*To read about this year's Christmas Lights in Madrid, click here!
This Friday Madrid´s 2012 Christmas lights are going to be turned on!
This Friday Madrid´s 2012 Christmas lights are going to be turned on!
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| The ever attractive Madrid Christmas lights |
Every morning here in Madrid we have seen city council personnel high in the sky on long ladders as they put up the Christmas lights which will illuminate the streets of Madrid and Spain during the festive season. This is Madrid’s way of letting us know that Christmas is soon to be upon us, and that we have a lot to look forward to this Christmas in Madrid. Soon the Christmas nativity scenes will line the streets of Spain, and these will add to the other Christmas classics like snow men, stars, Christmas trees, presents and of course, we are all waiting for the first of the Spanish Christmas carols!
The grand Christmas event kicks off this Friday the 30th November throughout Madrid, when 3.8 million Christmas lights, each with enough voltage for 230 hours of light, are going to be plugged in and turned up to full! Madrid’s Christmas lights will be turned on at 6pm and turned-off at 10pm from Monday to Wednesday and 12am from Thursday to Sunday. Between the 25th December and the 6th January the Christmas lights will stay on until 11 each night and on days of special significance for Spain, like the 24th December and the 5th January, Madrid will be shining for all to see from 6pm until 3am in the morning. Lastly, on the 31st December the Madrid Christmas lights will stay on until 6 the following morning to bring you into the New Year!
The Christmas lights will be flicked on all around Madrid, and the area surrounding AIL Madrid is no exception! We are going to have our streets brightened by the Christmas lights that are being put up in Velázquez, Goya and Jorge Juan, so make sure to come down and see the local Christmas festivities.
It isn’t just Madrid’s Christmas lights that we have to look forward to. Alongside these, you will see many enjoying the Christmas atmosphere and strolling through the streets of Madrid to go and visit the decorated squares and small Christmas markets! For those who fall victim to the Christmas shopping fever, Madrid is a city filled with Spanish Christmas markets which you should all check out:
By getting off at Sol metro station, you can step right into the centre of Madrid’s Christmas celebrations. By way of tradition you should go straight to the Plaza Mayor to see Madrid’s most famous Christmas market, also make sure to go just the other side of Sol to check out the Plaza de Santa Cruz Christmas market. Both of these markets are open until the 31st December and sure to get anyone into the Madrid Christmas spirit, and will be open from 10am until 10pm from Monday to Thursday and the rest of the week from 10am until 11pm.
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| Christmas in Madrid is more than just shopping |
In the Plaza de Callao (Metro: Callao). You are welcomed into Madrid city centre by an 18 metre high Christmas tree, what is not to love?! There is also a house set up by Corte Ingles where you can buy all of your Christmas themed gifts. Doors are opening soon and will remain open until mid-January, daily between 3pm until 10pm at night. Just off of Callao is Santa María Soledad Torres Acosta, which gives visitors the chance to ice skate as you take in all of the Christmas spirit that Madrid has to offer, and we shouldn’t forget the small Christmas market stalls surrounding the rink!
For those looking decorate their house so it shines bright for all to see, Santo Domingo (Metro: Santo Domingo) will have a Christmas market Feria de Navidad La Luz which is dedicated to helping you show off your Christmas spirit, open from the 26th November until the 6th January from 10am until 10pm every day.
Those by the Plaza del Carmen (Metro: Gran Vía) and the Plaza de España (Metro: Plaza de España) can enjoy as both squares host Christmas markets full of the perfect handmade Christmas gifts, and will open on the 15th December until the 5th January from 10am until 10pm (except on the 24th and 31st December when it shuts at 3pm).
Enjoy the Christmas spirit and spread the happiness of the season.
PS. Christmas time is also the best time to plan a trip abroad and enjoy your Christmas Spanish Course in Madrid.