What is published and what is not yet

The city's official Christmas site, navidadmadrid.com, already carries the heading "Programa de Navidad 2026" but says the complete programme will be available from 18 November. Until then, the Turismo de Madrid event calendar is the best official overview. On 30 October 2026 it showed:

Event Dates as published Status
Plaza Mayor Christmas market Late November to 31 December 2026 Start date and hours not yet published
Christmas lights Late November to 6 January 2026–27 hours not yet published
Nativity scenes (belenes) around the city Late November to 6 January Individual venues and hours not yet listed
"Naturaleza Encendida", Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII 24 November 2026 to 10 January 2027 Dates published
Christmas lottery draw, Teatro Real 22 December Year not stated on the listing
Puerta del Sol Preuvas and New Year's Eve 30 and 31 December See our New Year's Eve guide
Cabalgata de Reyes 5 January 2027, from 18:00 Date and start time listed; route text is from the 2025 edition

These are the only dates published so far. The market's start date, the lights' switch-on and all hours are still to come, so leave specific evenings, such as a market visit or a lights tour, flexible until the programme is out.

Plaza Mayor Christmas market

Turismo de Madrid's Christmas markets page lists the Plaza Mayor market from "late November to 31 December 2026". The page was last updated on 30 January 2026, and its descriptive text still refers to the 2025 edition, which ran from 27 November to 31 December. The market has 104 stalls and is run by the Asociación del Mercado Tradicional Navideño de la Plaza Mayor. It sells mainly nativity figures, Christmas decorations and joke items, not the mulled-wine-and-food format of central European markets.

The page does not publish opening hours and asks visitors to confirm dates and hours with each market's organisers. Note the end date: the market closes on 31 December, so it is gone by the Reyes weekend.

Two other markets on the same page are useful if Plaza Mayor is too crowded:

  • Feria Mercado de Artesanía, Paseo de Recoletos: 1–30 December 2026 on the listing, with more than 150 craft makers from across Spain.
  • La Navideña, Plaza de España (market and ice rink): listed as late November to early January, "to be confirmed".
Plaza Mayor De Madrid

Christmas lights

The Turismo de Madrid lights page (updated 19 October 2026) says the 2026–27 programme will be published at the end of November. It gives the 2025–26 season as a guide: lights on from 22 November 2025 to 6 January 2026, across all 21 districts and more than 250 locations, with these hours:

Day Lights on (2025–26 season)
Sunday to Thursday 18:00–00:00
Friday and Saturday 18:00–01:00
24 December and 5 January 18:00–03:00
31 December 18:00–06:00

Treat these as last year's pattern, not this year's schedule. The page did not mention the Naviluz sightseeing bus, and we found no official 2026 details for it.

Cabalgata de Reyes on 5 January 2027

The Turismo de Madrid parade page lists the Three Kings parade for 5 January 2027 from 18:00, with an event window of 18:00–21:00, and free to watch. The route given is from Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz along the Paseo de la Castellana and Paseo de Recoletos to Plaza de Cibeles. The page's descriptive text is from the 2025 edition, so the details may change when the city publishes the 2027 route.

At the 2025 parade, the city set up more than 8,000 grandstand places along the route and 2,500 in Plaza de Cibeles, plus five marked areas reserved for disabled people, especially wheelchair users. The page links accessibility services including sign language, audio description, induction loops and Easy Read information.

Madrid, Spain

What closes on 25 December, 1 January and 6 January

Madrid does not shut down over the holidays, but individual sights do. These are the closures published on the official pages we checked:

Place 24 Dec 25 Dec 31 Dec 1 Jan 6 Jan
El Escorial monastery Closed Closed Closed 2027 list not out 2027 list not out
Palacio de Velázquez, Retiro 10:00–17:00 Closed 10:00–17:00 Closed Closed
Retiro boat hire Closed Closed Closed Closed Open
Real Jardín Botánico Open, until 18:00 Closed Open, until 18:00 Closed Open
Retiro Park Open Open Open Open Open

"Open" here means the page lists no closure for that date; normal hours apply. El Escorial's published closure list covers 2026 only; it closed on 1 and 6 January 2026, but its 2027 dates had not been published on 30 October 2026. Our Botanical Garden guide has its prices and winter hours. Retiro Park is open every day; our Retiro guide has the winter hours.

The Turismo de Madrid Metro page gives normal Metro hours of 06:00 to 01:30 and no special holiday timetable. If you are relying on a late train on 24 December or 5 January, check Metro de Madrid's notices during that week.

A planning order for a December trip

  1. Plan travel around the dates published so far (market listed to 31 December 2026, lights to 6 January, parade listed for 5 January 2027), knowing the full programme is not out yet.
  2. Check navidadmadrid.com from 18 November for the full programme, lights hours and the 2027 parade route.
  3. Before each day, check the sights you want against the closure table above. For a day out of town, remember that the El Escorial monastery is shut on 24, 25 and 31 December 2026 and has not yet published its January 2027 closures.
  4. Getting around: the Madrid Metro tickets guide explains the Multi card and tourist pass.