17 Nov 2025 Welcome everyone to the city that always welcomes each and every visitor with a smile. The city that never sleeps, the capital, Madrid, awaits you.
Everything happens in Madrid, all the time. It's a dynamic, entertaining, restless, and exciting city. You'll always find something good to do, something to discover, no matter how many times you've visited or how long you've been here.
But if you add to all that the fact that we're in the most special time of year, then Madrid is an irresistible destination. Christmas has arrived, and with it, a magic as beautiful as it is fleeting.
Stay with us to make the most of Christmas if you're lucky enough to spend all or a few days of it in Madrid. We're going to recommend the best plans to live a complete experience, without missing a single second of the magic of Christmas.
Christmas begins with Christmas markets, and anyone who doesn't think so, I invite you to experience a Christmas without Christmas stalls, or to visit a stall and not feel that special rush of this season.
Christmas markets are fantastic places to experience Christmas to the fullest, because they bring together all the best: the lights, the atmosphere of the people, traditional food, Christmas decorations, and crafts perfect for gifts. You see, Christmas markets are Christmas in its purest form.
If we're going to talk about Christmas markets, we must start by talking about the largest, the most important, the most impressive, the most local. The Plaza Mayor Christmas market is as much a part of Madrid as the calamari sandwiches you can eat in its surroundings.
More than a hundred Christmas stalls are full of souvenirs, mementos, Christmas decorations, joke items, warm food and drinks, and lots of Christmas magic. They're loaded with that.
A temporary area, like all Christmas markets, with an immense Christmas spirit. Almost as immense as its size: just over three thousand square meters. That's nothing.
Imagine this enormous place, full of Christmas stalls, with all the gifts you can imagine and an immense selection of crafts and decorations. And if after so much walking, looking, and shopping, you deserve a break? But don't wander off; right here you can relax, eating and drinking from its many stalls.
Another of the best-known and most popular Christmas spots in Madrid. Paseo de Recoletos is filled with stalls, people, decorations, lights—in short, lots of Christmas. More than 150 stalls bring us the best of local crafts, with the most renowned professionals in every field you can imagine; from toy makers to glassmakers. It's a must-see, a true open-air museum.
Every Madrid resident is a cat inside. Not because of their feline instincts, but because that's how we're known, and we love it. And since it's in our blood, it was hard not to find a market with this name.
The cat market is held several times throughout the year, changing its appearance depending on the season and the chosen occasion. It couldn't miss such an important Christmas date, so I hope you don't disappoint it and come visit it.
Before you continue reading, there's one activity that doesn't require a guide and that you can't miss. Even if you wanted to, you won't be able to avoid seeing and enjoying it: the Christmas lights.
As soon as day falls, we recommend taking a stroll and letting yourself be dazzled and amazed by these very Christmassy decorations. There are many ideas and routes you can take. Ours is to start at El Retiro, continue along Gran Vía, pass through Cibeles, find Callao, and go down to Puerta del Sol. It's one of the most beautiful routes in all of Madrid.
As you pass through any of these points, you're sure to see an event taking place. And it's no wonder, because the leisure agenda is packed; from activities organized by Madrid City Council to massive concerts by major international artists.
Our advice is to take a look at the city council's website, as it has a wide range of options, a dynamic and ever-changing agenda, as it constantly adds more and more events.
Although you can also be surprised and explore, while seeing the lights, the main points and attractions of the city center to discover parades, group activities, visits from Their Majesties the Three Wise Men, Santa Claus, street parades, live concerts by small local bands, and many other events that Madrid has in store for you.
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17 Nov 2025 