Approved eclipse glasses are sold at pharmacies, opticians, astronomy shops and planetariums, big stores and online, and last summer ONCE (Spain’s national organisation of blind people) and several town councils also handed them out free. Where you buy them matters less than what they carry: the EN ISO 12312-2 standard, the CE marking and the name and address of whoever is responsible for them. You’ll need them for most of the morning of Monday 2 August 2027: in Madrid the partial phase runs from 09:45:35 to 12:02:42, and only in the 105 towns in the path of totality are there a few seconds without a filter, around the maximum, which comes between 10:46 and 10:51. All times are Spanish time (CEST, UTC+2).
What to check, wherever you buy
Eclipse glasses are category II personal protective equipment (PPE). Spain’s Consumer Affairs ministry summed it up last summer: they have to pass an EU type-examination, come with an EU declaration of conformity and carry the CE marking, and the only valid standard is ISO 12312-2:2015. The EU regulation on PPE (Regulation 2016/425) adds what has to come with the product:
- The manufacturer: its name or trade mark and a postal address for contact, on the glasses or, if they don’t fit, on the packaging or in a document that comes with them (Article 8).
- The importer, if they come from outside the EU: its name and postal address too (Article 10).
- The instructions, in a language that is easy to understand (Article 8).
- The EU declaration of conformity, or the web address where you can read it (Article 8).
On category II PPE, the notified body’s number doesn’t have to appear next to the CE mark: the regulation only requires it there for category III (Article 17). The body is involved all the same, because it carries out the EU type-examination and issues the certificate, and that certificate is what you should ask for. The full checklist, step by step, is in our guide to certified glasses.
At the pharmacy and the optician
According to EFE, the Spanish news agency, last summer you could buy them at pharmacies and opticians, and in department stores too. That has a practical advantage: there is someone in front of you to ask for the type-examination certificate and the declaration of conformity. But a shop counter doesn’t certify anything. Of the six models that Spain’s regional governments ordered off the market, according to the list published by OCU, Spain’s consumer organisation, two carried the brand of an optician chain. Exactly what to ask for is in eclipse glasses at pharmacies and opticians.
At an astronomy shop or a planetarium
This is the channel that official bodies mention. The IGN (Spain’s National Geographic Institute) talks about glasses “bought in specialist shops and planetariums”, and sells its own at the sales points of the CNIG (Spain’s National Centre for Geographic Information). The Trío de Eclipses website, from Spain’s Ministry of Science, notes that planetariums, astronomical societies and scientific bodies “usually recommend distributors or products that have passed quality controls”. And the Consumer Affairs ministry asked people to buy them “only through official channels, specialist shops or distributors recommended by scientific bodies”. Even so, you check the same things: the EN ISO 12312-2:2015 inscription on the glasses, their packaging or the instructions, and the paperwork.
At the supermarket or a big store
The day before last summer’s eclipse, according to the Spanish newspaper El Español, some branches of the department store El Corte Inglés still had models left, and the supermarket chains Aldi, Carrefour and Alcampo had also sold glasses. A big chain selling them tells you nothing about the filter. “Are supermarket ones any good?” is answered by reading the box, and we explain how in eclipse glasses from supermarkets and shops.
Online
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) asks you to buy directly from a manufacturer on its list or from one of their authorised dealers, and never whatever comes up first in ads or search results. It also warns that anyone can print a claim that glasses meet the standard, and that some companies have put the name of a listed manufacturer on their own products. So a name on the box isn’t enough: when they arrive, look at the marking and ask for the paperwork, and if anything is missing, send them back. What Amazon did in 2017 and the recalls in Spain are in fake and recalled eclipse glasses.
Free: ONCE, museums, the town council
Last summer, the Spanish government and ONCE announced that they would give away two million glasses, and several town councils handed out their own at libraries, museums and social services offices. For 2027 we haven’t found any giveaway announced; what there is, is in free eclipse glasses. Free or bought, you check them the same way.
Early, and checked
Buying them months ahead leaves time to ask for the paperwork, try them at home and send them back if something is wrong. Last summer they sold out in many places, as we tell in when to buy eclipse glasses. If you still have a pair from the last eclipse, check them before using them: do eclipse glasses expire? (in Spanish).
On Order your glasses you can ask for ours: cardboard, with the EN ISO 12312-2 certificate, along with the phone filter and packs for groups. We reply with the price and the delivery time. And if you run a shop in the path, you can hand them over to your neighbours as a pickup point.
Sources: Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda — press release on eclipse glasses (in Spanish: category II PPE, EU type-examination, EU declaration of conformity and CE marking; ISO 12312-2:2015, the only valid standard; buy through official channels, specialist shops or distributors recommended by scientific bodies); PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425, text in La Administración al Día (INAP) (in Spanish: Articles 8 and 10: manufacturer, importer, instructions and declaration; Article 17: the body’s number next to the CE mark, for category III; Article 19: EU type-examination for category II); INSST — Organismo notificado (in Spanish: the EU type-examination and its certificate); IGN — Cómo observar los eclipses (in Spanish: specialist shops, planetariums and CNIG sales points); Trío de Eclipses, Ministry of Science — Salud visual (in Spanish: where to look for the EN ISO 12312-2:2015 inscription; planetariums, societies and scientific bodies); AAS — How to tell if viewers are safe (a manufacturer on its list or an authorised dealer; manufacturers’ names printed on other companies’ products; don’t buy what comes up in ads); EFE, in Valencia Plaza — demand for approved glasses (in Spanish: pharmacies, opticians and department stores); El Español — where to buy glasses at the last minute (in Spanish: El Corte Inglés, Aldi, Carrefour and Alcampo); OCU — recall of eclipse glasses (in Spanish: the six recalled models, including Opticalia and Mó); Diario de León — seven models recalled (in Spanish: Mó, from Multiópticas); Trío de Eclipses — the government and ONCE giveaway (in Spanish: the two million free glasses); times for Madrid and for totality: eclipseando data (skyfield engine + DE440s).
If you would like something to keep from the eclipse, the shop prints T-shirts, mugs and posters with the name of your town, the time of its maximum and its seconds of totality. See the merchandise →
Remember: never look at the Sun without proper eye protection (filters made to EN ISO 12312-2). The official reference for safe viewing in Spain is the IGN (in Spanish): eclipses.ign.es.