Christmas here runs all the way to January 6, because the Three Kings, not Santa, bring most of the presents! From late November the Plaza Mayor fills with stalls of nativity figures and joke-shop wigs, Cortylandia's facade sings on Calle Preciados, and the streets light up. On January 5 the Kings parade down the Castellana. Here's what we checked, from free lights and nativity scenes to the Christmas circus.
Millions of LED lights turn streets, plazas and buildings across Madrid into one big Christmas trail. Designer displays, giant fir trees, glowing nativity scenes and bulbs drawn by first and second graders in a school contest give kids plenty to hunt for. Gran Vía, Calle Alcalá and Plaza Mayor are the classics.
The city's Christmas bus, running every holiday season since 2006. An open-top bus loops past Puerta de Alcalá, Serrano and Plaza de Colón, all lit up for the holidays. Kids see the lights from the top deck without pushing through crowds on foot. Dress warm: there's no roof, and December evenings get cold once you're moving.
Madrid's main square fills with red wooden stalls every Christmas, a market that has run for more than a century. Families come for nativity figures, moss and tiny accessories for their home belén, plus ornaments and toys. Kids head straight for the joke-shop stalls, piled with wigs, masks and gag gifts. Just off the square, a vintage carousel turns in Plaza de Santa Cruz.
Every Christmas since 1979, the facade of El Corte Inglés on Calle Preciados has turned into a giant animated set: more than 25 moving characters, lights, and the Cortylandia song most Madrid parents can still sing. The story and characters change every year. You watch from the street, so it fits easily into a walk past the lights around Sol, and toddlers on shoulders get the best view.
Circo Price en Navidad has been Madrid's Christmas circus tradition since 2006. Each year the theater stages a new production made just for the season, with acrobats, clowns and circus artists performing in the round. Kids who have never seen circus up close will find it easy to follow.
A huge nativity scene inside the Real Casa de Correos, built every year by Madrid's volunteer nativity makers. Last year's walk-around version held about 500 figures under a ceiling of starry lights, and choirs sang live through December. Kids lean over the rails to spot scenes from shepherds to the Three Kings' parade.
Plaza de España turns into a Christmas village each winter: a 600 m² rink of natural ice under the Edificio España, about 40 wooden stalls of handmade gifts, and a food corner with chocolate con churros and German mulled wine. Families often browse and snack first, then decide on a skating turn. Double-blade skates strap onto small kids' shoes, so even preschoolers can try the ice.
A Christmas ice rink set up at Atlético de Madrid's stadium, with more than 4,000 square meters of ice. A skating ticket also opens the food halls and the day's activities: workshops, face painting, Santa visits, a gaming zone and a Playmobil space. Weekend mornings bring kids' shows with characters they know; evenings switch to DJs and concerts aimed at teens and adults.
A Christmas theme park set up in the Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII, the Complutense university's garden. It has three shows: Hontana, El Gran Libro Mágico; the Three Kings' Royal Camp; and Santa's Village. Between them, kids find an ice rink, street parades, a fairy path and a Christmas market. Most of it is outdoors on sand and gravel, so dress warm and bring a sturdy stroller.
The Warner Bros. theme park south of the city decks its streets with lights, trees and snow for Christmas. Looney Tunes characters turn up in holiday outfits, there are Christmas shows and street acts through the day, and a parade aimed at small kids. Bring the letter for Santa and the Three Kings. The regular rides stay open, so older kids still get their coasters.
The city's classic amusement park, in the Casa de Campo, dresses up for Christmas. Kids can hand their letters to Santa and, after Christmas Day, to the Three Kings. Winterland, a themed world of ice, light and fantasy creatures, reopens, the Gran Teatro Auditorio puts on holiday shows, and there's a tree lighting. The regular rides stay open too, from Nickelodeon Land for small kids to Abismo for teens.
Madrid's big Christmas fair for kids, run by IFEMA with Productores de Sonrisas. The exhibition halls fill with theater, video games, robotics, traditional games, creative workshops, cooking demos, sports, magic, music and storytelling. Kids try things rather than watch: building with LEGO in one hall, meeting firefighters and police in the other. It suits families looking for a long indoor outing over the holidays.
The children's edition of Madrid's famous New Year's Eve race. Kids get a bib and run one to three laps of the athletics track inside Estadio Vallehermoso, grouped by age, with a new wave leaving every few minutes.
For many it is a first real race, finish line included. The small entry fee goes to the Gasol Foundation and Fundación A LA PAR.
Every Christmas, Spain stops to watch the lottery draw for El Gordo. Pupils from the San Ildefonso school pull wooden balls from two giant drums and sing each number and prize in a chant every Spaniard knows.
