Madrid Christmas Lights 2026: a practical guide

When is the Madrid Christmas lights switch-on in 2026?

There is no official date yet. The tourist board's events calendar lists the lights from 21 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, but the council has not announced the switch-on event or its time (Madrid Tourism). The last three editions:

• 2025: Saturday 22 November, at 19:30, in Plaza de Cibeles. The mayor and rally driver Carlos Sainz pressed the button after a projection mapping show on the Palacio de Cibeles; singer Pablo López performed and the evening ended with fireworks set to music (City Council, time).
• 2024: Thursday 28 November, in Puerta del Sol, with Spain's national football coach Luis de la Fuente; it ended with fireworks (City Council).
• 2023: Thursday 23 November, in Puerta del Sol, from 19:00 to 19:50 (City Council).

There is no fixed rule: both the weekday and the square change. The event is free, outdoors and packed, so arrive early and take public transport. We will update this guide as soon as the council announces it.

What time do the lights come on, and how long are they up?

The 2026 hours have not been published yet. For Christmas 2025-2026 they were (official programme):

• Sunday to Thursday: 18:00 to midnight.
• Friday and Saturday: 18:00 to 01:00.
• 7 December: 18:00 to 01:00.
• 24 December and 5 January: 18:00 to 03:00.
• 31 December: 18:00 to 06:00.

In 2024-2025, the late 01:00 finish applied from 5 to 8 December (Madrid Tourism).

Until when? The official programme and the tourist board gave 6 January as the last day, although the council's switch-on press release said the lights could be seen until 7 January. For 2026-2027, the tourist board again says until 6 January.

Which streets have Christmas lights in Madrid?

What is known for 2026: more than 250 locations across the 21 districts, more than 14 million bulbs, all LED, 131 light cherry trees, 7,458 garlands adding up to 164 kilometres and 14 large light fir trees. For the third year there will be lights designed by children in the first two years of primary school, plus designs by members of the Spanish fashion designers' association ACME (Madrid Tourism). Where each piece goes in 2026 has not been published.

For reference, these were the highlights in 2025 (City Council):

Sol, Gran Vía and Plaza Mayor

• Gran Vía: a new snowflake-inspired design, with 31 arches along 1.3 kilometres and 309,000 light points.
• Alcalá at Gran Vía, opposite the Metrópolis building: a 22.2-metre light fir tree.
• Puerta del Sol: one of the city's big fir trees (its size is below).
• Calle de Alcalá between Cibeles and Sol, Plaza de Canalejas and Calle Arenal, Montera, Preciados and Mayor: routes recommended by the council. Montera had a new design by the Oteyza fashion house.
• Plaza Mayor: its own lights, nativity scenes in light at its entrances and, in the surrounding streets, the pieces designed by the winners of the schools drawing contest.
• Plaza de España: the giant light ball, at the corner with Calle Bailén.

Paseo del Prado, Cibeles and Castellana

• Plaza de Cibeles: where the 2025 switch-on took place.
• Paseo del Prado: the giant light Menina, by the Apollo fountain.
• Plaza de las Cortes: a 12-metre nativity in light inspired by cathedral stained glass.
• Glorieta de Carlos V (Atocha): three 10.2-metre angels.
• Plaza de Colón: the 18-metre angel.
• Nuevos Ministerios (Castellana at Hermanos Pinzón): a 12-metre candle of light you can walk through.
• Puerta de Alcalá, Toledo and San Vicente gates and the Segovia viaduct: nativity figures in light.
• Retiro: stained-glass style lights at the entrance from Plaza de la Independencia.

Other neighbourhoods

• Calle de Goya: 25 arches by Ben Busche recreating a sunrise.
• Calle de Serrano: a design by Pedro del Hierro, first shown in 2024 (City Council).
• Plaza de Chueca and Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz: designs by Pablo Erroz and a fir tree by Isabel Sanchís.
• Ventas: a giant Baby Jesus in light on the bridge and a 35-metre golden fir tree next to the bullring.
• Returning classics: the wreath in Plaza del Cardenal Cisneros, the star on Cea Bermúdez, the poinsettia at Alcalá and Hermanos García Noblejas, and the winter garden on Bravo Murillo.

How tall is the Puerta del Sol Christmas tree?

