Antiques in Spain: flea markets, buying, export and import in 2026

In Spain antiques are found at flea markets, in antique shops and at auctions. The best-known markets are Madrid’s Rastro and Barcelona’s Encants, and Valencia, Málaga and Palma also have weekly markets for second-hand and old objects. Buying is straightforward; the difficulties start when you take things out of the country: objects more than 100 years old cannot leave Spain without state authorisation, even for another EU country. Here is where and when the markets are held, what to check when buying and the rules for exporting antiques from Spain and bringing them from Russia when you move.

Flea markets and antique markets in Spain

The table lists markets whose days and hours are published on town hall websites and official tourism portals. Check the schedule before you go: markets are moved for public holidays and city events.

According to Madrid’s tourism portal, there are also “Rastro Saturdays” on the first Saturday of the month, except in July, August and November. In Valencia the market is sometimes moved: in October 2025 the Rastro was held on a Saturday because of the half marathon.

On the Costa Blanca official schedules are scarce. Alicante town hall lists a philately, numismatics and collectables market among its periodic markets, but its location and hours are not published. In Guardamar the only official market is the general Wednesday market, and Benidorm town hall’s information on markets is out of date. Check with the local tourist office.

More about the cities in our guides to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Mallorca and Alicante.

What to check when buying antiques

• A receipt or invoice describing the object, with the date and the seller’s details. Without it, proving a lawful purchase and getting an export permit later is difficult.
• The age of the object. It determines the export rules: the threshold is 100 years under Spanish heritage law and under the definition of antiques in tax law.
• The status of the object. Items declared of cultural interest or entered in the General Inventory of historical heritage are sold with notice to the state, and items of cultural interest cannot be exported.
• The provenance of archaeological finds, coins and icons. Bringing into the EU cultural goods removed unlawfully from the country where they were created or found is prohibited.

Owners of objects of a value set by law must notify the authorities before selling them, and professional dealers must also keep a register of transactions. Buying from a registered dealer gives you more paperwork than buying at a market.

Auctions: the state’s right to buy first

Auction houses must notify the state in advance of sales that include items of Spain’s historical heritage. For items of cultural interest or entered in the General Inventory, the state may exercise a right of first refusal at the sale price within two months of notification. If no notice was given, the state may buy the item back within six months of learning of the sale. Anyone bidding at auction should bear in mind that under this procedure the state may buy the lot instead of them.

Exporting antiques from Spain

Spain’s historical heritage law treats any departure of an object from the country as export, including to other EU countries. The rules are:

• Items of historical heritage more than 100 years old, and any item in the General Inventory, may only be exported with prior state authorisation.
• Items of cultural interest and items declared non-exportable may not be exported.
• An item exported without authorisation is declared state property by law and is returned to Spain.
• Temporary export, for example for an exhibition or restoration, also requires authorisation stating the period. If the item is not returned on time, it counts as unlawful export.

There is a special regime for items you lawfully imported into Spain yourself. If the import is documented, the item cannot be declared of cultural interest for ten years, and a licence to export it is granted when the requirements are met. The regime can be extended on application. That is why it is worth keeping customs documents for imported antiques.

Export outside the EU

For export from the EU to third countries such as Russia, Turkey or the UAE, EU Regulation 116/2009 requires an export licence. It is needed if the item falls into a category and is worth at least the threshold:

For paintings, drawings, engravings and sculpture the rule applies if they are more than 50 years old and do not belong to the artist. The Spanish permit for items over 100 years old is still required as well.

Bringing antiques to Spain when you move

Export from Russia

Under the Russian law on the export and import of cultural property, the following may not be exported: particularly valuable items, items on protected lists and from state collections, and cultural property created more than 100 years ago, unless the law provides otherwise. Cultural property previously imported into Russia may be exported. Items for which the law of the Eurasian Economic Union sets a permit procedure are exported by individuals for personal use under a certificate, a permit document issued for each export. Whether an item counts as cultural property is decided by an expert examination. Deal with this before you move: without a permit the item may be stopped at the border.

