Valencia switches on its Christmas lights on one evening in November, in the Plaça de l'Ajuntament, and from then on the city centre stays lit through the holidays. The 2026 switch-on is expected in the second half of November, most likely on a Friday evening.
This guide gives our estimate for the 2026 date, what the city council has already announced for this year, how the 2025 switch-on went and where the lights ran last season.
When do Valencia's Christmas lights come on in 2026?
Expect the lights to come on in the second half of November, most likely on a Friday evening: Friday 20 November 2026 is the likeliest date, with Friday 27 November as the alternative. That is an estimate from last year's pattern (Friday 21 November 2025, 19:30, Plaça de l'Ajuntament); the city council has not published the 2026 date yet.
In 2025 the council published the programme on its news page on 17 November, four days before the evening. We will update this paragraph with the official date, time and place as soon as they are published.
What Valencia has announced for its 2026 Christmas lights
The one official item so far is about money, not dates. On 16 October 2026 the council raised the budget of its Christmas lighting contract by 600,000 euros, with 300,000 euros for the 2026 installation and the same again for 2027, so that the decoration reaches more neighbourhoods and areas of the city.
The contract rises from 3,522,458.88 to 4,122,458.88 euros including VAT, and the change runs from 1 November 2026 to 25 March 2028. It covers the Christmas and Three Kings seasons, and the Fallas lighting of 2027 and 2028 as well.
The council has not said which neighbourhoods gain lights. Until it publishes the 2026 list, the 2025 layout below is the best guide to what you will see in the centre.
How the 2025 switch-on went in the Plaça de l'Ajuntament
In 2025 the lights went on on Friday 21 November from 19:30 in the Plaça de l'Ajuntament. The council's programme had the two Fallas queens of the year, Carmen Prades and Marta Mercader, switch them on together with the mayor, MarÃa José Catalá.
It was a show rather than the flick of a switch. Called La música encén el Nadal (music lights up Christmas), it combined a live performance by the singer Melani GarcÃa, the Juan Bautista Comes choir of the municipal conservatory, a thread based on a traditional Christmas tale and fireworks set to music by Pirotecnia Valenciana.
The centrepiece is the big tree in the square. In 2025 it stood 25 metres (about 82 ft) tall, one of 45 Christmas trees spread across every district of the city, for a lighting budget of 1,100,000 euros.
Where the Christmas lights were in Valencia in 2025
The 2025 decoration ran from the Plaça de l'Ajuntament through the old town and out along the main avenues. The council's list included arches from Avinguda de Peris i Valero to the Turia gardens, glittering arches along Carrer de la Pau, stars over Carrer de Sant Vicent Mà rtir and lights on Carrer de Colom and the streets around it.
Some pieces were made to walk into or photograph: a giant comet on the Pont de Serrans, a walk-through bell in the Plaça del Patriarca, a five-metre sphere in the Plaça del Pintor Segrelles and a 3D reindeer on Avinguda de la Plata. The illuminated nativity scene moved in 2025 from the Plaça de Sant Agustà to the portal of the old hospital on Carrer de l'Hospital.
Every district had its own decoration too, and so did outlying villages such as La Torre, Castellar-l'Oliveral and El Forn d'Alcedo. The 2026 layout may change, especially with the new money for more neighbourhoods, so treat this as a map of last season.
Tips for the Christmas lights switch-on night in Valencia
Check the council's news page from mid-November, since the date, the time and the programme are only confirmed there. Once they are out, arrive well before the start: the show takes place in the square itself, and the space nearest the tree fills first.
If a crowd is not for you, the lights stay on after the switch-on, so a weeknight walk a few days later gives you the same streets with more room. Late November evenings can be cool, so bring a layer.
A walking loop to see Valencia's Christmas lights in the centre
A good loop starts at the tree in the Plaça de l'Ajuntament, follows Carrer de Sant Vicent Mà rtir to the Plaça de la Reina, takes Carrer de la Pau towards the Plaça del Patriarca and comes back along Carrer de Colom. In 2025 that walk took in several of the decorated streets above; check the 2026 list before you go, as the pieces move from year to year.
More Valencia guides for November and December
The lights open a busy few weeks. Our November in Valencia guide covers the rest of the month, and December in Valencia picks up with the marathon, the lottery and the twelve grapes.
Two public holidays follow within weeks: Constitution Day on 6 December and the Immaculate Conception on 8 December. For ideas the rest of the year, see our guide to things to do in Valencia.
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Michael Bastin
Founder, ValenciaMove - Valencia since 2016
Michael has lived in Valencia since 2016 and helps people move here.
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