In 2024, the light fir tree in Puerta del Sol was almost 37 metres tall (City Council). In 2025 the council listed the Sol tree among its recommended routes again, without giving its size. For 2026, 14 large fir trees have been announced, with no locations yet.

On the same square, the Real Casa de Correos, seat of the Madrid regional government, has the clock that chimes in the New Year and, at Christmas, a free nativity scene (see below).

A walking route to see the Madrid Christmas lights

The best of it is in the centre and easy to walk. A west-to-east route, using the 2025 decorations as a reference:

1. Plaza de España: the giant light ball.
2. Gran Vía: the snowflake arches, end to end.
3. Alcalá at Gran Vía: the fir tree opposite the Metrópolis building.
4. Plaza de Cibeles: just beyond. From there, walk back along Calle de Alcalá and Plaza de Canalejas towards Sol.
5. Puerta del Sol: the big fir tree and the nativity scene in the Real Casa de Correos.
6. Preciados, Arenal and Mayor: lit streets and, in Plaza del Celenque, El Corte Inglés's Cortylandia show. In 2025 there were 11-minute shows at 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 h, from 22 November to 5 January (official programme).
7. Plaza Mayor: the Christmas market and the children's lights in the surrounding streets.

If you still have energy, walk from Sol down Carrera de San Jerónimo to Plaza de las Cortes and Paseo del Prado: the nativity in light, the Menina and the Atocha angels.

Practical tips:

• The lights come on at 18:00, when it is already dark. The Plaza Mayor market closes at 21:00 or 22:00, so start there if you want to see it open.
• The busiest days are Friday to Sunday and the eve of public holidays: that is when the council raises police numbers to 800 officers (City Council). Monday to Thursday is easier on foot.
• The free Navidad Accesible Madrid app (iOS and Android) gives audio descriptions of the lights on four routes: Gran Vía, Sol, Goya and Atocha. It is designed for people with visual or intellectual disabilities.
• If you would rather have someone tell you the stories, there are guided tours of central Madrid.
• On Calle de Alcalá, right on the route, the Círculo de Bellas Artes hosts candlelit concerts such as Candlelight: Christmas Classics.

Naviluz, the Christmas lights bus: price, times and departure point

The 2026 Naviluz details have not been published. On 20 October 2026, the official ticket website, naviluz.es, still showed the 2025-2026 edition:

• Dates: 23 November to 6 January, every day except 24 and 31 December and 5 January.
• Departure: Calle de Felipe IV, between the Goya entrance of the Prado Museum and the service entrance of the Hotel Ritz, opposite number 1. Arrival: Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo (Neptune fountain). They ask you to arrive no more than 5 minutes before departure to avoid crowds.
• Route, about 50 minutes: Felipe IV, Alfonso XII, Puerta de Alcalá, Velázquez, Goya, Serrano, Plaza de Colón, Puerta de Alcalá, Cibeles, Alcalá, Gran Vía, Plaza de las Cortes, Neptune, Paseo del Prado, Glorieta de Carlos V and back to Cánovas del Castillo. In bad weather, closures or events in Cibeles there is an alternative route that skips Gran Vía.
• Times: departures from 18:00 to 22:00.
• Prices: adults aged 12 to 64, €12; over-65s and children aged 7 to 11, €6; children up to 6, free (up to three per adult), but they need a ticket. From the 21:00 service, €9 and €4.50. People with a disability of 33% or more and passengers who cannot climb to the upper deck also get the reduced fare.
• How to buy: online only, at naviluz.es (also in English), up to 10 tickets per purchase. Tickets cannot be changed or refunded, and rain or cold do not cancel the service. A PDF ticket on your phone is fine.

The Naviluz is not a regular EMT city bus: in 2021 and 2022 it was run by the company that operates the city's sightseeing buses (City Council). For weekends and the early-December long weekend, buy as soon as sales open.

Plaza Mayor Christmas market: dates and opening hours

In 2026 it runs from 26 November to 31 December, according to the tourist board's events calendar. Its official listing mentions 104 stalls, run by the Plaza Mayor Christmas Market Association, selling nativity figures, decorations, Christmas instruments, toys and joke-shop items, plus an exhibition of a handmade nativity scene (Madrid Tourism).

