Most visitors reach the Christmas lights the same way: they come out of the metro at Colón, walk into Plaza del Ayuntamiento and stop under the tree. That is the right place to start. Valencia’s Christmas lights walk is a 2.4 km route through the old town, linking the 25 metre tree in Plaza del Ayuntamiento with the light-up comet over the Serranos bridge. It takes about 32 minutes on foot without stopping, and nobody does it without stopping. In 2025 the city hung 274 arches and set up 45 trees, and the display stayed lit until 6 January.
What is the best way to see Valencia’s Christmas lights? Walk from Plaza del Ayuntamiento up calle Colón, past the Patriarca bell, under the 60 arches of calle de la Paz and on to the Serranos towers: 2.4 km and 32 minutes of walking. Go after 6.30pm on a weekday and avoid 31 December and 5 January.
Which metro stop to use for the start and the finish
Colón station, on metro lines 3, 5, 7 and 9, is 517 metres from Plaza del Ayuntamiento and 115 metres from calle Colón, so it works whichever end you take first. The walk finishes at the Serranos towers, where tram line 4 stops at Pont de Fusta, 428 metres away.
A single ticket in zone A costs €1.50 and covers both. Lines 3 and 5 also run straight from the airport to Colón, on a zone A and B ticket at €4.80.
Late return is rarely a problem. Over Christmas 2025, FGV, which runs Metrovalencia, kept trains and trams going until about 3am on Fridays, Saturdays and the night before public holidays, and ran them without a break through New Year’s Eve until the morning of 1 January.
How to walk the route, stop by stop from the Town Hall
The order below runs uphill from the square towards the old city gate, which suits anyone arriving by metro. Distances are measured along the streets, at a walking pace of 75 metres a minute.
| Stop | What is lit (2025 season) | Walk from previous stop | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaza del Ayuntamiento | 25 m fir tree, life-size nativity by José Puche, ice rink | start | 0 m |
| Calle Colón | Arch design new in 2025, main shopping street | 680 m · 9 min | 680 m |
| Plaza del Patriarca | Light-up bell you can walk through | 463 m · 6 min | 1,143 m |
| Calle de la Paz | 60 arches hung with glitter drops | 314 m · 4 min | 1,457 m |
| Plaza de la Reina | Over 60 lamp posts with 3D ornaments, second life-size nativity | 137 m · 2 min | 1,594 m |
| Plaza de la Virgen | Square between the Basilica and the Cathedral | 365 m · 5 min | 1,959 m |
| Torres de Serranos | Giant comet over the Serranos bridge | 429 m · 6 min | 2,388 m |
When the lights go on in 2026, and how the 2025 switch-on went
The 2026 switch-on date is not out yet. What is settled is that the display grows: on 16 October 2026 the city’s governing board added €300,000 to the lighting contract for this Christmas, to reach more neighbourhoods.
The 2025 lights went on on Friday 21 November at 7.30pm, the weekend of Saint Cecilia, patron of musicians, with a live concert, a pyrotechnic show and the Fallas queens throwing the switch. The display stayed up until 6 January 2026, with 274 arches and 45 trees across the city. The inaugural show is free and fills the square; any later evening shows exactly the same pieces with far fewer people.
What to look at in each square
Plaza del Ayuntamiento has the 25 metre fir, five metres taller than the year before, and a life-size nativity scene by the Fallas artist José Puche, with the ox, mule and star by Ceballos and Sanabria. A nativity scene, a belén, is the Spanish equivalent of a crib display, and in Valencia they are a bigger part of Christmas than the tree. The full list of the city’s cribs and their opening days is in the guide to Valencia’s nativity scenes.
Calle Colón debuted a new arch design in 2025 and is lined with department stores. Plaza del Patriarca has the walk-through bell, set in front of the Patriarca college. Calle de la Paz is the photograph everyone takes: 60 arches in a straight line, framing the Santa Catalina bell tower at the far end.
Plaza de la Reina has more than 60 lamp posts with 3D ornaments and the second life-size nativity, a monumental crib by Pilar and María José Luna built from figures donated by the Fallas artists’ guild. That crib stood from 2 December to 6 January. The Serranos comet hangs over the bridge, best seen from the river-garden side, below the Serranos towers.
How early to go, and how the walk fits Spanish meal times
The sun sets in Valencia at about 5.40pm through December and at 5.51pm on 6 January, so from 6.30pm the whole route is lit. Valencians eat lunch at two and dinner around nine, and the 6.30pm to 9pm slot is when the walk fits naturally: lights first, then a table in the old town without rushing. The nightly switch-off time is announced along with each season’s lighting.
