Madrid is a fantastic city to visit before Christmas, during Christmas, and after Christmas. The city spends a lot of time and energy making it the perfect place to celebrate Christmas, and the traditional Christmas market at Plaza Mayor is the most popular place to go if you come to Madrid in this period.
There are many locations worth visiting if you visit Madrid during this period. The city has lots of fantastic lights added all around the city, giving visitors an authentic Christmas atmosphere as they walk up and down the streets at night. If you are eager to see all the Christmas lights, there is even a bus operated by Naviluz that will show you the beautiful lights of Madrid in a traditional tourist bus.
The Christmas market at Plaza Mayor
The most famous and oldest Christmas market in Madrid is at Plaza Mayor. It all started by people selling fruits, vegetables, and Christmas decorations at Plaza de Santa Cruz (nearby). This was later formalized and became the Christmas market present at Plaza Mayor today.
There are 104 stalls in total at Plaza Mayor. If you walk around all these stalls, you will have the chance to buy all sorts of products including lights, stars, little soldiers, Christmas figures (such as kings, shepherds, and animals), Christmas trees, Christmas lightning, candles, flowers, masks, caps, hats, glasses, and lots of other great stuff. You will also find delightful things to eat and drink at the market, and that is something you should try to experience what the locals like to eat and drink at such markets.
Plaza Mayor Christmas market dates 2024
November 28 – December 31 (these are the official dates, confirmed by those arranging the Christmas market).
The Christmas market normally opens at 10:00 and remains open until 21:00. The market remains open until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Christmas market dates in earlier years:
- 2024: November 28 – December 31.
- 2023: November 24 – December 31.
- 2022: November 25 – December 31.
- 2021: November 26 – December 31.
- 2020: November 27 – December 31.
- 2019: November 23 – December 31.
Accommodation close to the Christmas market at Plaza Mayor.
Would you like to book a hotel or apartment close to Plaza Mayor? This is ideal, not only because of the Christmas market but because it means that you live in a very central location in Madrid. As a result, you can easily walk to famous attractions and activities in Madrid without wasting a lot of time. Look at the map below to see a wide selection of hotels and apartments close to the Christmas market at Plaza Mayor.
Look closer at the map above to find hotels and apartments that are good for you. The price estimation will immediately give you an impression about whether or not a given hotel or apartment is for you.
How to get to Plaza Mayor?
As we mentioned earlier, Plaza Mayor is a very central and popular location in Madrid. The easiest way of traveling to the Christmas market at Plaza Mayor is by the metro. You can travel by metro and get off at the stops Sol (which is the heart of Madrid) or the Opera. From there, you can easily walk to Plaza Mayor within a few minutes.
If you prefer to use the bus, you should travel with one of the following buses: 48,17,18,35,41,60.
Are there any other Christmas markets in Madrid?
There is another Christmas market at Plaza Espana in Madrid. This is located close to the castle of Madrid, and it is a great place to go if you want to experience another large Christmas market besides the one located at Plaza Mayor.
Like everywhere else in Madrid, the square is filled with beautiful lights, and also a nice outdoor ice-skating rink.
There are some small markets here and there, but they are not permanent and not big enough to mention here. There is a mini market by Saint George’s Church, but that is only available for one single day, so you must be lucky if you are to experience this while in Madrid.
It might not be a Christmas market, but a very popular place to go in December and the start of January is the ice rink in Cibeles Palace. Here you have a 300m2 indoor ice skating rink in a beautiful environment. The ice skating rink has been an annual tradition since 2012. It is a fantastic opportunity to move your body and to visit a beautiful building in Madrid at the same time.
Other things you must try, visit, and check out in Madrid before Christmas.
Christmas in Madrid is about much more than the traditional Christmas markets. There are certain activities, places, and things you cannot leave Madrid without tasting and experiencing, so here we will give you some fantastic tips we hope you will enjoy!
You should definitely buy and taste Turrón.
If you want to taste the number one sweet that the people of Spain love (which is very popular if you visit the Christmas markets in Barcelona as well), is the Turrón. This is a nougat made from almonds, honey, and sugar, and it brings Christmas and the smell of Christmas into your home (or your mouth) as you buy it.
Some of them are served with entire almonds on the inside, while in others they are smashed. There is even a museum for this sweet in Madrid, so that is a perfect place to go if you want to do some Christmas shopping with the locals.
Time for more calories… taste churros, with or without chocolate.
You might have heard about churros and also taste churros. It is a dough that is fried in oil until it is crispy and nice, and then chocolate is added to it. There are lots of places you can eat it in Madrid, but one of the nicest places is at San Gines, a place located between Puerta del Sol and the Opera, in the center of Madrid. You can also find San Gines at the Christmas markets around Madrid, so if you do not visit one of their locations, you can still try their famous churros at the Christmas markets.
Walk up and down the illuminated streets of Madrid.
One of the nicest things you can do is to walk up and down the illuminated streets of Madrid. You will find beautifully illuminated buildings everywhere, and as it doesn’t really get freezing cold, you can spend hours walking up and down the streets, looking at shopping windows, drinking coffee, taking photos, and experiencing the Christmas atmosphere of Madrid.
Do you like the lights, but you would rather walk not surrounded by cars? Then you should visit the El Retiro Park which is beautifully illuminated in the evenings before Christmas. Here you can spend hours on a romantic walk while enjoying the lights!
There are other happenings in Madrid during Christmas, and there are also Christmas villages with beautiful lights outside Madrid. If you want to read more about these and other happenings, look at our Madrid calendar to find out what’s going on in Madrid, the capital of Spain.
