All the holidays are coming earlier and earlier, and Christmas is no exception. Just take a stroll through neighborhood bazaars, supermarkets or shopping centers. With the Halloween celebrations over, the pumpkins and costumes of witches, ghosts and other characters have given way to Christmas balls and wreaths, trees, figures of Santa Claus and other sets of decorations and accessories for these dates; without forgetting panettones, Polvorones, nougats and other traditional sweets.
With less than a month left to kick off the festivities with the celebration of Christmas Eve, hundreds of workers are busy throughout the national territory to ready the thousands of LED strips that will illuminate Christmas from the big cities to the smaller towns.
Trees made of small lights, giant structures that emulate wrapped gifts with their bows, Santa Claus floats with their reindeer, stars or Christmas balls. Nobody wants to be left behind in the lighting spectacle, which some cities have already inaugurated during these last days of November. In case you fancy a Christmas getaway to enjoy these days in style, we review the cities that invest the most in the lights chapter,
Vigo, a forest in Porta do Sol
The city of Vigo -in Galicia- is famous for its Christmas lighting. Not in vain, every year thousands of visitors pass through this beautiful corner of Galician geography to enjoy all the lighting they set up in its streets but also the sound and light shows they organize. Almost twelve million led lights They light up 400 streets this Christmas.
The undisputed protagonist of lighting is its big tree -one of the largest in Spain, more than 46 meters high- which is crowned by a star. Located in Porta do Sol, this year – for the first time – it is surrounded by a forest of illuminated trees eight meters high. The traditional lighting of the lights took place on November 16.
Madrid: births, stars and a big tree
The city of Madrid has nothing to send to the Christmas lighting of Vigo. With almost the same amount of LED lights as the Galician one – and an investment of around 4.4 million euros – it has raised a tree in Plaza del Sol that is 40 meters high and 14 meters in diameter. Walking through its streets we will find 7,100 strings of lights, another dozen large fir trees, 121 cherry trees, on Gran Vía and Alcalá you can enjoy an illuminated nativity scene or the giant star of the Plaza de Cristo Rey.
This Thursday, November 28, was the day chosen for the traditional lighting of the lights, two days after that chosen by Paris and a week apart from Berlin. If from these dates and until a few days after Epiphany you have the possibility of traveling to Madrid – or you live in the capital – you can enjoy its lights from Sunday to Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays until one o’clock. the morning On December 24 and January 5 the lights will not go out until three in the morning and on New Year’s Eve they will be on until six.
Badalona competes for the tallest fir tree
The Catalan city of Badalona It competes with Vigo for the height of its brand new Christmas tree, armed with 100,000 LED points. And although it does not surpass the Galician, it is very close, with a 42-meter-high fir tree. With slightly fewer inhabitants than Vigo, and very far from Madrid or Barcelona, Badalona has made an effort in recent years to become a point of reference and Christmas tourism.
The lighting of the lights was inaugurated on Saturday, November 23. If you are thinking of visiting the city, we tell you that from Monday to Friday there are two passes to enjoy a musical and light show at 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and on weekends and holidays it is extended to 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
The city has installed nearly a million LED lights on a hundred streets, in which it has erected 140 decorative elements and some structures through which you can walk.
Malaga, an enchanted forest with elves
The Andalusian city of Malaga has also earned a place on the list of the best illuminated cities in Spain at Christmas time. It is famous for its tunnel of lights on Larios Street, which this Friday, November 29, will experience the magic of Christmas for the first time with its lighting of lights in the urban center, which has been set with an enchanted forest full of elves and other fantasies. .
In it Botanical Garden of La Concepción you can’t miss the show Delusion. Christmas has many faces but one heart, which also starts this Friday, November 29 and can be visited until Three Kings Day. Tickets can be purchased through their Web page.
Barcelona, more than 100 km of lights
Barcelona It cannot be missing from this list. The city of Barcelona has installed more than 100 kilometers (110) of LED lights in its squares and streets. As a novelty, this year residents and tourists who walk through Barcelona during the Christmas season will be able to enjoy the show that will be projected in Plaça de Sant Jaume every half hour: a giant star that can be seen on the facades of the City Hall and the Generalitat.
On the Sant Joan promenade, the City Council explains, “you can continue to see the lights designed by Brosmind, which have comics as their thematic axis, and which debuted last year.” In addition, 22 Christmas totems have been distributed in the dozen districts that make up the city. “The City Council has increased the hours of Christmas lighting: from 243.5 hours the previous year to 322 hours this year, with one more day of lighting.”
The lighting can be enjoyed from Sunday to Thursday, from 5:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.; on Fridays and Saturdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and the holiday watch (December 25 and 31, and January 5), from 5:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.
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