The draw has been held at Teatro Real since 2012, and anyone can watch from the hall for free. It suits school-age kids who like a big live moment.
Spain rings in the New Year by eating 12 grapes, one per chime of the clock on the Real Casa de Correos. The night before, thousands rehearse under the same clock with 12 gummy candies instead: the Preuvas.
It is the kid-friendlier of the two nights, with sweets instead of grapes, but it is still a packed square at midnight. Best for older kids who can stay up.
Madrid, Navidad de Encuentro turns Matadero, the old slaughterhouse arts center by Madrid Río, into a Christmas village. The hook for kids is the fake snow that falls on Plaza Matadero every evening. Around it sit an ice rink, play installations by street-theater companies, craft workshops, storytelling and classic Christmas films at Cineteca.
Each edition picks a theme. Last year's was books and storytelling.
City Hall turns its own building into a Christmas stop. Under the glass roof of the Galería de Cristal there's an ice rink, with skates in the ticket and walkers for kids finding their feet. In the old post office hall next door, the city's big nativity runs from the cave to a waterfall and lake. Both are indoors, so it holds up on a cold or rainy day.
Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar ride down the Castellana on three royal floats, with pages tossing candy and street-theater troupes in between. It ends at Cibeles with the Kings' speech and fireworks. For Spanish kids this is the night before the presents arrive, so the curb buzzes with excitement. Little ones see best from shoulders; it runs long and cold for kids who tire fast.
More than 40 stalls of toys old and new: Playmobil, LEGO, Star Wars figures, Scalextric, model trains, Nancy dolls and the Madelman and Geyperman figures Spanish parents grew up with.
Most buyers are collectors, so it suits a kid with a favorite set or saga in mind, or a parent hunting a childhood toy. Kids who are not into toys will tire fast.
In Spain, the Three Kings bring the presents, so January 5 is the biggest night of the year for kids! Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar ride down the Castellana throwing candy, many districts hold smaller parades, and by morning the presents have arrived. On the 6th, families share roscón de Reyes, a ring cake with a figurine hidden inside. Here's what we checked, from nativity scenes to the big parade.
Circo Alegría's first Madrid production turns a big top into an underwater world. International acrobats perform around synchronized dancing fountains, with 3D effects, mermaids, pirates, sharks and storms. Giant kinetic whales float over the audience. A story about caring for the oceans runs through it, with plenty of humor and music.
Christmas here runs all the way to January 6, because the Three Kings, not Santa, bring most of the presents! From late November the Plaza Mayor fills with stalls of nativity figures and joke-shop wigs, Cortylandia's facade sings on Calle Preciados, and the streets light up. On January 5 the Kings parade down the Castellana. Here's what we checked, from free lights and nativity scenes to the Christmas circus.
Millions of LED lights turn streets, plazas and buildings across Madrid into one big Christmas trail. Designer displays, giant fir trees, glowing nativity scenes and bulbs drawn by first and second graders in a school contest give kids plenty to hunt for. Gran Vía, Calle Alcalá and Plaza Mayor are the classics.
The city's Christmas bus, running every holiday season since 2006. An open-top bus loops past Puerta de Alcalá, Serrano and Plaza de Colón, all lit up for the holidays. Kids see the lights from the top deck without pushing through crowds on foot. Dress warm: there's no roof, and December evenings get cold once you're moving.
Madrid's main square fills with red wooden stalls every Christmas, a market that has run for more than a century. Families come for nativity figures, moss and tiny accessories for their home belén, plus ornaments and toys. Kids head straight for the joke-shop stalls, piled with wigs, masks and gag gifts. Just off the square, a vintage carousel turns in Plaza de Santa Cruz.
Every Christmas since 1979, the facade of El Corte Inglés on Calle Preciados has turned into a giant animated set: more than 25 moving characters, lights, and the Cortylandia song most Madrid parents can still sing. The story and characters change every year. You watch from the street, so it fits easily into a walk past the lights around Sol, and toddlers on shoulders get the best view.
Circo Price en Navidad has been Madrid's Christmas circus tradition since 2006. Each year the theater stages a new production made just for the season, with acrobats, clowns and circus artists performing in the round. Kids who have never seen circus up close will find it easy to follow.
A huge nativity scene inside the Real Casa de Correos, built every year by Madrid's volunteer nativity makers. Last year's walk-around version held about 500 figures under a ceiling of starry lights, and choirs sang live through December. Kids lean over the rails to spot scenes from shepherds to the Three Kings' parade.
Plaza de España turns into a Christmas village each winter: a 600 m² rink of natural ice under the Edificio España, about 40 wooden stalls of handmade gifts, and a food corner with chocolate con churros and German mulled wine. Families often browse and snack first, then decide on a skating turn. Double-blade skates strap onto small kids' shoes, so even preschoolers can try the ice.
