Christmas Day is the hardest day of a Valencia holiday with children: most indoor attractions close, and the city’s own children’s programme does not start until the 26th. Valencia’s Christmas for children is a run of mostly free events between late November and 6 January, organised by the Ayuntamiento de València, the regional government and the city-centre shops. The 2026 programme is published in late November, so the reference here is the 2025 season, whose pattern repeats each year. Expojove, the big children’s fair, already has its 2026 dates, from 26 December to 4 January.
What is there to do with kids in Valencia at Christmas? Free: La Central in the Parc Central from 26 December to 4 January, shows in the Plaza de la Virgen from 22 December, and a children’s New Year countdown at noon on 31 December. Paid: a €10 ice rink and Expojove at €5. The Three Kings parade on 5 January.
How Christmas works for Valencian children
Spanish children get their main presents on 6 January, from the Three Kings, not from Father Christmas on the 25th. That shifts the whole calendar: the build-up peaks in the first week of January, the letters to the Kings are handed over in person, and the big night out is the parade on the evening of 5 January.
In practice, that means three things for a visiting family. Children write a letter and give it to one of the royal pages, either at La Central in the Parc Central or to the travelling Paje Real, who in 2025 visited a different neighbourhood each morning from 10am to 2pm. The parade route and the best spots with small children are in the Three Kings parade in Valencia. And the rink, the carousel and the little train in the centre run until 6 January, well after Christmas Day.
What to do free with kids in the old town
The free plans of a Valencia Christmas cluster between the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Parc Central, and none of them needs booking. Sorted by when they suit a family, using 2025 hours:
- Morning. The Plaza de la Virgen ran puppet shows, storytelling, magic workshops and free popcorn from 22 December to 5 January, from noon to 2pm and again from 5pm to 8pm, closed on 25 December and 1 January. On 31 December the Plaza del Ayuntamiento held a children’s New Year party from 10.30am to 1pm, with its own countdown at noon.
- Afternoon. La Central de la Navidad filled more than 5,000 square metres of the Parc Central with free workshops and shows from 11.30am to 8.30pm, next to Joaquín Sorolla station.
- Early evening. La Central lit its Christmas tree every day at 6pm, which makes a good last stop before heading back.
The nativity scenes are free too, starting with the one inside City Hall; Valencia’s nativity scenes sets out which one opens on which day.
How much the paid extras cost a family of four
The paid extras of a Valencia Christmas are cheap by holiday standards, and most are run by the Asociación de Comerciantes del Centro Histórico, the city-centre traders. In 2025 the ice rink cost €10 for a 30-minute session, the carousel €4 and the traders’ little train €3. The rink and the train also accepted Divertivales, vouchers handed out by central shops with Christmas purchases.
The bill adds up as follows: two children on the rink, €20; the whole family at Expojove, also €20 at 2025 prices; the carousel for two, €8, and the train for four, €12. The exception is the stage. The Roig Arena has two family musicals in 2026, «Estoy Solo en Casa» on 22 December at 6.30pm, from €22, and «Rudolph» on 26 December at 6pm, from €24.20, so four seats start at €88.
What to do with kids on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are the two dates when the free programme stops. In the 2025 season the Plaza de la Virgen and the museum workshops closed on both, and La Central and Expojove did not open on the 25th at all.
On 25 December the plan is a walk between the two life-size nativity scenes, the Bioparc Valencia zoo, which opens every day of the year and charges 25.50 euros for a child, or the Valencia Christmas Market at Avenida Primado Reig 8, free to enter, which opened that evening from 6pm to 11pm in 2025. On 1 January, La Central and Expojove open from 4pm to 9pm; the details of the fair are in Expojove, the Christmas kids’ fair.
Where to go with kids when it rains
A wet day in late December leaves three covered options. Expojove, at Feria Valencia, has more than 50,000 square metres under cover, with workshops and shows included in the ticket. The two Roig Arena musicals are on 22 and 26 December. And the City of Arts and Sciences has the science museum and the indoor tanks of the Oceanogràfic aquarium.
The city’s museum workshops are free but need booking by phone, so they suit families staying a few days rather than passing through. The Museo de Historia de València ran a workshop for 3 to 12 year-olds at noon on 23, 26 and 30 December and 2 January in 2025, and the Palau de Cervelló a morning for 5 to 11 year-olds from 10am to 1pm.
When the 2025 season ran and what is set for 2026
The Valencia Christmas season for children runs for almost six weeks, from the ice rink opening on 28 November to the presents on 6 January.
If your dates are flexible, the richest stretch is from 26 December to 5 January, when La Central, Expojove, the Plaza de la Virgen and the Paje Real all overlap.
How to get around with a pushchair
Most of the free plans are within walking distance of the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, and the old town is flat. The Parc Central is next to Joaquín Sorolla station, with Jesús metro (lines 1, 2 and 7) 562 metres away, and Metrovalencia’s Xàtiva station (lines 3, 5 and 9) is 241 metres from the Plaza del Ayuntamiento; a single ticket for zone A costs 1.50 euros.
Families flying in can reach the centre on metro lines 3 and 5, as set out in getting from Valencia airport to the city centre.
On the evening of 5 January the parade route is closed to traffic, so plan to walk. In Spain dinner is usually served from 9pm, so a 5.30pm parade still leaves time to eat afterwards.
Downsides worth knowing before you go
The programme comes out late, in the second half of November, so when you book flights most free plans have no 2026 dates yet. Everything here is from the 2025 season except Expojove and the Roig Arena musicals.
The children’s activities are designed for local families rather than visitors, and the museum workshops need a phone booking. The 30-minute ice rink session at €10 adds up quickly with siblings. And on 24 and 31 December the centre shuts early: the rink closed at 8pm and the Plaza de la Virgen at 2pm.
Questions about Valencia at Christmas with kids
When do Spanish children get their Christmas presents?
Most Spanish children get their main presents on the morning of 6 January, brought by the Three Kings. On the evening of 5 January the Kings parade through Valencia, leaving the waterfront at 5.30pm in January 2026. Some families also give presents on 25 December, but 6 January is the big day.
Is there an ice rink in Valencia at Christmas?
Yes. In the 2025 season an ice rink stood in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento from 28 November to 6 January, open 11am to 11pm with the last session at 10pm. A 30-minute session cost €10, or €7 plus a Divertivale voucher from city-centre shops. A second rink ran at the Valencia Christmas Market.
What can you do with kids in Valencia on Christmas Day?
On 25 December the life-size nativity scenes in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Plaza de la Reina stand outdoors, the Bioparc zoo opens as it does every day of the year, and in 2025 the Valencia Christmas Market on Avenida Primado Reig opened from 6pm to 11pm.
Where can children meet the Three Kings’ pages in Valencia?
At La Central de la Navidad in the Parc Central, free, from 26 December to 4 January in 2025, and from the Paje Real, the royal page, who collects letters in a different neighbourhood each morning from 10am to 2pm, ending at La Marina on 5 January.
In Valencia the children’s Christmas peaks on 5 January, not the 25th; plan the trip around that.