• Published hours: Sunday to Thursday, 10:00 to 21:00; Friday, Saturday and the eve of public holidays, 10:00 to 22:00, with no midday break.
• Entry: free.
• Metro: Sol (lines 1, 2 and 3), Ópera (2, 5 and Ramal) and Tirso de Molina (1).

In 2025 it ran from 27 November to 31 December with the same hours (official programme). Many squares in the districts also hold their own Christmas markets.

Madrid's best nativity scenes

Dates and hours from 2025 for reference, except where 2026 is stated (official programme):

• City Council nativity scene, at CentroCentro (Palacio de Cibeles, Patio de Operaciones): by José Luis Mayo Lebrija, with more than 200 figures and 20 buildings in a circular layout you can view from every side. In 2025 it was open from 28 November to 4 January, 10:30 to 19:00 (last entry); on 24, 25 and 31 December, until 13:00; closed on Mondays and 1 January. Free, with 30-minute time slots: pick up a pass at the ticket office or book at navidadmadrid.com for a €0.50 fee, up to four per person (City Council).
• Real Casa de Correos nativity scene (Madrid regional government), in Puerta del Sol (Calle del Correo, 1): in 2026, from 27 November to 6 January, according to the tourist board's calendar. In 2025 it covered 132 m² with more than 500 figures and was open 10:00 to 22:00; on opening day, 5 December and 6 January, 15:00 to 22:00; on 24 and 31 December and 5 January, 10:00 to 18:00; closed on 25 December and 1 January. Free entry until full.
• Royal Palace nativity scene (Sala Génova, Calle Bailén): the Neapolitan nativity begun by Charles III for his son. In 2025, from 5 December to 5 January, with last entry at 17:00 Monday to Saturday and at 15:00 on Sundays; on 24 and 31 December, closing at 15:00; closed on 25 December and 1 and 6 January. Patrimonio Nacional warns of possible closures for official events. If you also want to see the palace, there are Royal Palace tickets.
• Museo de Historia de Madrid (Calle Fuencarral, 78): an 18th-century Neapolitan nativity with 51 figures. In 2026, from 1 December to 1 February, according to the tourist board's calendar; in 2025 it was open 10:00 to 20:00, closed on Mondays, 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 and 6 January. Free.
• Museo de San Isidro (Plaza de San Andrés, 2): in 2025, a life-size Epiphany in the courtyard and twelve nativity scenes from around the world, from 2 December to 18 January, 10:00 to 20:00, with the same closing days. Free.

Every year the council publishes a nativity trail covering all 21 districts, including the Belenes del Mundo exhibition from the Basanta-Martín collection.

Three Kings parade 2027: time and route

The next one is on Tuesday 5 January 2027. The tourist board lists it from 18:00 to 21:00, but the route and details have not been published yet (Madrid Tourism). This is how the 2026 parade went (City Council):

• Start: 18:00 from Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz.
• Route: Paseo de la Castellana and Paseo de Recoletos to Plaza de Cibeles.
• Finale: the Three Kings' speech in Cibeles shortly before 21:00, followed by fireworks set to music.
• Stands: more than 8,000 seats along the route and 2,200 in Cibeles.
• Accessibility: five reserved areas for people with disabilities, always on the right-hand side in the direction of the parade: Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz, Plaza del Doctor Marañón, Glorieta de Emilio Castelar and two in Plaza de Colón. Each person may bring two companions, first come, first served.
• On TV: live on RTVE and Telemadrid.

That night the lights stayed on until 03:00. On the morning of 5 January, the charity Aldeas Infantiles SOS hands out roscón, the Kings' cake, in Puerta del Sol: in 2026, live music from 11:00 and 10,000 free portions from 12:00 (Madrid Tourism).

New Year's Eve and the 'preúvas' in Puerta del Sol

On 31 December, thousands of people eat twelve grapes in Puerta del Sol in time with the chimes of the Real Casa de Correos clock, and the night before, on the 30th, there is a rehearsal known as the preúvas (Madrid Tourism). There are no tickets: entry is first come, first served until the square reaches the capacity set by the council, and that capacity changes every year.