A Christmas ice rink set up at Atlético de Madrid's stadium, with more than 4,000 square meters of ice. A skating ticket also opens the food halls and the day's activities: workshops, face painting, Santa visits, a gaming zone and a Playmobil space. Weekend mornings bring kids' shows with characters they know; evenings switch to DJs and concerts aimed at teens and adults.
A Christmas theme park set up in the Real Jardín Botánico Alfonso XIII, the Complutense university's garden. It has three shows: Hontana, El Gran Libro Mágico; the Three Kings' Royal Camp; and Santa's Village. Between them, kids find an ice rink, street parades, a fairy path and a Christmas market. Most of it is outdoors on sand and gravel, so dress warm and bring a sturdy stroller.
The Warner Bros. theme park south of the city decks its streets with lights, trees and snow for Christmas. Looney Tunes characters turn up in holiday outfits, there are Christmas shows and street acts through the day, and a parade aimed at small kids. Bring the letter for Santa and the Three Kings. The regular rides stay open, so older kids still get their coasters.
The city's classic amusement park, in the Casa de Campo, dresses up for Christmas. Kids can hand their letters to Santa and, after Christmas Day, to the Three Kings. Winterland, a themed world of ice, light and fantasy creatures, reopens, the Gran Teatro Auditorio puts on holiday shows, and there's a tree lighting. The regular rides stay open too, from Nickelodeon Land for small kids to Abismo for teens.
Madrid's big Christmas fair for kids, run by IFEMA with Productores de Sonrisas. The exhibition halls fill with theater, video games, robotics, traditional games, creative workshops, cooking demos, sports, magic, music and storytelling. Kids try things rather than watch: building with LEGO in one hall, meeting firefighters and police in the other. It suits families looking for a long indoor outing over the holidays.
The children's edition of Madrid's famous New Year's Eve race. Kids get a bib and run one to three laps of the athletics track inside Estadio Vallehermoso, grouped by age, with a new wave leaving every few minutes.
For many it is a first real race, finish line included. The small entry fee goes to the Gasol Foundation and Fundación A LA PAR.
Every Christmas, Spain stops to watch the lottery draw for El Gordo. Pupils from the San Ildefonso school pull wooden balls from two giant drums and sing each number and prize in a chant every Spaniard knows.
The draw has been held at Teatro Real since 2012, and anyone can watch from the hall for free. It suits school-age kids who like a big live moment.
Spain rings in the New Year by eating 12 grapes, one per chime of the clock on the Real Casa de Correos. The night before, thousands rehearse under the same clock with 12 gummy candies instead: the Preuvas.
It is the kid-friendlier of the two nights, with sweets instead of grapes, but it is still a packed square at midnight. Best for older kids who can stay up.
Madrid, Navidad de Encuentro turns Matadero, the old slaughterhouse arts center by Madrid Río, into a Christmas village. The hook for kids is the fake snow that falls on Plaza Matadero every evening. Around it sit an ice rink, play installations by street-theater companies, craft workshops, storytelling and classic Christmas films at Cineteca.
Each edition picks a theme. Last year's was books and storytelling.
City Hall turns its own building into a Christmas stop. Under the glass roof of the Galería de Cristal there's an ice rink, with skates in the ticket and walkers for kids finding their feet. In the old post office hall next door, the city's big nativity runs from the cave to a waterfall and lake. Both are indoors, so it holds up on a cold or rainy day.
Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar ride down the Castellana on three royal floats, with pages tossing candy and street-theater troupes in between. It ends at Cibeles with the Kings' speech and fireworks. For Spanish kids this is the night before the presents arrive, so the curb buzzes with excitement. Little ones see best from shoulders; it runs long and cold for kids who tire fast.
More than 40 stalls of toys old and new: Playmobil, LEGO, Star Wars figures, Scalextric, model trains, Nancy dolls and the Madelman and Geyperman figures Spanish parents grew up with.
Most buyers are collectors, so it suits a kid with a favorite set or saga in mind, or a parent hunting a childhood toy. Kids who are not into toys will tire fast.
In Spain, the Three Kings bring the presents, so January 5 is the biggest night of the year for kids! Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar ride down the Castellana throwing candy, many districts hold smaller parades, and by morning the presents have arrived. On the 6th, families share roscón de Reyes, a ring cake with a figurine hidden inside. Here's what we checked, from nativity scenes to the big parade.
Circo Alegría's first Madrid production turns a big top into an underwater world. International acrobats perform around synchronized dancing fountains, with 3D effects, mermaids, pirates, sharks and storms. Giant kinetic whales float over the audience. A story about caring for the oceans runs through it, with plenty of humor and music.