’s illegal. Possessing small amounts of drugs for personal use? Well actually that’s okay. Drinking alcohol in bars? Fine, obviously. Drinking alcohol in the streets? No, that’s illegal.
One of the favoured habits of young people in Barcelona used to be – and still is – congregating in public squares with six-packs of Estrella Damm , the local beer, and happily drinking and smoking the balmy Mediterranean nights away till the early-late hours.
This activity – known as botellón locally – is a cheap and sociable alternative to drinking in bars. Bars themselves are a slightly different proposition to what can be found in the UK or the USA. Whereas in the UK cafes and pubs/bars are very separate affairs, and Spain they just combine it all into one.
- Spain is one of the few countries to have more pub/bars per head than the UK, at one bar for every 132 residents;
- And this is great, but it’s not always exactly what an English-speaker might be expecting from a pub, with its beery carpets and wooden furniture;
Spanish bars have more of a cafeteria feel, and it creates a very different atmosphere, which can feel incongruous if you want to hit the town and sink a few in the local. Hence, why it can be popular (and cheaper) to drink in the streets instead. Sadly, the local authorities decided that this activity was not conducive towards good public behaviour and outlawed it in the early years of this millennium.
Now, drinking in the streets is listed among urinating and smoking weed as a public nuisance. But, that is not the end of the story. It’s Like Being in a Foreign Country The licensing laws and drinking culture in Spain are quite different from what you might find in countries such as the UK or USA.
For some crazy reason, they have far fewer problems with binge drinking and associated anti-social behaviour than in the UK. The culture among Spaniards (and Catalans) is to drink but not get drunk. And they have far fewer restrictions than in the USA. 18 is the drinking age limit, and once the bar opens, be it at 06.
00 or 12. 00 or 18. 00, they are permitted to serve alcohol. It is not an uncommon sight to see middle-aged businessmen in suits enjoying a bottle of wine together at 08. 00 before heading to the office. And breakfast beers are not solely for twenty-something backpackers.
Once you’ve polished off your first breakfast beer, you are then free to drink, if you so wish, until around 03. 00 in the morning. And it’s all legal – so long as you can handle it. What’s more, once the bar does close, you can always hit up a club and drink there till closing time at 06.
00. From there, the savvy drinker knows that the first place of the new day to legally acquire alcohol is in the bakeries, most of which will open around 06. 00. Thus, alcohol can legally be purchased twenty-four hours long.
But the black zone is generally between the closing of the bars at 03. 00 and the opening of the first shops and bakeries at 06. 00. This is when the beer sellers come in to play and laws start to get bent. Barcelona Night Culture Barcelona is home to an underclass divided along ethnic lines.
And the Pakistanis have elected themselves to be the ones who supply the street beers. They come out around midnight, and haunt well-known squares and corners where revellers can be found, selling for an average price of one euro a can.
There are a few things that should be known about this service that they supply. The first one, is that what they do in selling is illegal, and what you do in drinking in the street is illegal. It is clearly illegal to sell alcohol without a license, and so it is not an uncommon sight to see the beer sellers suddenly scurry into the shadows at the first sign of patrolling Guardia Urbana or Mossos d’Esquadra.
- Second, they usually store their beers in local apartments near to the action centres, but they have also been known to store them in the drainage system;
- To be fair, they wrap the cans of beer in plastic bags, but nonetheless some people object to this practice;
So you can’t be sure if you are drinking a beer that was recently in the sewers. Lastly, sometimes they try to foist cheap supermarket brand beer along with the more premium beer. So look out for that. If you buy in bulk you can usually negotiate a discount.
You are Breaking the Law, but there’s a Caveat Once you have the beer in your possession, and you crack it open, keep in mind that you are violating the law, and a fine of up to three thousand euros can be levied against you.
But there are some caveats which mean that, in reality, the tradition of botellón is still going strong. This is one of those largely unenforced laws. Take a stroll around the historical centre of Barcelona after midnight, and it will take you seconds to spot people drinking in the streets.
- The law against it was enacted to counter the proliferation of stag and hen parties and drunken ‘lads holidays’ which tended to get out of hand in terms of raucous behaviour;
- But, and here’s the crucial part, if you are calm and civilised then the police tend to turn a blind eye;
Never forget that holding that open can of beer in the street is technically against the law, and try to hide it from the police, who are well within their rights to hit you with a fine if they feel like it. But, the rule of thumb with drinking in the streets of Barcelona is: don’t give the police a reason and they won’t hassle you.
