Christmas in Madrid

New Year (Madrid)

Madrid counts during Christmas with a complete agenda of activities. One of the things that you cannot stop doing in the streets of Madrid at this time is to go through the Plaza Mayor and get lost among the many stalls of the Christmas market, where you can buy artisan figurines for the nativity scene, decorations for the house and even the typical tree with all the decoration of ballots, lights and garlands that you can imagine.

If what you like is shopping, the downtown area between Sol, Gran Vía, Plaza Mayor and Callao has a variety of stores to do with everything that is on the list of gifts. In addition, the three wise men and Santa Claus will pick up the requests of the children and then they can entertain themselves with the show Cortylandia at the entrance of the Corte Inglés of the Calle Maestro Victoria.

There will also be several ice rinks for families to enjoy skating (Colón, Centro Cibeles or Vallecas) or classic carousels in the Plaza de Oriente and in Santa Cruz, while in other squares, you can find markets such in Plaza de Jacinto Benavente or Plaza de Santa Cruz. In addition, the Conde Duque Cultural Center and the Centro Cibeles dedicate a large part of its programming to shows for the little ones; storytellers, puppets, concerts...

Plaza Mayor
Christmas market

In 2017 the third edition of the Christmas International Fair of Cultures is going to be held in the Matadero of Madrid, which this year extends its duration and will be open from December 15 to 29.

Another way to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere is to take the Naviluz, the Bus of Christmas, a bus with departure and arrival in the Plaza de Colón that runs through the main streets of downtown Madrid and allows you to enjoy the Christmas illumination.

Nougats, marzipan, candied fruit, mantecados, Roscón de Reyes. Christmas is the greediest holiday on the calendar. Forget the diets and visit with us some of the most traditional pastry shops in Madrid.

The long lines that form in front of Casa Mira's door come from far away. Specifically, from 1942, the date on which it opened its doors which presume to be the most famous nougat house in Madrid. It's their specialty and they sell them even when it's not Christmas!

Another well-known establishment is El Riojano, a small store -declared Artistic Heritage- founded in 1855 by the confectioner of the Queen Isabel. Here there is nothing that is not one hundred percent handmade. In your tea room you can taste any of its sweets: bartolillos, pestiños, almond cakes ...

Something more modern, the La Santiaguesa oven offers great handmade nougat, olive oil polvorones, marzipan figures and candied fruit. It also raises passions the Oven San Onofre that is worth visiting if only to take a look at its shop window: an experience for the senses. 

Horno San Onofre

Since 2012, the Teatro Real is the setting for one of the key moments of the Christmas holidays in Spain: the Extraordinary Christmas Sweepstakes. During the morning of December 22 those who have bought a tenth (something that everyone does, since it is a tradition to exchange numbers or shares between family members, friends, coworkers ...) may dream of being able to be graceful with el Gordo (the maximum jackpot prize) and make wishes come true.

The origin of this classic draw dates back to the 19th century, in the Cortes of Cádiz in 1812. At that time it was considered as a means to increase the revenues of the public treasury without putting pressure on taxpayers. In 1892 it began to be called the Christmas Draw. 

Extraordinary Christmas Sweepstakes

We can say that Madrid can boast of having many holidays to brighten its streets and receive people who come to visit us, but few are those that spread as many areas of Madrid as the arrival of Christmas!