Christmas · Late November to 6 January
Christmas lights: the best in Spain and Europe
Whole streets under arches of light, giant trees, light-and-music shows and, beyond Spain, avenues and festivals that fill with visitors every December: the cities with the best Christmas lights and what each one offers. Most switch on between mid-November and early December and go off after Epiphany, on 6 January.
Updated 20 October 2026 · How we make our guides
The best Christmas lights in Spain
Vigo has become famous for competing every year for the country’s biggest light display, but it isn’t the only one: Madrid, Málaga, Barcelona and Seville fill their centres with light, and Córdoba has one of the most spectacular shows.
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SpainVigo
Spain’s most famous Christmas lights: millions of LED lights all over the city, a giant tree, a big Ferris wheel and decorations that change every year. It draws visitors from all over the country, especially at weekends.
Mid-November to early January
What to see in Vigo -
SpainMadrid
The lights of Sol, Gran Vía, Calle Alcalá, Serrano and the Salamanca district, with the tree in Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor full of stalls. The Naviluz, an open-top bus, tours the light displays in the centre.
Late November to 6 January
What to see in Madrid -
SpainMálaga
Calle Larios is covered in arches of light and has a light-and-music show that is repeated several times every evening: one of the most watched in Spain. Nativity scenes around the old town complete it.
Late November to 6 January
What to see in Málaga -
SpainBarcelona
Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla de Catalunya and the Diagonal light up, and in front of the cathedral the Fira de Santa Llúcia is set up, the city’s oldest Christmas market.
Late November to 6 January
What to see in Barcelona -
SpainSeville
More than three hundred streets and squares lit up, with Avenida de la Constitución and Plaza de San Francisco at the centre and light-and-music shows that change every year.
Late November to 6 January
What to see in Seville -
SpainCórdoba
Calle Cruz Conde has a light-and-sound show with several performances every evening, one of the most spectacular in Andalusia, and the rest of the centre lights up around Las Tendillas.
Early December to 6 January
What to see in Córdoba -
SpainValencia
Plaza del Ayuntamiento brings together a big tree of light and a Christmas market, and the streets of the centre are full of lights until Epiphany.
Late November to 6 January
What to see in Valencia
Christmas lights in Europe
For a December getaway: illuminated avenues, huge trees and an entire festival of light.
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United KingdomLondon
Regent Street and Oxford Street are covered in lights, Carnaby Street unveils new decorations every year and Covent Garden puts up a giant tree. It is one of the most spectacular Christmases in Europe.
November to early January
What to see in London -
FranceParis
The Champs-Élysées light up from end to end, the department stores on Boulevard Haussmann decorate their windows and the dome of the Galeries Lafayette houses a giant tree.
Late November to early January
What to see in Paris -
FranceLyon
The Festival of Lights turns the city into a festival of light for four nights: projections on the façades, installations in the streets and candles in the windows, a tradition dating back to 1852.
Around 8 December
What to see in Lyon -
AustriaVienna
The great chandeliers hanging over the Graben and the lights on Kärntner Straße join a dozen Christmas markets.
Mid-November to early January
What to see in Vienna -
DenmarkCopenhagen
The Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, fill with lights and stalls, and the Nyhavn harbour is lit up for Christmas.
November to early January
What to see in Copenhagen -
BelgiumBrussels
On the Grand-Place, the big tree and a sound-and-light show on the façades, as part of Plaisirs d’Hiver, the winter market that winds through the centre.
Late November to early January
What to see in Brussels -
PortugalMadeira
Funchal lights up entirely in December and sees the year out with one of the most famous fireworks displays in the world, over the bay, with sunshine and mild temperatures.
Early December to 6 January
What to see in Madeira
Frequently asked questions
Which city has the best Christmas lights in Spain?
Vigo is the most famous and the one that draws the most visitors for its lights, with millions of LED lights, a giant tree and a Ferris wheel. Madrid, Málaga (Calle Larios), Barcelona and Seville are usually among the best too.
When are the Christmas lights switched on?
Vigo is one of the first, in mid-November; most cities switch them on in late November or early December, and almost all switch them off after Epiphany. The date of the switch-on changes every year: check the city council’s website.
Where are the best Christmas lights in Andalusia?
In Málaga, with the light-and-music show on Calle Larios; in Seville, with Avenida de la Constitución and Plaza de San Francisco; and in Córdoba, with the light-and-sound show on Calle Cruz Conde.
Which are the best Christmas lights in Europe?
London’s (Regent Street and Oxford Street), the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Lyon’s Festival of Lights around 8 December, the chandeliers of Vienna’s Graben, Copenhagen’s Tivoli and the Grand-Place in Brussels.
How can you see Madrid’s Christmas lights?
On foot, between Sol, Gran Vía, Calle Alcalá and the Plaza Mayor, or on board the Naviluz, the open-top bus that tours the main light displays in the centre.
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Reviewed 20 October 2026. Dates and seasonal warnings: the same data the Bagintravel app uses. Sources and method.
Cover photo: Maximo88 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.