Spanish workers staged a general strike to protest against labour reforms which the government there declared "unstoppable".
However, many ignored the action, fearing for their jobs in a country with the EU's highest unemployment rate.
Factories across the nation were silent and ports closed.
Television and transport were disrupted by the strike against the austerity policies of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Police arrested a number of protesters in Madrid while small-scale violence flared in Barcelona, Spain's second city.
Tourists were locked out of the Alhambra, a 14th-century Moorish palace in the southern city of Granada, which is one of Europe's great cultural monuments.
Strikers promised a wave of protests to confront Mr Rajoy's conservative government over reforms making it cheaper for companies to fire staff and dismantling a nationwide system of collective pay bargaining.
Spain is tipping into its second recession since the end of 2009 and some observers expect at least another million people to join already swollen unemployment lines. The jobless rate is already 23% and almost half of under 25-year-olds are out of work.
Mr Rajoy's government said it was committed to making labour reforms which it argues will help to reduce unemployment by making the labour market more efficient.
"The agenda for reform is unstoppable," Labour Minister Fatima Banez said.
Police presence was particularly heavy around parliament where politicians were putting in a longer work day than usual as Mr Rajoy sought approval for five different measures, including funding for indebted local governments to pay suppliers.
Spaniards have so far been tolerant of his efforts to reform the labour market and meet strict EU-imposed deficit goals to ensure it avoids a Greek-style debt crisis.
But the general strike, the first since September 2010, showed that patience may be wearing thin. The largest union put support for the strike at 77% while the government said the work day was proceeding normally but gave no overall tally.
Flights and other services in Spain were disrupted by the strike and air passengers travelling to and from Spain were warned to expect possible flight disruptions.
Aer Lingus cancelled its flights from Malaga to and from Cork and Belfast.
Ryanair said its Irish flights are not affected, but it is monitoring the situation.
Spain's blue chip index fell 0.87%, its eighth consecutive session of declines as concerns over the country's finances returned.
There were pockets of violence in Barcelona, where protesters set garbage bins on fire and threw chairs from the famed outdoor cafes of Spain's second largest city onto the street, but no injuries were reported.
Union members waving red flags gathered in major cities where they plastered stickers on shop windows reading "Closed for Strike", though many remained open for business.
Police barricaded parliament and arrested 58 people in Madrid, many of whom were trying to stop people going to work.
Many workers crossed the picket lines, saying they feared losing their jobs or were unwilling to lose the average of around €100 which will be docked from the pay cheques of the strikers.
While many Spaniards are fighting to preserve protection for their jobs, others are on short-term contracts of typically six months with little protection.
These workers fear their employers could punish strikers by failing to renew their contracts when they expire, and give the job instead to one of the army of unemployed.
Fewer than a fifth of Spanish employees are currently affiliated with the country's two biggest unions and many feel they do not represent the wider workforce.
Mr Rajoy said on Tuesday his administration would pass a "very, very, austere budget" tomorrow.
His goal of cutting the deficit this year to 5.3% of gross domestic product implies nominal cuts of at least €35bn.
The cuts are meant to keep borrowing costs down as well as working towards meeting the EU's 3% deficit limit next year, but some economists say they will deepen the looming recession.