Import into the EU

From 28 June 2025 at the latest, the rules of Regulation 2019/880 on the import of cultural goods apply in the EU:

• An import licence is required for archaeological finds and parts of monuments more than 250 years old, whatever their value. The regulation places liturgical icons and statues in this category.
• An importer statement is required for items more than 200 years old worth €18,000 or more each: paintings, sculpture, engravings, coins and seals, manuscripts and old books, collections, historical and ethnographic items.
• Bringing in cultural goods removed from their country of origin in breach of its laws is prohibited.

An import licence does not prove lawful provenance or ownership, so purchase documents and the export permit of the country of departure matter in their own right.

VAT and customs duty

Imports of works of art, antiques and collectors’ items into Spain are subject to VAT at the reduced rate of 10%. Tax law treats as antiques objects more than 100 years old that are not works of art or collectors’ items.

When you move your residence, personal belongings, including household furnishings, can be imported free of VAT and duty if these conditions are met:

• you lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months;
• you owned and used the items in your former home for at least 6 months;
• they serve the same purpose in your new home;
• for the VAT exemption, the items were bought with normal taxes in that country and without a refund on export;
• the import takes place within 12 months of moving;
• for 12 months after import the items are not sold, rented out or given away.

The Russian export permit and the EU licence or importer statement are required regardless of the tax relief.

How to sell antiques in Spain

You can sell an item to an antique dealer, through an auction house or at a market. If the item is declared of cultural interest or entered in the General Inventory, you must notify the state of the sale and its price in advance: the state has the right to buy first. Auction houses notify the state of their sales themselves. A buyer from another country may need an export permit, so a sale to a foreign buyer can take longer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best-known flea market in Spain?

Madrid’s Rastro on Ribera de Curtidores. It opens on Sundays and public holidays from 9:00 to 15:00 and has about 1,200 stalls.

When is the Encants market in Barcelona open?

On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9:00 to 20:00. The market is at Carrer de los Castillejos, 158, by Plaça de les Glòries.

When is the flea market in Valencia open?

Valencia’s Rastro opens on Sundays and public holidays from 9:00 to 14:00 by Amelia Chiner park on Av. Tarongers. On Sundays a stamp, coin and book market is held in Plaza Redonda from 8:00 to 14:00.

Can antiques be exported from Spain?

Items over 100 years old and items in the General Inventory only with prior state authorisation, including to other EU countries. Items of cultural interest cannot be exported. Outside the EU, above the value thresholds, an EU export licence is also required.

What happens if antiques are exported without a permit?

The historical heritage law declares such an item state property, and Spain seeks its return.

Can I bring family antiques from Russia to Spain when I move?

First you need Russia’s permission: items over 100 years old generally cannot be exported, and for other cultural property a certificate is issued for each export. In the EU very old and valuable items need a licence or an importer statement, and personal belongings can be imported free of VAT and duty when you move if the conditions are met.

What VAT is charged on antiques imported into Spain?

10%. This is the reduced rate for works of art, antiques and collectors’ items. Personal belongings can be imported VAT-free when you move if you lived outside the EU for 12 months and used the items for at least 6 months.

Sources

• Madrid City Council: El Rastro
• Barcelona City Council: Mercat dels Encants
• Mercat Gòtic d’Antiguitats
• Valencia City Council: Rastro
• Valencia City Council: Plaza Redonda
• Málaga City Council: Cortijo de Torres Segunda Mano
• Palma City Council: Es Mercadet de Son Fuster
• Law 16/1985 on Spanish Historical Heritage
• EU Regulation 116/2009 on the export of cultural goods
• EU Regulation 2019/880 on the import of cultural goods
• EU Regulation 1186/2009 on relief from customs duty
• Law 37/1992 on VAT, Articles 28, 91 and 136
• Russian Law 4804-1 on the export and import of cultural property