The 2026 arrangements have not been published; in 2022 the council announced them on 30 December itself. For reference, this is how it worked that year (City Council):

• Capacity: 7,500 people, on both the 30th and the 31st.
• Clearing the square: around 21:00 the entrances were closed and the square emptied; people were then let back in through checkpoints.
• Entrances: with two police checkpoints each on Carrera de San Jerónimo, Calle de Alcalá, Calle Mayor and Calle del Arenal.
• Not allowed: glass, blunt objects and fireworks.
• Reduced mobility: a reserved area, reached via Calle Esparteros towards Calle del Correo.
• For children: on the 31st at 12:00 there were children's "grapes" with sweets, with no checkpoints or clearing.

Metro: in 2025, Sol station was closed on 30 and 31 December from 18:00 until the end of service, and on 1 January the Metro opened at 7:00 (Madrid regional government). The nearest stations are Callao (lines 3 and 5), Ópera (2, 5 and Ramal) and Sevilla (2). That night the lights stayed on until 06:00.

If you want to walk back after the grapes, book a place to stay in the centre early: in the days before New Year's Eve 2024, Madrid's hotel occupancy reached 87% (City Council).

Road closures, Metro and local trains over Christmas

On switch-on day (2025, in Cibeles) (City Council):

• Full closure to traffic from 16:30 to 22:00 on Calle de Alcalá (Cibeles to Plaza de la Independencia and Cibeles to Cedaceros) and on Gran Vía (Alcalá to Hortaleza).
• Metro: Sevilla and Banco de España closed from 18:00 to 21:30, and the Sol Metro and Cercanías stations from 19:00 to 21:00. The nearest open stations were Serrano (line 4), Estación del Arte (1), Gran Vía (1 and 5) and Chueca (5).
• The closures could affect access to the Recoletos, Plaza del Rey, Montalbán, Las Cortes, Serrano, Mostenses and Plaza de España car parks.

Throughout Christmas (2025):

• When crowds build up, local police set one-way pedestrian flows: Preciados can only be entered from Sol and Calle del Carmen only from Callao. In Plaza del Celenque (Cortylandia) people are redirected towards Arenal and Mayor, and from Calle Postas you can only reach Plaza Mayor from Calle Mayor.
• Sol station may close at the busiest times. In 2024 it closed on the busiest days from 18:00 to 21:00 (City Council).
• From 22 December, EMT added buses on lines 1, 2, 6, 9, 17, 18, 20, 23, 31, 32, 35, 50, 51, 53, 74, 133, 146, 147, 148, 150 and M1 (weekdays, 15:00 to 21:00) and on the 001 and E1 (9:00 to 22:00).
• The regional government ran extra trains on Metro lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 until 6 January (Madrid regional government).

Special Metro hours (2025-2026): on 24 December it closed at 22:00, with the last trains leaving the end stations at 21:30; on the 25th it opened at 8:00 and on 1 January at 7:00 (Madrid regional government).

The council recommends public transport: the centre is a Low Emission Zone and, in 2024, it planned to close streets such as Gran Vía, Mayor or Atocha if they became congested.

Tips for visiting Madrid at Christmas

• When to go: the early-December long weekend is the busiest. In 2026, Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 December are public holidays in the Madrid region (BOE), and over that weekend in 2024 hotel occupancy reached 90%. If you can choose, go Monday to Thursday outside those dates.
• Pickpockets: the council deploys plain-clothes officers in the centre to prevent theft. Keep your phone and wallet in front of you in Sol, Preciados, Plaza Mayor and Gran Vía.
• Closing days: on 24 December the Metro closes at 22:00. 25 December, 1 January and 6 January are public holidays, and many nativity scenes and city museums also close on the 24th and 31st.
• By day: with the lights off, it is a good time for museums: here are tickets for Madrid museums and sights. The Palacio de Cibeles ice rink opened in 2025 from 13 December to 5 January, in the Galería de Cristal (Calle de Montalbán, 1).
• Visiting from Japan: Spanish Christmas lasts until 6 January. The big day for children is the morning of the 6th, when they find the presents from the Three Kings, and the evening before is the parade (Madrid Tourism). If you travel in early January, you will still see the lights. On New Year's Eve the custom is to eat one grape with each of the twelve chimes. The Naviluz website is in Spanish and English.
• From the airport: if you arrive late or with heavy luggage, a pre-booked transfer from Barajas takes you to your hotel without queuing for a taxi.

For everything else on during your stay (concerts, theatre, Circo Price or ice rinks), see our Madrid events calendar. And if you want a night out after the lights, our flamenco in Madrid guide lists the tablaos with show times and prices.