Can you walk around with alcohol in Spain?
Spain [ edit ] – Public drinking is only prohibited in some cities or parts of cities, regulated by local laws like in Barcelona. The practice of botellón (Public binge drinking ) is relatively popular among teenagers and young adults partly in response to rising drink prices at bars or clubs, and partly because more people can meet in one place.
Can you drink in public in Seville?
Spain’s local authorities are struggling to contain outdoor drinking parties, known as botellones , which have multiplied due to the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions such as the nighttime curfew, as well as school vacations and warm summer weather.
The large crowds of people drinking in the street were already a problem before the coronavirus pandemic, but are now overwhelming local leaders, especially in popular tourist destinations. Local police forces do not have the numbers to control the problem.
In recent months, officers have not only been verbally challenged by the youngsters at these parties, but have also been attacked with rocks and bottles. 
A young couple in Barcelona on Friday. Joan Sánchez In the northeastern region of Catalonia , the situation has become so out of control that regional health chief Josep Maria Argimon did not rule out a potential sixth wave of coronavirus infections. According to the Catalan health department, 66% of the region is fully vaccinated, although coverage in the 16-34 population continues to be the lowest of all age groups at just over 50%.
- Last week, the Catalan High Court rejected the regional government’s plans for a curfew in 43 municipalities, limiting the coronavirus measure to the 19 areas where it is currently in place;
- With this setback for the region’s authorities, the four provincial capitals in Catalonia – Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona – escaped a new closure of their nightlife venues;
Spain’s Basque Country is also struggling to curb outdoor street parties. The regional government has set the fine for drinking alcohol on the street at €600, but every weekend there continue to be hundreds of parties in parks, beaches, public squares and parking lots.
Last week, more than 14 people were arrested in the Basque city of San Sebastián, where youths threw bottles at officers trying to break up a street party and injured four of them. “It’s like putting up a door in a field, it makes no difference to them,” said a municipal police officer from Vitoria.
“When we show up, they run away and sometimes throw everything they have in their hands at you. It’s a danger for us and for some of them as well, as they are drunk and start running around like headless chickens. ” In the southern region of Andalusia, youngsters at street parties have also become violent. 
An outdoor drinking party by the Guadalquivir river. alejandro ruesga In the city of Seville, the fine for outdoor drinking has gone from €100 to €300, but the price hike has done little to stop street parties. “The weekend is chaos, hundreds of people in the street, without maintaining a safe distance, sharing drinks, bars that don’t adhere to the limits on capacity.
“As well as the lack of resources and staff, this year we are finding ourselves up against youths who challenge you and throw objects when you go to break up a botellón… We hadn’t seen this level of aggression before,” said Juan Luis Amaro, the deputy secretary of the Spanish Municipal Police Union in Andalusia.
And this is not just on the weekend, it extends from Wednesday to Sunday,” said Luis Val, the president of the police union in Seville.
What countries can you drink in the street?
Cuba – You can drink in public in Cuba with no problem – they all do it.
Can you drink beer on beach in Spain?
What are the rules? – Drinking on the beach is not allowed in certain parts of Spain according to little known rules (Image: Getty) The rules – which extend to public spaces like beaches – will not allow for drinking as well as any sexual activity in a public place. This rule is not enforced across the country with different councils being able to set the restrictions as they see fit. FCDO government guidance states: “Some local councils in Spain have banned the consumption of alcohol in the street and on-the-spot fines may be issued.
Can you drink beer on beach in Spain?
What are the rules? – Drinking on the beach is not allowed in certain parts of Spain according to little known rules (Image: Getty) The rules – which extend to public spaces like beaches – will not allow for drinking as well as any sexual activity in a public place. This rule is not enforced across the country with different councils being able to set the restrictions as they see fit. FCDO government guidance states: “Some local councils in Spain have banned the consumption of alcohol in the street and on-the-spot fines may be issued.
Can I drink a beer at a park Madrid?
Helpful answer 0 Votes Not as helpful All kind of alcohol is forbidden in Madrid’s streets. You can be fined, although usually the police only warn you (if you go on, then you get the fine). over a year ago Problem with this answer?.