Nights to avoid and nights that work
Any weekday evening in December is the easy option, and two nights clash with the route. On 31 December 2025 the Ayuntamiento de València cleared the square at 8.30pm and reopened it at 10pm through five controlled entrances for the chimes.
The full picture is in the guide to New Year’s Eve in the Town Hall square. On 5 January the Three Kings parade fills calle de la Paz, Plaza de la Reina and the square from late afternoon.
On 24 and 31 December the ice rink closed at 8pm in 2025. The Sundays of 13, 20 and 27 December 2026 are trading Sundays across the Valencia region, so shops along calle Colón can open, and the stalls in the guide to Valencia’s Christmas markets sit on the same route.
Is the walk good with kids, and how far to extend it
With children, start at the square. The 2025 ice rink ran from 28 November to 6 January, 11am to 11pm, at €10 for a 30 minute session, and the carousel cost €4. From there, Plaza de la Reina is 1.6 km away along the lit streets, which most small legs manage. More ideas for school holidays are in Valencia at Christmas with kids.
For a longer evening, continue 540 metres west from the square to the life-size light nativity by the old hospital gateway on calle Hospital, then 1,135 metres more to the 5 metre walk-through sphere by the Finca Roja apartment block. That brings the total to 4 km and 54 minutes of walking, and Plaça Espanya, on metro lines 1 and 2, is 407 metres from the sphere for the ride back.
Is the City of Arts and Sciences worth a separate evening
The Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències runs its own light display, lit from 6pm daily in 2025, with a 3D reindeer on the Avenida de la Plata roundabout. Along the Umbracle walkway, a Christmas market of more than 50 stalls opened 11am to 11pm from 12 December to 6 January.
It is 2.7 km from Plaza del Ayuntamiento, 37 minutes on foot, so treat it as a second night, ideally walking down through the Turia gardens. The City of Arts and Sciences tickets guide covers which building stays open latest.
What may disappoint
There is no nightly light-and-music show. Valencia’s lights are static pieces, and the one night with music and fireworks is the switch-on. The old town pavements on calle de la Paz and calle San Vicente are narrow, and the stretch between Plaza de la Virgen and Plaza de la Reina is awkward with a pushchair. Weekend evenings in December bring crowds around the tree after 7pm.
The rest of the season, from the switch-on to Three Kings, is laid out in the Christmas in Valencia guide.
Frequently asked questions about Valencia’s Christmas lights
When do the Christmas lights go on in Valencia?
The 2026 date has not been announced yet. In 2025 the city switched them on in Plaza del Ayuntamiento on Friday 21 November at 7.30pm, with live music and a pyrotechnic show, and they stayed up until 6 January. The council usually confirms the new date in mid November.
What time are the Christmas lights on in Valencia?
Plan around darkness rather than a switch. In December the sun sets in Valencia at about 5.40pm, and in 2025 the City of Arts and Sciences lit its own Christmas display at 6pm every day. By 6.30pm the whole old town is lit. The nightly switch-off time is announced with each season’s lighting.
How long does the Valencia Christmas lights walk take?
The core route from Plaza del Ayuntamiento to the Serranos towers is 2.4 km, about 32 minutes of walking. With photos and the two life-size nativity scenes, allow an hour and a quarter. Adding the light sphere by the Finca Roja turns it into a 4 km evening.
Is the Valencia Christmas lights walk suitable for children?
Yes, if you start at Plaza del Ayuntamiento, where the ice rink and carousel were set up in 2025. The rink ran from 11am to 11pm with the last session at 10pm, at €10 for 30 minutes, and walking on to Plaza de la Reina along the arches is 1.6 km.
Is there a Christmas light show in Valencia?
Only on switch-on night. Valencia’s decorations are fixed pieces, not a nightly sound-and-light show: arches, a 25 metre tree, a walk-through bell and a 5 metre sphere. The one evening with music and fireworks is the inaugural lighting in late November.
Can you see the Christmas lights on the way from the airport?
Not on the way, but easily after. Metro lines 3 and 5 run from the airport to Colón, 517 metres from Plaza del Ayuntamiento, on a zone A and B ticket at €4.80. Drop your bags and start the walk from the tree: the core route is 2.4 km.
Start under the tree, finish under the comet: half an hour of walking that most people stretch to a whole evening.