Go Christmas shopping in Barcelona, designer Christmas markets in Madrid, taste Valencia’s sweet Christmas treats, go ice skating in Zaragoza, immerse yourself in the Christmas gospel in Seville and see Málaga’s famous Christmas decorations. If you hop on the Spanish high-speed train, you can experience the magic of Christmas in several Spanish cities in one long weekend.
In Spain, Christmas decorations, markets and events are put on full throttle to create a fairytale Christmas. In towns and cities big and small, Christmas lights line the streets, squares, parks and gardens. Shop windows vie for attention with the most creative Christmas decorations, and pastry shops, cafés and restaurants serve up Christmas treats.
Especially in the big cities, you’ll find Christmas magic to satisfy the biggest Christmas geek. Each major city has its annual Christmas lighting themes and a large Christmas program. If you’re struggling to choose which Spanish city to go Christmas shopping in, don’t worry. If you hop on the high-speed train, the AVE, you can get between Spain’s six largest cities in just a few hours. For example, it takes two hours and 45 minutes to travel from Barcelona to Madrid by train, and you can get from Málaga to Madrid in three hours. This means you can capture the Christmas magic in several Spanish cities in one long weekend.
As Christmas in Spain lasts until Epiphany, you’ll have plenty of time to experience the magic of Christmas. On top of the package, you’ll be able to relax between cities while enjoying the Spanish landscapes that glide by as the train whizzes by.
Madrid
The Spanish capital is the most popular city to visit for Christmas by locals and tourists alike. The city’s many Christmas lights are a particular draw, and you can experience them on foot or on a double-decker bus tour. In Madrid, the Christmas lights consist of 6600 strings of lights in 230 different locations, using energy-saving bulbs of course. You can also take a walk in the Retiro Park or the Botanical Gardens, which are fabulously decorated with lights and decorations. In Plaza de España you’ll find an illuminated giant Christmas ball that is 12 meters in diameter. There is also an ice rink on site.
Madrid’s largest Christmas market can be found in Plaza Mayor, where stalls range from Christmas decorations and nativity figures to sweets and toys, but the city also has many other alternative Christmas markets to explore.
Madrid’s former meatpacking town, Matadero, now an arts and culture center, hosts a design and art Christmas market. The Mercadillo del Gato pop-up market on Gran Vía offers everything from design and crafts to vintage and gourmet products.
New Year’s Eve in the center of Madrid and the big parade on the eve of Epiphany (Cabalgata) are also a major attraction in Madrid.
Read the Christmas program in Madrid 2023
Buy a ticket for the Christmas bus tour (advertising link)
Barcelona
Barcelona is ideal for Christmas shopping. In the neighborhoods of El Born and Gracia you’ll find a wealth of small local artisan and designer shops where you can buy a unique gift and support local artists.
The Eixample district is home to flagship stores with designer brands galore, and in Raval you can shop for vintage finds.
Also enjoy the Christmas lights throughout Barcelona. A must is seeing the Christmas lights on Gaudí’s iconic buildings such as La Sagrada Familia and Casa Battlo, as well as the former modernista hospital Sant Pau.
If you’re a music lover, there are plenty of Christmas concerts in the city, including the Cathedral of the Sea (Santa Maria del Mar),
Of course, Barcelona also has a wide range of Christmas markets, both the famous one by the cathedral and less artistic ones like the book Christmas market at Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm. At the Cellar Can Roda winery, just outside Barcelona, you can take part in workshops and taste wine and the classic Spanish nougat turron.
Valencia
No Christmas in Valencia without a visit to food markets. Valencia’s two impressive food markets in modernista architecture are always worth a visit. During the Christmas season, there’s an extra reason to visit the decorated markets, where the stalls are full of delicacies and the bars are waiting with tapas, Christmas sweets and wine. Try the local almond cookies, Coca Cristina or Coca Escudella with almond and pumpkin.
In Valencia’s Town Hall Square there is of course a Christmas tree and from December 21st, a light show via video mapping will be shown three times a day on the façade of the town hall. In addition, Valencia’s Christmas lights include thousands of poinsettias.
