Christmas lights in Madrid 2025: switch on, highlights and more

Madrid is going big with its Christmas lights display for 2025. Beloved streets dressed to the nines, smart new installations, and a showstopper switch-on at Cibeles that turns the whole nightscape into a living story. 

Christmas lights in Madrid 2025: dates and switch-on schedule

Madrid flips the switch on Saturday, 22nd November 2025, at 7.30 pm from Plaza de Cibeles. The mayor and rally legend Carlos Sainz will press the giant button as the city erupts in a burst of light, showcasing some of the best Christmas lights in Spain.

The scale this year is immense: more than 240 illuminated sites across all 21 districts, fed by over 13 million energy‑efficient LEDs, plus thousands of light garlands, luminous cherry trees and a baker’s dozen of grand firs.

The lights will twinkle from Sunday to Thursday from 6 pm to midnight, and on Fridays and Saturdays until 1 am. The lights usually stay on through Epiphany, which is a cornerstone of Spain’s festive calendar. Expect extended hours on 24th December and 5th January until 3 am, and on New Year’s Eve, the city glows right through to 6:00 am. 

Cibeles videomapping ‘La energía de la Navidad'

Before the big moment, the façade of Cibeles Palace becomes a vast, moving canvas. The new videomapping, La energía de la Navidad, blends 3D and AI to build hyperreal textures that ripple across the stone as a story unfolds. 

Behind the magic there’s serious muscle: a team of 25 creatives and more than 150 technicians, plus 14 next‑gen projectors combining for over half a million lumens. 

Must-see displays and Madrid Christmas tree locations (2025 highlights)

This year’s canvas is both science‑minded and sentimental, with installations that feel like a love letter to the city.

Luis García, CC BY-SA 3.0 ES Creative commons

• Gran Vía molecular snowflake arches: thirty‑one arches rise to 10.5 metres, set with more than 309,000 LEDs in snowflakes inspired by their real molecular structure.
• 22-metre Christmas tree at Gran Vía: at the crossroads with and Alcalá, a 22.2‑metre fir beams with 125,000 lights and 654 blue baubles. It’s one of the season’s crowning jewels.
• Puerta del Sol Christmas tree: this remains Madrid’s living symbol of the season, with a luminous fir and the constant ebb and flow of revellers.
• Serrano and the Salamanca district: this strip does lighting with poise: glossy window displays, shimmering canopies and a calmer pace once the shops close. Late evening is best for a quieter wander.
• Walk-in candle at Nuevos Ministerios: a 12‑metre candle glows in whites and oranges. Step inside to be wrapped in its light—it's a hit with kids and camera nerds.
• Plaza de Carlos V giant angels: by Atocha, new ten‑metre angels appear to stand guard over the roundabout where the station meets Paseo del Prado.
• Puente de Ventas' Baby Jesus: a contemporary Niño Jesús made with recycled materials adds a modern, eco‑aware twist to the city’s traditional iconography.
• Congress façade nativity in stained-glass style: outside the Congreso de los Diputados, a nativity rendered like glowing stained glass throws a warm, honeyed light. It’s catnip for night photographers.
• ACME fashion-led installations: Spain’s fashion creators leave their signature again this year: Oteyza reimagines Calle Montera, Isabel Sanchís designs the stately fir at Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz, and Pablo Erroz dresses Plaza de Chueca and its surrounding streets.
• Children’s drawings lights route in the historic centre: Primary school drawings leap from paper to the sky across Calle de la Sal, Gerona, Felipe III, Siete de Julio, Ciudad Rodrigo and Toledo.

Christmas tickets and special experiences in Madrid 2025

Madrid is a great place to celebrate Christmas in Spain this year, with heaps of festive things to keep you entertained. And if you like it so much, stick around for New Year's Eve in the capital city and join in Spain's unique grape tradition.

Pablo Blazquez Dominguez Getty images

Naviluz Christmas light bus

Naviluz is the city’s official Christmas bus, a double‑decker loop through the brightest corridors. It’s a single‑ride experience with pre‑assigned departure times, not a hop‑on hop‑off service.

Cortylandia family show

Cortylandia is Madrid nostalgia in motion: a musical light‑and‑animatronics show on the façade of El Corte Inglés, looping several times a day from late 22nd November until 5th January. 

Plaza Mayor Christmas Market

Opening on 27th November, the traditional market in Plaza Mayor is the beating heart of Madrid’s festive shopping and one of the best Christmas markets in Spain. It's packed with stalls selling nativity figures, ornaments, joke gifts and twinkly home décor. 

Ice rinks and nativity scenes (belenes)

The 400 m² ice rink returns to the Glass Gallery at Cibeles Palace from mid‑December to early January. You may also find ice rinks at the Matadero, Plaza de España, and Colón.

For belenes, watch for the civic nativity at CentroCentro, displays at the Real Casa de Correos, Catedral de la Almudena and Iglesia de San Ginés.

Day trip: Mágicas Navidades in Torrejón de Ardoz

If you want the full theme‑park version of Christmas lights, hop out to Torrejón de Ardoz for Mágicas Navidades. It’s a ticketed complex of illuminated avenues, shows and fairground rides that sits beyond central Madrid and usually runs with timed entry across the season.

Best routes to see Madrid Christmas lights 2025 on foot and by metro

David Benito Getty images

If you’ve only got an evening: 

• Start at Puerta del Sol for the towering tree
• Slip up to Callao and along Gran Vía to drink in the new snowflake arches
• Weave down Preciados to Plaza Mayor for a warm lap of the market
• Follow Calle de Alcalá to Cibeles for the videomapping window or an afterglow view
• Carry on to Puerta de Alcalá before finishing with a glide up Serrano past the polished storefronts. 

For a step‑free, family‑friendly loop:

• Stick to Sol, Calle Arenal, Preciados, Plaza de Canalejas, and the Alcalá corridor between Cibeles and Sol, using nearby accessible stations like Sol, Sevilla and Banco de España. 

If you’ve got the stamina, add elegant detours: 

• The luminous Plaza de la Independencia gate into El Retiro
• The winter‑garden atmosphere along Bravo Murillo
• The whimsical “gift corridor” on the Puente de Toledo.

Carlos Alvarez Getty images

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