At the City Hall, the Ceramics Museum, the cathedral and in shopping centers you can admire traditional nativity scenes.
Valencia is a design mecca, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to shop for a unique, local Christmas gift in one of the many small designer shops.
Zaragoza
“Christmas in Zaragoza is like a fairytale movie”, claim the locals. The city is far too overlooked and that’s a shame. Because they really know how to create the Christmas spirit in Zaragoza. The city is on the train route between Madrid and Barcelona, making it a great stop on your Christmas trip.
The Christmas atmosphere around the famous Basilica of Pilar is especially popular and fairytale-like. Here you can skate among adults and children alike on the Christmas decorated ice rink overlooking the basilica. Around you, Christmas market stalls await with decorations, delicacies and gift ideas. In front of the basilica you’ll also find an over 1000 square meter nativity scene – Bethlehem in Judea – created around trees, plants and shrubs. If you have children with you, you can also visit Santa’s house on the square.
In addition, there are several Christmas concerts and shows in the city in December.
Seville
Seville is also dressed in Christmas lights throughout December, so a walk in the city center, where you can also enjoy Christmas displays in the shops, is an experience in itself.
By the cathedral you’ll find the city’s large, classic Christmas market. In Plaza Nueva you’ll find a huge craft market with stalls selling both local and international crafts.
At the Triana Bridge to the neighborhood of the same name, you can enjoy a daily audiovisual light show reflected in the river, and in the Plaza de San Francisco you can enjoy concerts with choirs, carillons and other performances.
The churches offer nativity plays, of course, and by the river area, Muelle de las Delicias, there is a large Christmas/winter amusement park, Sevilla On Ice.
Malaga
At Christmas time, Málaga is especially famous for its recurring Christmas lights on the shopping street (Calle Larios), where 16 angels with 12 meter long tails adorn the street and the lights are accompanied by Jingle Bells . However, you can enjoy the lights throughout the city, where there are no less than 2.2 million LED lights in 500 streets.
Christmas in Malaga is also a trip to the Botanical Gardens, where you can take an adventurous journey through light with the Three Wise Men in the story STELA, el viaje de la Estrella de Oriente junto a los Tres Reyes Magos (The Journey of the Eastern Star with the Three Wise Men).
On the facade of the cathedral tower you can experience a light show created with video mapping. The Thyssen Museum hosts Christmas fun and concerts in December, and Christmas concerts ranging from rock to flamenco are also held in the city.
At Muelle Uno you can meet Santa Claus handing out chocolates and you’ll find Christmas markets in places like SOHO neighborhood and in Plaza Merced.
Suggestions for 2 Christmas routes to Spanish cities with the high-speed train
Spain’s high-speed rail network, Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), stretches over 3,500 kilometers, providing excellent connections between the country’s six largest cities. Therefore, you can easily spend Christmas in all major cities in 6-7 days.
If you have fewer days available (e.g. a long weekend from Thursday to Sunday), here are a few suggested routes. If you’re flying to Spain, I recommend taking a morning flight so that you also have time to enjoy Christmas on the day of arrival.
1 Barcelona – Zaragoza – Madrid – Valencia
Arrive in Barcelona and spend a day there. From here, continue on to Zaragoza (1.5 hours by train). Spend half a day in the city and then head to Madrid (1 hour and 15 minutes by train). Stay overnight in Madrid and take the train to Valencia (1.5 hours). If you’re flying, fly home from Valencia or take a day trip from Madrid. Total travel time for the trip is 4 hours and 15 minutes by train.
Of course, you can also complete the route starting from Valencia.
2 Madrid – Sevilla – Málaga
Start in Madrid and take the train to Seville (2.5 hour train ride). Stay in Seville and take the train in Málaga (2 hours and 15 minutes by train). Of course, you can also start in Málaga and complete the tour in reverse order. Total travel time is 4 hours and 45 minutes.
See all the high-speed routes (AVE) and departures and buy train tickets on Renfe’s website.
